Did you know it is possible to fall even more in love with pasta?
I had no idea I could until I started making my own a few months ago. Not only is the taste difference sensational, but also my genuine appreciation for it’s nutritional value doubled when I learned how to make my own.
Although I never bought into the whole Atkins anti-carb fad, without realizing it, that mentality crept into my relationship with food. Until I added the ingredients myself, I thought of pasta mainly as flour, wheat, a unit of carbohydrates. Once I cracked the eggs open myself, mixed them with flour, formed them into fettuccine and served it to my children, I realized that pasta isn’t merely shaped flour. It’s full of nutrients, including a decent amount of protein. I also used to believe what I was told about colored pastas not really having enough vegetable in them to count for much. Maybe that’s true for store bought varieties, but in my homemade version, I know my family is being served a nice portion of spinach when I make green pasta.
This is what I love about making groceries: even if I don’t make pasta everyday, the process of learning about it has changed my understanding and my relationship with it forever. The connection between the fundamental ingredients to the mouths of my children is immediate. I know how many eggs and how much spinach was added as well as the percentage of it which my children ate. As Max closes in on his third year his willingness to eat different foods has lessened. Asserting his autonomy frequently means rejecting food, particularly vegetables, particularly green ones. I’m not all about hiding healthy food, but I do like to pack as much nutritional quality into our meals as possible. Because pasta is a favorite with perpetually picky toddlers, when I take the trouble to make my own pasta, I usually make the spinach variety. Why not? It’s delicious, nutritious and, golly, so pretty.
The recipe I make is a slightly tweaked version from the recipe that came with my Kitchen Aid Pasta Attachment. I frequently try recipes from the mini cookbooks that come with appliances because they’re usually very good. Kitchen Aid has test kitchens and I’m pretty sure they want me to be happy with their product, so I gave their recipe a whirl first. I liked it, adjusted it a bit and am quite happy.
Spinach Fettuccine
1 pkg frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry in a clean kitchen towel
1/4 c water
4 eggs, lightly beaten
4 c flour
1. Puree spinach in a food processor (or blender). Add puree, water, flour and eggs to a mixer and mix for a few minutes, until well combined. (I have tried to do it all in my food processor, but there is too much dough. In that case, I just took out half, processed it, then did the other half.)
2. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface for about 3-5 minutes. If dough is a bit sticky, work more flour in. If it seems really dry, add a tablespoon of water. This is a bit inexact, because it depends on how much water you squeezed out of your spinach. Loosely cover in plastic wrap and let sit for 30 minutes.
3. Divide dough into 8 pieces. Follow pasta roller directions. I roll mine several times at the first layer, then progressively make it thinner and thinner.
4. After the initial flattening, hang pasta sheets from a clean laundry drying rack.
Switch to fettuccine cutter and run it through again, catching it. You can hang your noodles or lightly dust then with flour or extra fine cornmeal and let them sit on a cookie sheet in little nests.
5. This recipe serves 8, so I like to cook half and dry the other half. I simply allow it to dry, then put it in a sealed plastic baggie in the refrigerator for up to a week. Pasta should be cooked in a large pot of boiling water with several tablespoons of salt for about 6 minutes.
So, now that you have amazing, homemade pasta, what do you do with it? Well, here’s my favorite recipe. It’s very simple, because you really want to taste the yummy pasta, also so much effort was made in creating the pasta, ease is called for in the sauce.
Spinach Fettuccine with Portobello and Pecorino Romano Shavings
2-3 portobello mushrooms
2 large cloves of garlic
1/2 stick of butter
pinch or two of white pepper
2 T pecorino romano cheese grated, plus extra shavings
1/2 c pasta water (scoop it out before you drain your pasta)
1/2 recipe of spinach fettuccine
1. Wipe dirt off of mushrooms and trim the stems. Cut very thin slices. Mince one clove of garlic and smash the other, but leave it whole.
2. In a large saute pan, turn the flame to medium high. Add a few tablespoons of olive oil and the smashed garlic clove. In about 1 minute, you’ll smell the garlic and the oil will be hot. Add the mushrooms, spacing them out as much as you can. Allow them to cook, unbothered, for about a minute, then carefully turn them over with tongs. Remove the smashed garlic clove and add the minced garlic, butter, white pepper and a pinch of sea salt. Cook for a minute, then turn the flame to low.
3. Add cooked pasta and grated cheese. Stir, combining very well. Add pasta water as needed to first loosen the pasta, then allow a sauce to form. Taste and adjust seasonings. As you serve, use a vegetable peeler to shave cheese directly onto pasta. Enjoy!
The Bottom Line
Making pasta takes work. This is so much more labor-intensive than the usual box of pasta. I will say that, like most things in the kitchen, it gets easier with practice. It is not particularly difficult, but the kitchen does get quite messy. The upside of the effort is that this is very entertaining for everyone in the family. Kids loved it and even my husband liked to see the pasta stretch. It engages everyone in the preparation, which is always one of my aims.
As far as cost is concerned, the start up fee for this is pricey. I already owned both my Kitchen Aid Mixer and the pasta attachment thanks to generous family members giving me wedding gifts. Without either one, it would cost a few hundred dollars to start. As far as the cost of this pasta versus store bought, it gets a little tricky. Average dried pasta can range from $.99 to $1.39 for a pound. Freshly made pasta is about $5.99 a pound. This cost me $1.76 for about a pound in a half. The labor involved lessens the sensation of savings.
It seems like I’m emphasizing the labor, but I actually really enjoy the process. I’ve decided not to buy any more flat pasta (spaghetti, fettuccine, linguine…), but I will buy the shapes because my kids love them. I had heard that fresh pasta didn’t really taste that special and that is completely false. The freshness is there in every single bite. It isn’t realistic for me to make this several times a week, but several times a month is doable. Regardless, this has been my favorite adventure in Making Groceries thus far, because it opened my eyes to my misconceptions about pasta. I have so much more respect for this food now that I’ve made it myself.
Adoration, even. Buon Appetito!
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