I’m back! I know it has been almost 3 months since I last blogged, but so many good things have been happening! New job, new city, new house, and most importantly NEW KITCHEN. So, more blogging and recipes will be coming soon, I PROMISE!

I love herbs and when I moved into my new home I had to have an herb and tomato garden. Granted I have never gardened in my life, however I felt that it was my duty to have one. Even if I had the black thumb of death, I didn’t care; I made it my goal to have an herb garden. Considering I was always complaining about what a waste it was to buy herbs when you can plant them in a small pot or mini garden yourself.

I also LOVE pasta and when my wonderful husband bought me a pasta machine for Christmas this past year, my life AND kitchen had become complete. I was making pasta almost everyday. I attempted to make ravioli one time but didn’t work out, so I made a vow to stick to fettuccini and spaghetti from now on.

Unless any of you have advice on how to make ravioli without exploding?

Have you ever had pasta made from scratch? Pasta so good that you can eat it with a little bit of lemon and olive oil mixed with some fresh herbs from the garden? I mean seriously I thought this was going to be bland and boring, but turns out to be one of my favorite dishes. And I don’t have favorite dishes especially ones with so little ingredients.

No seriously, I’m a “mix it everything” type of girl. I know, it’s annoying, but I can’t help it! Why limit my self to a few ingredients? But, with this pasta I had to throw in the white flag. As they all say, “LESS is MORE.” 🙂

Everyone says it’s the sauce that makes the pasta. Well… I beg to differ because if the pasta itself is fresh and made perfectly then the sauce just enhances the flavor rather than mask the pasta.

Now I know why some chefs go crazy for fresh pasta. It’s delicious and really there is NO brand or pasta from the box that could even compare. Plus, think about all the flavors that you could incorporate into the dough such as herbs, spinach, oh and my new obsession butternut squash. YUM!!

Bon Appétit

 

Recipe

Pasta Dough

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups semolina flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
6 large eggs
2 tablespoons water
¼ cup water

Directions

Sift together all-purpose flour, semolina flour and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the eggs olive oil and water to the dough and mix them together with the paddle or dough hook until well mixed (about 6 minutes).

Take out of the bowl and knead into a ball or separate into 4 dough balls. The dough should not feel sticky. If it sticks to your fingers, knead in a small amount of flour, just enough so your fingers come away clean when you pull them away.

Wrap the dough and let it sit at room temperature for an hour.

To roll out the pasta, on a lightly floured surface, cut the dough into two to four pieces. Working one piece at a time shape each piece into a rough rectangle, then pass it through your pasta machine on the widest setting (#1). Fold dough in half or in thirds and pass it through again. Then fold and pass it through one more time.

Continue passing the pasta through the machine, closing down the opening of the rollers a few notches with each pass until you have reached the desired thickness. I usually stop at #7. Lightly dust the pasta with flour or semolina if the dough starts to stick while rolling.

Then if you wish to make fettuccine or spaghetti, use the cutter attachment to cut the sheets into the desired thickness or cut the pasta by hand on the counter top with a chef’s knife to whatever size strands or shapes you want.

Once rolled, fresh pasta should be dusted with semolina to keep it from sticking if you are not going to cook it right away or drape it over a pasta drying rack until ready to use.

Lemon Herb Pasta
4 servings

1lbs fresh cut pasta
½ red onion, sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon rosemary, chopped
2 tablespoons oregano, chopped
½ tablespoon thyme leaves
½ cup basil, chiffonade
¼ cup white wine
¼ cup lemon juice
4 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper

Add more salt and pepper depending on your pallet

Directions

Bring water to a heavy boil and boil the pasta for 4 minutes or until al dente. Sauté the onions and garlic with 1 tablespoon of olive oil for 2 minutes then add the white wine and boil off the alcohol. Add all the herbs, seasonings and lemon juice, sauté for 2-3 minutes until sauce starts to slightly boil.

Drain the pasta and add to the sauté pan with the lemon herb sauce and sauté for 1 minute.

Take off heat and mix in the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil.

Serve hot!