Homemade Pasta

There is no comparison.  None whatsoever.  Fresh pasta is amazing.

Fresh homemade ravioli.

It's not that hard to make, either, if you have an hour or so.  Once you make it a time or two, an hour is all you need for fresh spaghetti, linguine, or other noodle.  I find that if I halve the recipe, I've got enough pasta for fettuccine (my preferred cut for my hand-crank pasta machine) for our weekly Pasta Day, which happens to be on Friday.

Ravioli, filled with ricotta/mozzarella mixture.

My photos are of our New Year's ravioli dinner, which my mom and I slaved over--mostly because I added too much water to the recipe, and we ended up with a ton of pasta dough!  We worked all afternoon making these, and ended up freezing some plus cranking out some plain fettuccine as well.

The quickest recipe is for plain pasta noodles, whatever cut you desire.  I favor fettuccine, since my hand-crank pasta machine's setting for spaghetti usually produces a mess, and the fettuccine width is the only other width available.  I'm going to try a special rolling pin with grooves for some other cuts; I'll update this when that happens.

For now, here is my recipe.

Homemade Pasta

2 cups semolina flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, well beaten
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
~1 cup cold water

Make in a Bosch Universal Mixer or other stand mixer (instructions are for the Bosch).

Mix the two flours and the salt together in mixer bowl.  Insert the bread dough hook and turn on speed 1.  Add in the eggs and evoo, and--while continuing to mix--pour in the cold water in a stream.  As the mixer works harder to mix, turn it up to speed 3 and continue to mix until a ball of dough forms.  Add cold water or flour as needed 3-5 minutes.  You should have a soft, smooth ball of dough.

Turn out dough onto floured surface and cover with a towel.  Let rest five minutes.  Break off a piece of dough, about the size of a half-cup measure and dust with flour.  It's now ready to be shaped using your pasta machine; follow your pasta machine instructions for shaping into lasagna noodles, spaghetti/fettuccine, etc.


Storing and Cooking Fresh Pasta
I've done all of these with wonderful success!

For immediate use.

Bring a pot of water to a boil; add your pasta noodles with a teaspoon or so of salt (this enhances the flavor, do not omit it!!).  Boil 3-7 minutes or so, depending on the width and thickness of your pasta, and how al dente you like it.  Test it early and add boiling time as needed.  Drain in a colander; drizzle with evoo and toss to prevent sticking.

Drying.

Use a pasta drying rack to dry your noodles; simply drape them over the rods and let dry 24 hours or so.  Store in a cool, dry place in airtight bags or containers.

Freezing.

Lay your noodles out, curling/folding them back and forth so they'll fit in a freezer bag.  Or you can coil them, too.  The idea is to not have them in a messy, congealed pile that will cook into a gooey mass.  It is key that you quickly dredge each pasta sheet in flour before you cut it into noodles; this will prevent sticking even if you end up with a pile of pasta in your freezer bag.  Put your freshly cut noodles into a freezer bag, then simply freeze.  These can go straight from the freezer into boiling water, or you can let them sit in your fridge to thaw first.

Whole-wheat spaghetti.

Back to life,
Christine

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Britalian Lasagna

Yes, that's a weird name for a recipe.  I've meshed several different lasagna recipes together over the years, and since my heritage is British and Italian, that's the name I came up with and it works for me.  :)

It's funny that even though I come from an Italian family (my mom is a full-blooded Italian), I really don't like making lasagna.  It's also funny--or ironic--that my full-blooded Mexican husband loves lasagna, even claiming it as his favorite meal.  Making lasagna is too time-consuming, in my opinion.   So, on those rare occasions when I do make lasagna, I always double everything and make two.  I usually freeze the second pan, for a future meal or for blessing another family.  I use a throw-away aluminum pan for that second pan in case it goes to another family.

Here we go with what I do...


Britalian Lasagna

Meat Sauce
one pound of ground beef, cooked and drained
30-oz. can whole tomatoes
15-oz. can tomato sauce
8-oz. can tomato paste
Italian seasoning to taste (basil, oregano, parsley)
2 cloves garlic, crushed/minced
smidge of cane juice crystals (or sugar--I use maybe a couple of tablespoons,  no measuring)

Empty the whole tomatoes into a large pot.  Stick your hands in there and hand-crush all the tomatoes.  Then, add the cooked ground beef and the rest of the ingredients.  Heat over medium heat until heated through, or simmer for a couple hours on low.  You can use this sauce on its own, for serving over spaghetti or whatever.  You can also omit the meat and make meatballs (add them to the meatless sauce), or add cooked sausage or just serve it marinara-style.  This is also the spaghetti sauce I use in other recipes, such as taco soup.

Ricotta Mixture
1 1/2 cups (12 oz.) fresh ricotta cheese (the fresher, the better)
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese (I always end up adding extra--cheese is great!)
1/2 cup grated fresh Parmesan
1 tablespoon chopped parsley (I use fresh)
1 egg
dash fresh nutmeg (the secret ingredient; use a microplane grater)
salt and pepper to taste (I don't use these)

If your fresh ricotta is watery (which is typical of fresh ricotta but not always the case), drain it well.  A large metal sieve, or even the large colander I typically use, works well.  Once it is drained, combine it with all the other ingredients in a large bowl, and mix until everything is blended.

Other Ingredients
no-bake lasagna noodles--a couple boxes to be sure you have enough
couple cups grated mozzarella (I use more so I have enough for the top)

Okay, now to put everything together.  On the bottom of a 13x9 baking dish, I spread some meat sauce.  Then I place noodles over that.  Feel free to break the dry noodles to make them fit!  Spread some of the ricotta mixture on top of that, then some mozzarella.  Then I layer:  sauce -- noodles -- ricotta -- mozzarella.  Do this twice so that all the ricotta is used up.  My final layer is noodles, with sauce on top to cover the noodles completely.  Then sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese on top (I usually grate extra!).

Ready to bake!

To bake, place lasagna (I "tent" some aluminum foil over the top of the pan) in a preheated 350-degree oven, and bake for 45 minutes to one hour.  Check after 45 minutes, and remove the foil at that point.  Bake until it's bubbly and the cheese is slightly golden.

I don't think it's possible to mess up lasagna.  Whether the sauce is a little too thin or thick, or I've layered it incorrectly, it always seems to taste just fine.  And that's the important thing.

Fresh nutmeg--my Italian grandma's secret ingredient!

Back to life,
Christine

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