pasta

Egg Pasta

3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour plus 1/2 cup

4 extra large eggs

1/2 teaspoon olive oil

Make a mound of the flour in the center of a large wooden cutting board. Make a well in the middle of the flour with your fingers. Beat together the eggs and oil in a separate bowl. Begin pouring in the egg and oil mixture slowly. As you expand the well, keep pushing the flour up to retain the well shape .It won’t look right until about ½ the flour is incorporated. Knead the dough using the palms of both hands. Once the dough has come together in a ball remove it from the board. Lightly flour the board and continue kneading for 3 more minutes. The dough should be a little sticky still but somewhat elastic. Continue to knead this for another 3 minutes continue to dust the board with flour so that the stickiness of the dough goes away. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and allow it to rest for about 30 minutes at room temperature. Don’t skip the kneading or resting portion of this recipe, the dough will be very heavy. Roll out the dough by hand with a rolling pin, to achieve the desired thickness of noodles. Cut into desired width and shapes. Allow the pasta to air dry for at least 15 minutes to avoid having it clump together.

To cook fresh pasta

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the pasta, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Fresh pasta cooks very quickly. It will float to the surface when fully cooked. Drain, and use as desired.

Whole Wheat Pasta

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 eggs

2 teaspoons olive oil

Stir together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour and salt in a medium bowl, or on a clean board. Make a mound of the flour in the center of a large wooden cutting board. Make a well in the middle of the flour with your fingers. Beat together the eggs and oil in a separate bowl. Begin pouring in the egg and oil mixture slowly. As you expand the well, keep pushing the flour up to retain the well shape .It won’t look right until about ½ the flour is incorporated. Knead the dough using the palms of both hands. Once the dough has come together in a ball remove it from the board. Lightly flour the board and continue kneading for 3 more minutes. The dough should be a little sticky still but somewhat elastic. Continue to knead for another 3 minutes continue to dust the board with flour so that the stickiness of the dough goes away. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and allow it to rest for about 30 minutes at room temperature. Don’t skip the kneading or resting portion of this recipe, or the dough will be very heavy. Let it air dry for 15 minutes.

Roll out dough by hand with a rolling pin, to achieve the desired thickness of noodles. Cut into desired width and shapes. Allow the pasta to air dry for at least 15 minutes to avoid having it clump together.

To cook fresh pasta you must bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the pasta, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Fresh pasta cooks very quickly. It will float to the surface when fully cooked. Drain, and use as desired.

pasta dishes

Fettuccine Alfredo

1 pound dried fettuccine

6 Tablespoons homemade butter

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cook the fettuccine in a pot of rapidly boiling salted water until it’s done. Drain the fettuccine in a colander and then place the pasta in a cooking pan. Place the butter and pour the cream on the pasta and cook them over a low heat. Pour the cheese on and toss the pasta until it is coated with the cream and cheese. Serve immediately.

Lasagne

1 pound ground beef

1 pound sweet Italian sausage

1 pound of homemade pasta (or a 1 pound box of store bought lasagna noodles)

1 large onion-chopped

1 green pepper seeded and chopped

1 red pepper seeded and chopped

1 yellow pepper seeded and chopped

2 jars of homemade tomato sauce (or 1 large store bought jar)

3 cloves of garlic minced

1 pound of ricotta cheese

1 pound of mozzarella

4 Tablespoons of olive oil

Start by taking the sausage out of the casings. Brown your ground beef and sausage Then set this aside. Take your peppers, garlic and onion and sauté them in 4 tablespoons of olive oil. In a stock pot add the sautéed vegetables to the tomato sauce. Heat it on medium low for 5-10 minutes or until it is all heated up. Then take your pasta and cook it until it is done. Freshly homemade takes 2-3 minutes and dried pasta takes a bit longer. Do about 3 at a time. Let them drain well. Then the building takes place. Put a little tomato sauce on the bottom of a rectangular oven proof pan. Then a layer of 3 pieces of Lasagna side by side, then a layer of ricotta cheese. Put 3 medium dollops of ricotta on each piece of lasagna noodle. Then a layer of tomato sauce and a layer of mozzarella. Continue layering the pan this way until all your ingredients are used up. top it all off with sauce and a generous portion of mozzarella. Place it in the oven at 350 degrees and bake for about 30 minutes.

Linguine with Red Clam Sauce

2 cup chopped onions

1 large green pepper, chopped

8 cloves garlic, minced

12 oz. mushrooms, sliced

2 Tablespoons olive oil

4 (6 1/2 oz.) cans minced clams, with liquid or

3 pounds Fresh clams (requires shucking)

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon crushed hot red pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce

1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste

1 pound linguine

In a large pot boil the linguine. At the same time in 4 quart covered saucepan, sauté onions, green pepper, garlic and mushrooms in olive oil over medium low heat until onions are translucent. Add remaining ingredients and simmer, covered, over low heat for 45 minutes. Serve over the pasta.

Linguine with White Clam Sauce

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

4 to 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tin flat fillet of anchovies, drained, 6 or 7 fillets

2 Tablespoons fresh thyme leaves

1 cup dry white wine

1 cup clam juice or fish stock

1 can (15 ounces) fancy whole baby clams

1 lemon, zested

1 pound linguini, slightly undercooked, about 6 to 7 minutes

1/4 cup chopped parsley leaves

Lots of black pepper and some coarse salt

1 long loaf of Italian bread

Put the pasta on to boil in a large pot. Heat a large deep skillet over medium heat. Pour in the olive oil, garlic and add thyme and wine. Reduce wine for about 1 minute. Add the clam juice or fish stock; clam juice will give the dish a stronger clam flavor, Stir in clams. Drain pasta. Add to skillet and toss with sauce 2 to 3 minutes, until pasta is al dente and has absorbed some of the sauce and flavor. Add parsley, pepper and salt, to your taste and serve with bread for mopping up remaining juices.

Penne with 4 Cheese Sauce

1 pound rotini pasta or penne

3/4 pound hot or sweet Italian sausage

2 sweet red peppers

1 large onion

1 Tablespoon olive oil

2 cups shredded four-cheese blend

Cheddar, Mozzarella, parmesan, Colby jack

1 cup heavy cream

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add heavy cream and cheese and bring to a boil. Cook until sauce has reduced slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Heat the oven to 450 F. Bring the pasta to a full boil when it is tender, drain. While pasta is cooking, cut sausage into 1/2-inch slices. Seed and slice peppers and slice onion for a total of 4 cups. Heat olive oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage, peppers and onions. Cook, 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the peppers and onions are tender and the sausage is cooked through. Add the sauce and bring it to a simmer. Stir in the drained pasta and 1 cup of the cheese. Sprinkle remaining cheese over the pasta and bake at 450 F for 8 minutes or until cheese melts and casserole starts to bubble. Cool 5 minutes before serving.

Penne with Vodka Sauce

1 pound penne or other short-shape pasta

32 ounces homemade tomato sauce (or store bought jar)

3 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup heavy cream

¼ cup vodka

1 small onion chopped

2 cloves of garlic chopped

2 Tablespoons olive oil

Bring large pot of lightly salted water to boiling, this is for the pasta. In a large skillet over medium-high heat the oil. Add onion and garlic; cook 10 minutes, until softened, (add a little water if needed to prevent sticking). Add the tomato sauce, cream, parmesan cheese and vodka; cook 3-5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Add pasta to boiling water; cook until al dente, tender yet firm. Drain pasta; transfer to bowl. Toss with hot pasta. Serve. Makes about 6 servings.

Ravioli

For the pasta

3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour plus 1/2 cup

4 extra large eggs

1/2 teaspoon olive oil

Make a mound of the flour in the center of a large wooden cutting board. Make a well in the middle of the flour and add the eggs, oil and any other flavoring you choose. Using a fork, beat together the eggs, oil and flavorings and begin to incorporate the flour starting with the inner rim of the well. As you expand the well, keep pushing the flour up to retain the well shape. Do not worry that this initial phase looks messy. The dough will come together when 1/2 of the flour is incorporated. Start kneading the dough with both hands, using the palms of your hands primarily. Once you have a cohesive mass, remove the dough from the board and scrape up any leftover crusty bits. Lightly flour the board and continue kneading for 3 more minutes. The dough should be elastic and a little sticky. Continue to knead for another 3 minutes, remembering to dust your board when necessary. Wrap the dough in plastic and allow it to rest for about 30 minutes at room temperature. Note: do not skip the kneading or resting portion of this recipe, they are essential for light pasta.

For the filling

Meat filling

1 pound ground meat

1 10 ounce package chopped frozen spinach

1 egg, beaten

3 Tablespoons parmesan cheese

2 cloves of garlic crushed

Fry the ground beef. Drain the grease. Thaw and drain the spinach. Beat the egg add the parmesan cheese and garlic cut the spinach up. Put all the ingredients together and cook for 5 minutes in a sauce pan.

Cheese filling

3 pounds Ricotta cheese

1 cup or more parmesan cheese

5/6 eggs

Salt

pepper

garlic

parsley to taste

put all ingredients in a bowl. Mix really well with a hand mixer.

To put the ravioli together you must roll out the pasta dough. To make thin sheets you can either roll it out to your liking or you can roll it out and put it through a pasta machine the choice is yours. Then you can take a pasta cutter and cut small circles or squares out of the pasta. You then take 1 teaspoon of filling and place it on the bottom pasta piece. Brush some eggwash onto the edges so that the pieces of pasta adhere to each other better. Then cover this with the top pasta piece. Crimp the sides with a fork or crimping tool. you can freeze this or cook it immediately. to cook freshly made raviolis place a pot of water on to boil. when it is boiling add your raviolis and cook 3-4 minutes. fresh pasta doesn't take long to cook.

Spaghetti and Meat Sauce

1 pound of homemade pasta

1 jar of homemade sauce

1/2 lb. of chopped meat

1 Tablespoon of olive oil

Grated parmesan cheese

Put the pasta on to boil. Pour in the olive oil to prevent the pasta from sticking. At the same time put the meat in a fry pan and cook until done. Pour off the grease. Add your sauce to the meat. When the pasta is cooked drain it in a colander. Serve with plenty of parmesan cheese topping.