Time Honored Tradition of Pasta Making

You're never to old to learn, right?  This year I've tackled dumplings, won-tons, lasagna and noodles from scratch.  It's been fun-and very tasty.  This month's Rachael Ray Everyday Magazine has a page devoted to steps in pasta making, which was very helpful.

I made 2 meals with the noodles I prepared.  The first is a mushroom soup bowl topped with a poached egg.  I sauteed an assortment of vegetables, carrots, sweet peppers, fennel, celery, onion, garlic and mushrooms in sesame oil, then added a vegetable broth and a tablespoon of Mirin.  The noodles were added the last 3 minutes of cooking.

Tonight's dinner was a pesto shrimp and vegetables with homemade noodles.  That recipe is from Cooking Light.  I made extra pesto to eat with hard cooked eggs.

Homemade Noodles

4 Servings

1 cup semolina flour
Pinch of salt
2 eggs

1/4 cup water  
Flour for kneading and rolling.

Mound the flour on a floured surface. Sprinkle with salt.  Make a well in the center of the flour.  Add eggs.  Whisk eggs slightly, then mix by hand with the flour until a ball is formed.  Add water as needed to keep dough from drying.  Form dough into a ball and knead for 8 minutes.  Cover and let rest 30 minutes.

Divide dough in half.  Shape into an oval.  Starting with the widest setting on the pasta maker, run the dough through the maker.  Then set the machine to the next setting and run through again and again until reaching the narrowest setting.  Cut the dough in 12 inch noodles, about 3/4 inch wide.  Transfer to small piles on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Let rest covered for 30 minutes.

Cook in boiling water 2-3 minutes.