Italian Cravings

As most of you know I am half Italian by blood and full Italian by heart. I love everything about my heritage, especially the food. Last year at this time the hubby and I were on the most wonderful two week trip through Italy. So in honor of that trip, we skip down memory lane via food.

Since I can't travel back to Italy anytime soon, Italy will come to me. One of my favorite things about Italy and good Italian food in general is its simplicity and the respect for the ingredients. So tonight I made pasta as my great grandparents would have, I used no machines and completely enjoyed the experience. Though I have made homemade noodles numerous times, I usually use the food processor and to be honest it has been way to long since I made pasta in general.

I decided to make my favorite noodle, the pappardelle noodle. It's long ribbon like frame offers a mouthful of goodness. Though, this type o f noodle is often accompanied with rich, deep flavors. This meal is for me, so I get the noodle and sauce of my choosing. Tonight, we use just simple but good extra virgin olive oil, basil, tomatoes and parmigiano-reggiano.
 

Pappardelle Pasta
3/4 Cup of Semolina Past Flour  - Durham Wheat
3/4 Cup of White Flour
2 Eggs

Make a mound on a clean wood butcher block, cutting board or your counter with the flour. In the center make a large whole for the eggs. Crack your eggs in a separate bowl, then place in the whole in the flour. You want to crack the eggs in  separate bowl just in case you get a bad egg. With a fork whisk eggs, taking a little flour from the sides. Do this until you incorporate all the flour, by putting your hand around the flour you can control the distribution easily. Once all the flour and egg is mixed together kneed for 3 to 5 minutes, moving front to back. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and place in fridge for at least 30 minutes.

After your dough has rested and chilled, it's time to roll the dough. I quartered the dough, to make it easier to work with and since my counter space is not that large. With a rolling pin, evenly (to the best of your ability) roll the dough out. It's up to you how thin or thick you want your noodle personally, I like them on thinner side. The next step is to cut out your pasta, lightly roll the dough, then make two inch cuts down the dough. Once all the dough is sliced, lightly unravel the pasta, sprinkle with flour and set aside. I lined mine up on the counter, to ensure they didn't stick but technically the flour should also prevent sticking.

In the meantime, start a large pot of water and bring it to a boil. Once boiling salt the water, remember the pasta itself doesn't have any salt so the water should be salty. I usually taste it before putting the pasta in.

For us a simple few ingredients made for a wonderful meal. We had veggie Italian sausage for our protein, which means it will be quick and tasty. While waiting for the water to boil, chop up 1 to 2 cloves of garlic, 2 handfuls of basil, 2 handfuls of small cherry tomatoes and diced veggie Italian sausage. In a medium to large size pan, place one to two tablespoons of olive oil, add garlic and sausage and saute on  low heat, caramelizing the veggie sausage. The pasta should only take three to five minutes depending on how thick it is. Once pasta is cooked al dente, place in your pan with the sausage and garlic, add remaining ingredients, season with salt and pepper and toss. Finish with a drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil and shaved parmegaino-reggiano. If you like a saucer pasta, you can always add some of the pasta water to the pan.

Please do not be intimated by making homemade pasta, give it a try and you will be pleasantly surprise how easy it can be. I hope you enjoyed this as much as my husband and I did. It truly transported us back to Italy.
Ciao!