Spaghetti (home made)

The rain was falling yesterday in a beautiful dance, and of course made me very pleased to be making such a savory dish as spaghetti.


I decided that since I had the day off it would be a perfect time to take the plunge into home made noodles, especially since I have a pasta machine curtsey's of my lovely mom and step father


The only thing I wish I had done was browse through the pasta machine book before starting the pasta (so I could have made egg-less noodles). However, the noodles were pretty amazing so no harm, no foul.


Pasta (egg noodle recipe):
3/4 cup durum semolina flour
3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 eggs, beaten
2 tsp salt (optional)
2 tbs water
2 tbs olive oil


Mix salt and flours, then ADD beaten eggs, water and oil and mix to form a firm dough.





Knead 10 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic. Place dough into a plastic bag (or cover with a dark towel) and allow to rest 20 minutes.







If you have a pasta machine follow directions for it. if not place dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll to desired thickness then cut.





For the pasta machine, break dough up into smaller portions and feed through the roller setting. fold it in half and feed through again. continue until you get nice "sheets" of dough, keep them a manageable size.




Allow sheets to rest for 8-10 minutes and then dust with a little flour (to prevent sticking to cutting attachment) then feed through the cutting attachment. Allow to sit an additional 8-10 minutes to dry out a bit. Then add to a pot of water (at a rolling boil) with a tbs of oil and a bit of salt.




Marinara:
4 tomatoes cored, seeded and chopped
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
1 carrot peeled, and finely diced
1 stalk celery, finely diced
1/4 -1/2 onion, finely diced
2-3 cloves of garlic, finely diced
oil
1/2 tbs Italian seasonings (or to taste)
salt
pepper




In a medium sauce pan add a bit of oil and sauté, onion, carrot, celery and garlic until cooked, adding water if necessary. 





Toss in chopped tomatoes and vinegar and cook over medium heat until boiled down.




















If you prefer a smoother sauce, transfer to a food processor (careful it's hot) and puree, transfer back to pot and add in seasonings. Continue cooking over a simmer until ready to use.




After tossing pasta into rolling boiled water, check every few minutes to see if it's done, fresh pasta quicks VERY quickly. 



Once pasta is done drain and top with fresh sauce, top with cheese if you so desire.


We ate these with the "rolls" (leftover hamburger buns from Sunday).