Patience, Perseverance, PASTA!

When I got my beloved Kitchenaid mixer, the first attachments I wanted so desperately to get were the pasta rollers. The idea of making my own pasta was something I found absolutely fascinating! So this past Christmas, my sweet husband, got me EVERY pasta roller for the Kitchenaid and every other attachment to go with it! (Except the ice cream maker, we already have one). I was so excited to try it. My sister and I had a family dinner one night where we made our own pasta and Alfredo and it went over amazingly well. Dad was quite impressed!

I have had a mad hankering for pasta lately and what could possibly be better than my own homemade pasta for supper! And of course doing so lets me share with you how you can make your own pasta too! Its very simple, though it does require patience and a pasta roller, whether hand crank or electric. I used the rollers designed for my Kitchenaid mixer.

 For the dough you will need:

3 1/2 cups sifted flour

Four large eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

1-2 tablespoons of water

Combine all the ingredients in the bowl of the mixer. Mix with the paddle for 30 seconds on setting 2. Then switch to the dough hook and mix on setting 2 for two minutes.

Once dough is combined, knead on a floured surface for about two minutes then let the dough rest for twenty minutes. Then, divide into four parts and flatten out. Attach the pasta sheeter attachment to the mixer. On setting 1 run the dough through the sheeter. I will warn you. Its going to fall apart and make a mess and if you are like me at times, leave you cursing like a drunken Irish sailor with Tourrette's syndrome. Patience pays off! It will start to smooth out! Just fold it up as best you can and run it through again. Keep doing this until its a nice smooth sheet. Repeat this process on setting 2 and then 3, folding the dough each time you draw it from the sheeter.

Time to switch the attachment. You could keep going down the dial and use the sheets for lasagna, or after setting three, switch to one of the pasta cutters. I chose the spaghetti attachment. You don't have to fold the dough, just run the sheet through with one hand, catching the pasta across your arm with the other, or over the back of a long handled spoon, or pasta catcher. I have a pasta drying wrack and it has one of these catchers thankfully. Drape the pasta over the drying wrack or other surface that lets them hang a bit. Now is the time to get your water boiling.

Add pasta to salted boiling water and boil for about 3-4 minutes. Fresh pasta takes less time! Drain, but DO NOT RINSE! The starches on the pasta will help your sauce adhere to it, rinsing will have it wash right off. I like restaurant-style pasta so I heated a skillet on the stove with two knobs of butter while my pasta is boiling. Add a ladle-full of the pasta water to the skillet. Add the drained pasta to the melted butter/water in the skillet. Add your sauce of choice and Parmesan cheese if you like, and toss until the pasta is coated.

Tongs are a necessary tool for this kind of pasta. It makes it so much easier to toss and plate your tasty pasta! You can freeze the cooked pasta once its cooled if, like me, you made enough for a small army! Freeze it in zip top bags in small enough portions for a quick week-night meal! Its so easy and rewarding to make your own pasta! I strongly recommend it to any who have never tried, to give it a chance!

Brightest Blessings!