I've been living vicariously through Kate of the past this week. Partly because I am fully going stir crazy and the only way of escape is through my own memories, and partly because I like to call upon these happy moments often as to ensure I remember them. There are some nights, some weeks, even some months that live so beautifully untouched in my mind, every detail of them engrained into the very structure of who I am and what I love. These are the moments that I look back on and say "that's a good one".
Funnily enough a handful of these moments and memories are fueled by one of the most delicious and perfect foods (because as I've stated and will continue to say; food is the catalyst of memory) that has ever been created, yes folks, it's pasta.
This post is all about my piéce de résistance in the culinary world, a recipe so tried and tested by me, and so well loved by everyone I love. It is probably the most comforting food I could teach you how to cook, and also makes me absurdly happy when I think about all the moments in which I enjoyed this pasta. But I want to take you back for a minute, give you some context and hopefully boost my credibility in the pasta making world.
I first learned to make this pasta (well, a version of this pasta), in a cooking class I took while living in Italy. I was then and still am amazed by the simplicity of Italian food. There are no gimmicks, no fluff, and no hiding. The freshness of the ingredients takes the drivers seat, being lightly emphasized by a ton (the technical term) of olive oil and garlic, until you are left with food so deliciously simple you wonder why anyone eats anything else. Every time I make this dish I am back in that kitchen, surrounded by some of my favorite people; and instantly flooded with an incredible amount of joy.
This is the pasta dish that has fueled many a pasta night, accompanied even more bottles of red, and created the space for daydreaming about Italian life of the past and life to come elsewhere. It is immensely special to me, my family, and my loved ones. And now, my lovely readers, hopefully it will become special for you. This pasta has the power to cure broken hearts, heal emotional wounds, and will definitely impress any potential romantic partner.
Listen, I understand that some people have an aversion to homemade pasta, someone along the way told you it was too hard and not worth it. Well I am here to tell you that it's NOT too hard and it IS worth it. Homemade noodles are chewier, more robust, and more capable of withstanding time in the sauce, which in this case will be my version of a Bolognese. Trust me, once you make homemade pasta once you will truly never go back. If you aren't interested in cooking this yourself, I respect that and can be bribed to cook this for you with desserts and wine. Either way, give the recipe a read and open your mind to a world of pasta possibilities.
So, throw your fears of homemade pasta aside, tie your apron, queue the Dean Martin, and let's do this thing.
Ingredients:
For the Pasta:
- 400 g of All Purpose Flour (if you are fancy and want to use 00 flour, that's your business and I agree with you)
- 4 eggs
- 1-3 Tbsp of water (depending on dryness of the dough)
For the Sauce:
- 1 can of Cento San Marzano tomatoes, blended.
- 2 stalks of celery, roughly chopped
- Half a white onion, diced
- 2 carrots, roughly chopped
- 1lb of ground beef
- 3 links of sweet Italian sausage (with casing removed)
- 1 cup of dry red wine
- Basil
- 2 cloves of crushed garlic
- Olive oil (for a ton of stuff, keep the bottle close to you it is your lifeline)
Method
Pasta:
1. On a nonstick surface, pour your flour out into a mound and create an indent in the middle. My preferred method is to take two fingers and swirl around in a circle, make sure to keep a high border of flour around the edge.
2. Crack the eggs into your flour well.
3. With a fork (yes a fork, not a whisk), begin to beat your eggs, once they are almost fully combined slowly flick flour into the eggs.
4. Continue adding flour until you can use your hands and combine the rest of the flour with the eggs (there will be some flour that doesn't want to bind with the dough, let it. We don't want that flour anyways.)
5. Knead the dough until it becomes smooth - if you find that you have kneaded your dough for a good amount of time and it still isn't coming together, add small splashes of water until you get the right texture. This is the one step where practice makes perfect, so if your first attempt doesn't work perfectly take heart! Your next one will. I believe in you.
6. Roll dough into ball, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
Sauce:
1. Chop your onions, carrots, and celery into a rough chop about even size, whichever size you want this is your sauce!
2. In a large dutch oven or big ole pot, saute the vegetables with olive oil and crushed garlic. (I usually just smash my garlic with a knife and throw it in, I take it out later and you get all the flavor with none of the sticky garlic mess).
3. Once your veggies are softened, take out the garlic cloves and add in ground beef and sausage.
4. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, or whatever you want, break up the meat into small pieces and stir occasionally until the meat has browned.
5. Add in red wine (take a swig to make sure it's okay) and cook on medium heat until the wine has evaporated. What you will be left with is the meat and vegetables turning a very pleasing purpley-red color, be patient with this step because this is where the majority of flavor is going to come from. (about 10 minutes)
6. Add in your pureed tomatoes and about a quarter cup more of olive oil.
7. Take a bunch of basil (I don't know how much, just a lot) and roll it in your hands until it gets a little wilty and the oils get released and add into sauce. Turn heat on a low simmer and leave that baby to chill out, stirring occasionally.
8. While the sauce is cooking: get your dough out of fridge
9. Boil your water with a TON of salt. Yes, a ton. Make it as salty as the ocean.
10. If you have a pasta machine, divide dough in 4 pieces and follow instructions for Tagliattele or Pappardelle noodles.
11. If you don't have a pasta machine. Divide dough in half and roll each into a thin rectangle (as thin as you want), and cut (in any size you want). This is scruffy and homemade pasta and the secret is, it tastes the same no matter what shape it is.
-HINT: after you make your noodles, twirl them into a little "nest" and sprinkle with flour to prevent sticking
12. Drop pasta into boiling water, leaving to cook for 4-5 mins (fresh pasta cooks very very fast. We are looking for al dente here.)
13. Once pasta is cooked, dump noodles into sauce with a pair of tongs. Add about a half cup of pasta water into the sauce with the noodles.
14. Stir around, coating the noodles in the sauce and cook for another 2 minutes.
15. Plate and top with chopped fresh basil and parmesan cheese.
16. Eat way too much, drink an extra glass of wine than you normally would, and let your guests shower you in compliments.
See! That wasn't so bad was it? You've made homemade pasta, Congratulations! What can't you do now?
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