homemade pasta

How to Make Homemade Pasta WITHOUT a Machine

recipes, video
homemade pasta without a machine
You can make homemade pasta WITHOUT a machine. It’s easy, fun to make and delicious to eat. This pasta dish is served with a braised chicken sauce, but you can serve it with a variety of tasty sauces

This quick video shows you how to mix and shape your fresh, homemade pasta

Pasta dough recipe

2 cups all-purpose flour

3 eggs

1 tablespoon olive oil

½  teaspoon salt

Handmade Pasta Drirections

Put your flour into a large bowl.  Add beaten eggs, olive oil and salt.  Mix all the ingredients together and put onto a lightly floured counter top.  Knead your pasta dough until it becomes smooth, about 5 minutes.  Be careful not to knead in too much flour, it’s better to have a softer dough than a stiff one.

Wrap the pasta dough in plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Cut off a piece of pasta dough (keep the rest of the pasta dough wrapped in plastic until you are ready to use it)  and roll it into a rope.  Cut off 1/2 inch piece of dough and flatten it out with  the heel of you hand. Roll  the pasta around the lightly floured handle of a wooden spoon.  Slide the pasta off the spoon handle and continue with the rest of your dough.

Let the pasta dry on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper for about 10 minutes.

Boil the pasta in salted water for 3-4 minutes or until its tender.  Drain your pasta, add it to your sauce and simmer for 1 minute. Serve and enjoy

I served my pasta with the a braised chicken sauce and it was absolutely delicious.  My kids went nuts for it

Braised Chicken Pasta Sauce 

2 tablespoons olive oil

 

1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch chunks

 

5 chicken Italian sausage links, casing removed

 

1/2 cup chopped onion

 

1/4 cup chopped carrots

 

2 cloves chopped garlic

 

2 tablespoons tomato paste

 

2 cups chicken stock

 

1-14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes

 

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

 

Salt to taste

½-1 cup of water

 Heat olive oil in a wide, heavy bottomed pan over medium heat.  Brown chicken thighs and remove from pan.  Break the sausage into chunks with a spoon in the pan and brown sausage.  Remove from pan.

 

Lower the heat. Sauté onions and carrots until they begin to soften, about 4 minutes.  Add garlic and sauté for an additional 30 seconds.

 

Add tomato paste into the pan with the carrots, onion and garlic and stir for 30 seconds.  Add chicken thighs and sausage to the pan.  Next add the chicken stock, diced tomatoes, oregano and salt to the pan and stir to combine.

 

Let this simmer over medium-low heat for about an hour adding a ½ -1 cup of water if the sauce gets too thick.
Brown the chicken thighs in olive oil
Brown the chicken thighs in olive oil
Brown the sausage in the same pan
Brown the sausage in the same pan
Add tomato paste to the sauteed vegetables
Add tomato paste to the sauteed vegetables
Add diced tomatoes and chicken stock. simmer for about an hour, until the chicken is tender and the sauce is thick.
Add diced tomatoes and chicken stock. simmer for about an hour, until the chicken is tender and the sauce is thick.

 

 

 

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Fresh Pasta dough your tummy will thank you for, Homemade Agnolotti (it’s kinda like ravioli) Recipe+how to Video

recipes, video

Making fresh pasta is a lot of messy fun.  The flour may be flying but the end result is so worth it.  You really don’t need any special equipment to make fresh pasta, just a bowl and a rolling pin,  but a food processor and a pasta machine make things so much easier.

Pasta dough recipe

2 cups all-purpose flour

3 eggs

1 tablespoon olive oil

½  teaspoon salt

 

Food processor directions

Add all ingredients into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade.

Process until the dough forms a ball.

Remove the dough from the processor and knead on your floured counter top and by hand until smooth

The dough should be slightly sticky.  Wrap the dough in plastic and let it rest on the counter for 30 minutes.

Rolling the Pasta by Pasta Machine

Divide the dough into 4 sections, work with one section at a time keeping the other sections wrapped in plastic.

Sprinkle the pasta maker with a little flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking.

Set your pasta machine to the widest setting, on my machine the widest setting is number 1.  Flatten your dough into a rectangle about ¼ inch thick and roll through the pasta machine.

 Fold the pasta into thirds and roll through the pasta machine on the widest setting. Repeat the process once more. This conditions the dough and makes it less likely to tear.

Reduce the setting on your pasta machine by one and roll the dough through. Repeat the process reducing the setting on your pasta machine by one size each time until you reach your desired thickness.

You can use these pasta sheets for lasagna or cut them into fettuccine if you like.

After folding the dough, Roll the dough at the largest setting.
After folding the dough, Roll the dough at the widest  setting.  Repeat this process three times to condition the dough.  Then reduce the width setting on your machine one size each time you pass the dough through.  I rolled the dough for the agnolotti to setting 7 which is very thin.  If you try it you may want to roll your dough out to setting 6, that will be easier to work with and still thin enough.
Pipe out the filling on the pasta sheet
Pipe out the filling on the pasta sheet and fold the dough over the filling twice.  Press the dough down in one inch intervals to seal the agnolotti.  Cut between each section.  Cover any unused dough with plastic wrap to keep it from drying out
Sweet potato Agnolotti filling makes about 100 agnolotti3 medium sweet potatoes about 8 ounces each

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon granulated garlic

Roast the sweet potatoes at 350° until tender, about 1 ½ hours.  Let the potatoes cool.

Dice the sweet potatoes and place into a food processor with the blade attachment

Process until smooth. Season with salt and granulated garlic.  Add cream and process to combine.

The sweet potato filling can be made 2 days in advance and stored in your refrigerator.
This is the finished dish,Sweet potato agnolotti with sauteed bay scallops and cream. Finally an excuse to use these scallop shells I bought years ago
This is the finished dish,Sweet potato agnolotti with sauteed bay scallops and cream. Finally an excuse to use these scallop shells I bought years ago

After boiling the pasta in salted water for 2 minutes you can toss it in some browned butter and serve.  I made a cream sauce with sauteed Bay scallops and wilted spinach.

Scallops with spinach in cream sauce

 

1 pound fresh agnolotti

 

1 pound bay scallops

4 ounces spinach

1 tablespoon olive oil or butter

½ cup heavy cream

Salt and cayenne pepper     (optional) to taste

 

Boil water . Add 2 tablespoons salt to the water. Add Agnolotti and bring the water back to a boil. Cook Agnolotti for 2 minutes. Drain

Pat the scallops dry. Chiffonade spinach (cut into 1/3 inch ribbons)  Heat skillet over medium/high and add oil or butter. Sauté scallops for 2 minutes tossing to cook both sides.  Stir in spinach and cook until it wilts. Add cream and simmer 2 minutes. Season with salt and cayenne pepper

      Add cooked Agnolotti and serve

 

 

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