4 Delicious Herbs and Spices Sauces That Will Instantly Lighten Up Your Meals

Any food can be dull and boring without the right amount of flavor. Put some life to your cooking with delicious sauces made with healthy ingredients like herbs and spices. So whether you are in the mood for something salty, spicy or sweet - enjoy a fulfilling snack or dinner with these amazingly easy herbs and spices sauce recipes!

1. Classic Herb Pasta Sauce

What you need:

• 1 medium egg
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup mushrooms
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed dried herbs

Whisk egg and heavy cream in a bowl then set aside. In a skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Cook mushrooms until browned then stir in flour, Italian seasoning, salt and dried herbs. Mix until smooth. Add chicken broth and wine then bring to a simmer. Gradually stir in egg and cream mixture then heat sauce through until thickened. Serve over any type of pasta.

2. Green Yogurt Dip

What you need:

• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon chopped green onion
• 1 teaspoon chopped cilantro
• 1 teaspoon chopped parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon celery salt

Mix together all ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir to combine ingredients well. Cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours. Serve as a dipping sauce for chips, fresh vegetables or meat.

3. Herbed Ranch Dressing

What you need:

• 2 green onions, minced
• 2 shallots, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 2 tablespoons minced red bell pepper
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh dill
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh cilantro
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• Ground black pepper to taste

In a mixing bowl, make a paste by mixing the minced garlic with salt. When the two ingredients are mixed thoroughly, mix in green onion, shallots, red bell pepper, parsley, dill, cilantro and lime juice then season with red bell pepper. Add the mayonnaise, buttermilk and sour cream. Using a wire whisk, beat until all ingredients are well-combined and mixture is smooth. Cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours before serving.

4. Cheesy Herb Pesto

What you need:

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup fresh spinach leaves
• 1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh oregano
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor then process until smooth. Use as a dip or sauce for fresh pasta or cooked meat.

Add some life to ordinary home-cooked meals with these appetizing herbs and spices sauce recipes!

Chicken Pasta Bake

You happen to be longing for a satisfying and enjoyable meal for tonight? The comfort of a hot, gooey chicken fresh pasta bake embellishing the dinner table is the best solution for this kind of situation.

This specific recipe is quite reminiscent of chicken pot pie. It calls for cooking up a pasta dish sufficiently good to be served alone then stacking on another layer of ease and comfort by baking it in bread crumbs. If this may sound like it's clicking the mark for you, this is how you could serve your very own up tonight!

Ingredients for Chicken Pasta Bake

• 1-2/3 cup uncooked egg noodles or quite similar pasta 
• 3 Tablespoons butter 
• 1 stalk of celery 
• 1/4 cup onion 
• 2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup 
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar Cheese
• 2 cups milk
• 1 one lb bag frozen peas/carrot mix
• 3 cups cooked, cubed chicken
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs

Cooking the Pasta and Vegetables

When you've got vegetables that could be easily acquired fresh from a store nearby and especially if they are in season, it's best to utilize them. Of course, there is always the option of frozen veggies too when they aren't in season or maybe the current costs are too high. In this recipe, we'll be utilising both fresh and frozen vegetables.

Begin by dicing up the frozen vegetables as well as the fresh veggies. When you're done chopping, put the vegetables away and off to one side.

As soon as that's done, it's about time to start cooking the pasta. You can utilize egg noodles or make your own pasta noodles, though it is probably better to use shorter pasta for example macaroni or rigatoni as you will probably be baking it later and it'll be less difficult to balance where the pasta is.

Take a large pot of water into a boil at a high temperature. Add in whatever pasta you're using and cook until slightly tender. Dependent upon the size and thickness of the pasta, this could take anywhere from around 8-12 minutes. As soon as tender, drain the noodles in a colander then put back into the pot away and off to the side.

This is a good time to start preheating the oven to 350 degrees. Given that you'll be baking soon, this could give your oven plenty of time to heat up and be all set once when the pasta is perfectly ready.

Cooking the Chicken Pasta

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Your vegetables are cut, your noodles are already boiled perfectly and also your oven is heating, so it's time to start assembling the pasta bake filling.

Pick up a medium size saucepan and put butter inside it on medium heat. Have the butter melt completely. Add some onions and celery that you chopped up earlier to the melted butter. Cook for roughly 5-6 minutes permitting the veggies to get coated evenly with the butter during this time period.

The soup, milk along with the cheese can be put in at this time. Now it's starting to look really good while the sauce begins to thicken and become progressively more creamy with every mix. Stirring should continue until all the cheese has fully melted.

Now dump the frozen vegetables, filling mixture, and chicken on the pot together with the pasta inside it. Give it time to cook over medium heat adding salt and pepper for flavoring. Continue mixing and tasting till you feel it has attained the taste you are looking at.

Baking the Chicken Pasta Bake

Spray a 9 x 13 pan with non-stick cooking spray and add the chicken pasta mixture into it. Put on a good layer of bread crumbs all over the top, covering the filling thoroughly.

After 30 minutes or so, the chicken pasta bake should have a fantastic golden crust and be all set to pull out off the oven. Though the smell can be alluring, it is probably far better to wait a bit of time and permit it to cool off before serving. After it is cooled, share this stress-free dish with all of the ones you love!

Pasta Recipes - The Very Best in Italian Cuisine!

These pasta recipes are excellent for dinners or parties.

In this article, I'm going to share with you three delicious fresh pasta recipes that you can prepare for any occasion that suits you. The recipes are very easy and can be prepare in less than 30 minutes.

So, here we go...

Lemon Tuna Pasta

4 tsp Butter
18 Black olives, pitted & sliced
1 tsp Oil; olive
2 can Tuna; chunk, drained
4 large Garlic cloves, chopped
Pasta; penne, cooked and drained
1/8 cup Lemon juice
4 tsp Butter (add at end)
3 tsp Capers, drained

Melt butter with oil in skillet. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes. Add lemon juice, capers and olives and cook another 2 minutes. Turn heat to lowest setting. Add tuna & separate it (do NOT flake) with a fork. Heat through, stirring gently. Drain pasta. Add remainder of butter and sauce to hot pasta, tossing well.

Tomato Soup with Pasta

3 tbsp Olive oil
1/2 tsp Black pepper
1 small Onion, chopped
1 tsp Basil
1 lb Tomatoes, chopped
3 pt Stock
1 Carrot, sliced
1 cup Small pasta / broken vermicelli
1 Celery stick, sliced
1 tbsp Chopped parsley
1 tsp Salt

Heat oil in soup pot & gently fry the onion for 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, carrot & celery. Mix well with the oil. Sprinkle in the seasonings & stir together. Fry for 3 minutes. Add stock & bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes then add pasta. When pasta is tender, serve, garnished with parsley.

Both Pasta Recipes yield 4 servings

If you are concerned about your health and think that the above pasta recipes are too rich in calories, here is one recipe that I'm sure you'll love

Broccoli-Pasta Toss

2 cups Broccoli flowerets
3 tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated
4 oz Fettuccine, broken up
1 tsp Sesame seed, toasted
1 tbsp Oil, cooking
1/8 tsp Garlic powder

In a large saucepan cook broccoli and pasta in a large amount of boiling water for 6 -8 minutes or just until tender, stirring once or twice. Drain. Add oil to pasta mixture and toss. Add cheese, sesame seeds, garlic, and pepper to taste. Toss gently to coat. Serve immediately. 4 servings.

PER SERVING: 168 cal., 6g Pro., 24g carbo., 5g fat, 3mg chol., 72mg sodium.

Pasta salad:

Has this ever happened to you? Youve been invited to a party and realize you dont have a meal to bring. Not only that, but the party starts in an hour. What should you do?

You have four options:

Dont go, and miss out on a really fun time.

Show up empty-handed and explain red-faced that you forgot.

Grab a casserole dish and head to the deli. Order your food and have them put it right into your casserole dish. Yes, Ive gone this. Its expensive but it works. If you get asked for the recipe, just wink and say Its Grandmas secret recipe.

Whip up a big batch of pasta salad for only a few dollars, and have plenty left over to eat for lunch during the week. You will save money and look good showing up at the party with a great dish.

Pasta salad is truly one of the easiest meals to prepare. All you need are noodles and salad dressing. You can use pretty much any salad dressing on the market the standards like Italian, Ranch, or, if youre ambitious, your favorite homemade dressing.

Now for the fun part. Cook the noodles, following package directions and then drain. Pour the dressing on while the noodles are warm so they will absorb all that good oily flavor.

Look around your kitchen to see if you have any of the following ingredients:

Fresh veggies carrots, broccoli, green onions

Frozen vegetables frozen peas are wonderful in pasta salad

Cubed or shredded cheese

Garbanzo beans (also known as Chick Peas)

Black Olives

Toss in whatever you can find. Its an everything goes type of recipe. Bring more dressing with you in case you need to add it later, and voila! Youre done.

Macaroni & Cheese Crockpot Method

 Mac and Cheese is my little guys all time favorite food! He could eat bowls and bowls of it. I make box mac and cheese a lot but every once in a while I like to make the good stuff, made from scratch! I made this slow cooker mac and cheese for a play date that we had a few weeks ago. I threw everything in the slow cooker, mixed it every so often, and then lunch was ready! All the kids and moms really enjoyed it! 

Ingredients

• 1 lb elbow macaroni pasta, large
• 1 cup Cheez-It Grooves, crushed
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 3 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• 3 cup jack cheese, grated
• 1/2 cup parmesean cheese, grated
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoon flour
• 2 teaspoon creole seasoning
• 2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt for pasta water

Instructions

• Preheat oven to broil.
• Bring a large pot of water to boil, add about 2 teaspoonfuls of salt to water.
• Add pasta to water and cook according to package directions minus 1 minute.
• Drain and rinse pasta, toss in a little olive oil and set aside.
• In a medium skillet add 1 tablespoonful of olive oil over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of butter, add diced onion and cook for about 5 minutes.
• Add flour and cook a few minutes more.
• Add seasonings and mix well.
• Reduce heat to medium-low.
• Add heavy cream and add cheese by the cupful, mixing well after each addition.
• Taste mixture and adjust seasonings if needed.
• Fold in pasta and mix well.
• Transfer mixture to a casserole dish and top with extra cheese and crushed Cheez-It's.
• Broil for about 5 minutes.

Check out here for more recipes and also for pasta delivery Singapore.

Pasta Salad - 3 Quick Meals in Minutes

Pasta salads are a great way to make a quick meal any day of the week. In the time it takes to cook the pasta you can prepare your additional ingredients and serve your meal in no time.

These easy pasta recipes are simple to make with just a few ingredients and are flavorful ideas for when you want a simple and fast meal. Each of these recipes will make approximately two servings.

You will also find some simple serving suggestions for each pasta salad to make meal planning a breeze.

Broccoli Pasta Salad

- 1 cup cooked whole-grain rotini pasta

- 2 cups broccoli florets - (cut into bite-size pieces and steamed lightly if desired)

- ½ cup canned, drained mandarin orange segments - (reserve juice from oranges)

- ½ cup bottled honey Dijon dressing

- 1 tablespoon (or as desired) of reserved juice from oranges

- 2 tablespoon sliced almonds

Instructions:

- Combine all ingredients in a bowl and toss well. Adjust dressing to taste, if needed.

Quick Meal Ideas:

Pasta and Seafood:

Combine shelled, cooked shrimp with some chopped tomato, celery and cilantro with a squeeze of lemon juice and serve along with this easy salad.

Quick Pasta Meal:

Make a simple presentation of this quick pasta salad by serving it on a bed of mixed salad greens along with sliced and toasted French bread spread with olive tapenade.

Optional Additions:

* Add crumbled cooked bacon, or some canned, drained and flaked tuna or browned and cubed tempeh.

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Creamy Garlic Pasta Salad

- 2 cups cooked whole-grain penne pasta

- 1 cup cherry tomatoes - (cut tomatoes in half)

- ½ cup pitted kalamata olives - (cut each olive in half)

- ½ cup low-fat mayonnaise or low-fat plain yogurt

- 1 clove of garlic - (minced)

Instructions:

- In a bowl, combine the pasta, tomatoes and olives.

- In a smaller bowl, combine the mayonnaise or yogurt with the garlic and stir to combine.

- Add the garlic mixture to the salad ingredients and toss well.

Quick Meal Ideas:

Quick Pasta Meal:

For an easy and quick meal idea, try serving this pasta salad with a bowl of black bean soup.

Salad Meal:

Serve salad on a bed of romaine lettuce and baby spinach leaves along with sweet and sour pickles or dill pickles.

Optional Additions:

* Add some roughly chopped fresh basil.

* Add some extra vegetables like sliced green bell peppers and/or marinated artichoke hearts.

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Easy Pesto Pasta Salad

- 3 cups cooked whole-grain rotelle pasta

- 1 ½ cups red bell pepper - (diced)

- 1 hard cooked egg - (chopped)

- ½ cup prepared basil pesto or sun-dried tomato pesto

Instructions:

- In a bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix well.

Quick Meal Ideas:

Quick Pasta Meal:

Serve salad along with thinly sliced smoked salmon layered on tomato slices and drizzled with some fresh squeezed lemon juice.

Salad Meal:

For an easy meal, try serving salad with steamed broccoli and mushrooms tossed with olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper.

Optional Additions:

* Add some capers and/or oil-cured olives.

Check out here for Pasta Delivery Singapore.

Pasta Alla Carbonara Recipe

Some carbonara facts:
There are so many varieties of carbonara that it is hard to sort them out. Typically carbonara is made with pancetta or guanciale, egg yolk, and parmesan cheese mixed in spaghetti. Pancetta is a bacon that has been salt cured and spiced with nutmeg, pepper, fennel, dried ground hot peppers and garlic usually and dried for about three months. It is typically not smoked (I will show you how to make it in a later article).

On the other hand, guanciale is a smoked bacon with pigs jowls mixed in. I lean toward pancetta and rarely use guanciale (can't get used to the taste). In the US, sometimes cream is used in the recipe, but this is not typical in Italy. I give some variations on carbonara, but the recipe below is my favorite. Oh, by the way, carbonara is Italian for charcoal and has led to the idea that it was a coal miners spaghetti (nonsense - no one probably knows the origins of carbonara).

A delicacy
I would like to think that my carbonara is more of a delicacy than a staple. It is a less traditional recipe than one would find in homes in Italy. But it is so creamy and delicious that my mouth waters just thinking about it. Try my recipe below and then move on to some of the variations I suggest to see what you prefer. It is a great dish for social gatherings.
Ingredients (4 to 5 servings):

8 slices pancetta (you can substitute applewood smoked bacon if you want a more typical American dish)
1 large onion chopped (you can use leeks but make sure you only use the white tender parts)
2 large eggs at room temperature
½ cup parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 pound linguine (you can use spaghetti but I don't like it because it is hard to mix with the other ingredients)

Pancetta
Cook the pancetta in a large skillet over medium high heat until done - about 8 minutes (I don't like it crisp but you may wish to reduce the fat by cooking until crisp). Remove the pancetta with a slotted spoon to a plate covered with a paper towel to drain (dice or chop into fine pieces). Add the onions and sauté over medium high heat until tender (about 6 minutes).

Pasta
At the same time, cook the pasta in salted water al dente style (it literally means cook the pasta enough to still have a slight resistance to the pasta when chewed - but this is a matter of taste and I recommend what you are comfortable with). Drain the pasta but reserve at least ½ cup of the liquid that you cooked the pasta in.

Mixing
Whisk the eggs and parmesan cheese in a bowl and then whisk in ¼ cup of the reserved pasta liquid. Meanwhile, add the pasta to the onions and stir while heating. Remove the pasta and onions and then pour the egg mixture over the pasta. Stir until the sauce is a wonderful creamy consistency and the eggs are no longer raw (less than 2 minutes). Return the mixture to a very low heat (do not overcook because the eggs will curdle). Add some of the pasta liquid if the pasta seems dry. Stir in the pancetta and parsley and serve adding salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese to taste.

Voila
I love the opportunities for variation with this dish. The most common carbonara calls for egg yolks instead of eggs. So you can substitute 4 egg yolks for the 2 eggs in the above recipe (I hate to waste the whites). If you have a trim waste line you can add ½ cup heavy cream to the egg mixture and 2 garlic cloves (diced).
Jack Botticelli

Like to eat ready made oven baked pasta? Check out http://cirrusculinnaire.com/

Low Fat Pasta: Why and How to Make it.

Making your own pasta is not difficult. It's actually very easy to cook.

But you may wonder why would you make your own pasta, when you can buy it pre-packed, and ready to cook?

Well, one reason is that by making your own, you eat fresh pasta. There is a difference of taste and texture between fresh pasta and pre-packed pasta.

But there is another reason: if you make your own pasta, you may want to use nutritius ingredients, ensuring that your pasta not only tastes good, but it is also low in fat, and generally good for you.

For instance, you may want to make your own low fat pasta with unrefined flour, ensuring that your pasta is rich in fibre and B complex Vitamins.

Finally, learning to make your own basic pasta dough is the first skill towards preparing other (more advanced?) types of pasta dishes like lasagna, raviolli, tortellini, and that type of thing.

It's not such a difficult thing to do, and it can be a fun process.

You see, normally you make pasta with refined wheat flour, eggs and salt.

But if you want low fat pasta, you need to use water instead of eggs, and you have to give salt a miss.

This recipe makes about 750 g of low fat pasta (about 1.5 pounds), and it takes about 50 minutes to make.

To make your own low fat basic pasta you need:

* 500 g (1 pound) of strong wholemeal flour

* 275 ml (a bit over a cup) of water.

This is what you do:

First, put the flour in a large mixing bowl and make a well in the middle (like a volcano, sort of thing).

Then, pour in the water, and mix with a knife till the dough binds.

After that, you start mixing with your hands and knead it till all the flour is evenly incorporated into the dough.

Move the dough to a kitchen bench, and knead it for about 10 minutes, till it becomes smooth and elastic.

Next, put the dough into a plastic (zip lock) bag and leave it there for about 30 minutes.

Then, take a quarter of the dough and roll it out by hand on a slightly floured surface. Roll it very thin. Leave it to rest and dry before using it.

Freeze whatever you don't use. It will remain good for up to 3 months.

You will be able to use this basic low fat pasta to make many of my delicious recipes.

Fresh egg pasta

We'll be making fresh egg pasta. With this recipe you can make hundreds of different types of pasta, from lasagne and ravioli to tortellini and tagliatelle. Let's see what we'll need.
3 ¼ cups (400 g) of all-purpose flour
A pinch of salt
4 eggs (weighing at least 2,5 oz/70 g each)

 
 Let's make our pasta.

Begin by making a pile of the flour on a worktop. Make a deep, wide indentation in the centre big enough to hold the eggs. Now pour the eggs into the centre, add a pinch of salt and after this break the yolks with a fork and beat them lightly. Be sure to keep the flour piled as to contain the eggs, and with the fork bring the flour little by little into the eggs. When the eggs have become more pasty, you can begin to knead it out with your hands.

Now you can mix it with your fingers by pulling the flour little by little into the centre 
Now, as you can see the eggs are completely absorbed into the flour. I rubbed my hands together to get the last of the dough off and now it's time to knead the dough vigorously for at least 15 minutes to achieve a very smooth dough. You can use a spatula to bring any little bits of pasta together to knead them back into the dough. This recipe is for enough pasta for 4 people. For each serving of pasta, you'll need 1 egg and 1 cup of flour.

We're almost there. This is the movement you should use to knead your dough: Take the dough, fold it towards you, and knead it away from you. Turn the dough 90 degrees and do it again. Doing it this way will result in a smooth and uniform pasta. Now we need to let the dough rest. Take a bit of saran wrap, cover the dough completely, and let it rest for a half an hour in a cool place. This will render the dough elastic and easy to work with.

Here we are. At this point we're about halfway done. I say "almost done" because a good pasta should be about as thick as a piece of paper -- yes, you heard correctly... a piece of paper. To do this, hold the dough with one hand and push the rolling pin out to elongate the dough. Then, turn 90 degrees and repeat. You should put pressure on the pin when moving away and release pressure when bringing it back. Another quarter turn and continue until you have the proper thickness.

Here we are almost at our goal. I've stopped to show how you work it next. I'm at a thickness of about a millimeter but not yet as thin as a sheet of paper. The work from here on out is the same, roll it away from you, a quarter turn of the dough and continue until the dough is at the proper thickness.

And here are just some of the hundreds of shapes you can make when you've formed your dough. Here are tagliolini, tagliatelle and pappardelle. I've made these by rolling the dough into a tube and cutting slices of the right size. For tagliolini, cut slices of 1/16 of an inch. I advise unrolling them right after cutting. For the tagliatelle, about a 1/4 inch will do, for pappardelle cut over a half an inch. Here are quadrucci which are perfect for cooking in a broth or soup. Layer strips of about 3/8 inch thick and cut little squares like this. Here we have farfalle. To make these, cut rectangles 1/8 inch by ¼ inch and pinch in the centre. If you'd like a zig-zag edge, make all vertical cuts with a zig-zag ravioli roller. For lasagne cut sheets at 5 ½ by 6 inches, however you can cut them according to the size of the dish you'll be using. From lasagne sheets you can make cannelloni by putting a strip of filling about an inch from the edge and rolling like this. Then place them in your oven dish. What about the leftover bits of pasta? Maltagliati which means "poorly cut" in Italian -- run a roller over the remaining pasta in any direction you want. Now you can choose whichever pasta you like, or whichever you need for your dish.

Click here for more Fresh Pasta.

Make Your Own Fresh Pasta At Home

Calling all pasta lovers! There's a strong reason behind our love for pasta. It is food fit for kings... only, Italian kings. If you are currently reading this article, there's a good chance you love pasta. You could live on pasta all your life! Because even though you are a fan of chocolate fondue, or other types of crappy junk food, you genuinely love pasta. Of course you do, who doesn't!

The whole idea of having a bowl of creamy spaghetti or lasagne al dente for dinner is itself mouth-watering. But let me tell you something, if you make your pasta fresh at home, your dinner will taste 10 times better than any takeout menu. And that's why I'm bringing the perfect recipe for you, on how to make fresh homemade fresh pasta - right from scratch. Frankly speaking, making your own pasta is skill every pasta lover should know. Because it doesn't require much effort, only love for top quality food should suffice.

It's such a simple process and doesn't take more than 15 minutes to whip up. So here we go...

For this recipe you'll need to have these ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

tsp salt

3 eggs

1 tbsp whole fat milk

1 teaspoon olive oil

Method: For starters, you need to sieve the all purpose flour and salt through a clean and dry sieve. And then, sift it on a clean and dry pastry board or counter. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, and olive oil until well blended and light. Make sure to whisk it all in one single direction and a steady speed. If you aren't comfortable using a hand held whisk, you can use a food processor on medium speed. Making a well in the flour, pour the egg mixture into it gradually (a little at a time) and mix it using your fingers.

Pour all the wet mixture into the dry mixture and combine it well with your fingers. Be very gentle as pasta needs to be handled with tender love and care. Once the mixture is combined well, you will be left with a soft ball of dough. Now what you need to do is, lightly flour the surface of the pastry board and knead the dough on it.

Fold the dough in half bringing the opposite side towards you and knead it with the ball of your palm, pushing it away from you. Keep turning the dough and continue to knead in this manner for 5 minutes adding some flour as and when necessary. Then wrap the dough in a plastic wrap and let it stand for 15 minutes.

Unwrap the dough after 15 minutes and knead briefly for 2 minutes. Now, using a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough into an 8 inch circle with a thickness of 1/8th of an inch. Okay, I know we all are terrible at measurements, so you'll just have to trust your own instincts. But just for the record - 1/8th of an inch is approximately as thick as a slice of cheese wrapped in thin plastic.

Once you have the circle ready, make sure it's even. Let it rest on the surface for 2-3 minutes or until dry. Finally, roll the dough-circle on the rolling pin very lightly so that it hangs on it. And slip the pin out. Now let the dough fall flat on the surface and using a sharp knife slice it into thin long strips of equal width or any shape that you fancy. At this moment, your pasta is ready to be dried. Hang it on a pasta-drier or suspend some clean and dry chopsticks on a deep dish and hang the pasta on them. Once thoroughly dried (for 2-3 hours), store it in an air tight container.

How to Make Fresh Pasta

Making homemade Fresh Pasta is such an easy task that a child could do it. The rule of thumb is to count 1 whole egg to 3½ ounces flour. The rest is a little salt, olive oil and water as necessary. You could knead and roll the pasta dough with a rolling pin or use a pasta machine. 

This weekend we used the pasta attachments of the Kitchenaid and played around with different shapes and finally agreed on making spaghetti. It turned out beautifully and we let the pasta air dry. Boiled in salted water, it tasted wonderful with pesto.

Ingredients

Yields: 1 pound (4 servings)

½ cup semolina flour
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
3 whole eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon granulated sugar (optional)
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ cup pesto sauce (click on the link for the recipe)

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Directions

In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs with sugar (if used) until they're pale; the texture of the eggs will be thicker. Add cayenne pepper (if used).Note: You could also just lightly beat the eggs with a fork.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the semolina and 1½ cups all-purpose flour (the remaining flour is for dusting the pasta so it doesn't stick). Add salt. Form a well and place the egg mixture into the indentation. Form a dough ball and knead the dough until combined. Drizzle with olive oil. Cover with a damp towel, place the bowl in a warm spot and let rest for about 1 hour. 

Divide the dough into 3 portions. The dough should be neither too sticky nor too dry.  Dust a flat work space (or a board) with a generous amount of flour. Roll out each ball with a rolling pin, then pass through a pasta roller machine, using the thickest setting. Dust the pasta sheet with a little flour on both sides to prevent them from sticking to the machine. Repeat 2-3 times. For the last time through, use setting "3" of the Kitchenaid flat roller pasta attachment. Lastly, pass through the spaghetti cutter.

Keep the spaghetti strands separated and dusted with flour; let them air dry for at least 30 minutes before boiling them, hanging the pasta on long chopsticks over large, deep mixing bowls. Note: You could skip this step and let the spaghetti dry on a large tray dusted with flour.

Boil the pasta for 10-15 minutes. Drain, transfer to a mixing bowl, cover with pesto sauce and toss well.

PASTA PROCRASTINATION

Fresh pasta

You’ll need:

3 1/2 cups of flour 

5 medium eggs

Water to moisten as needed

Shape flour into a mound on a large flat surface (wood is ideal, but I used a large Corian cutting board, and any flat, clean surface will work) and form a large well in the middle of the flour. Crack the eggs in the well.

Using a fork, scramble the eggs inside the well and slowly begin to incorporate the flour working your way from the inside out.

You’ll have a shaggy mess on your hands at this point. If it’s too dry to incorporate into one ball of dough, add water. It should be sticky, but workable.

Add some more flour to your work surface and begin to knead the dough. If it’s too tough and hard to work with, add a little more water. Knead for 6-8 minutes. You’ll know the dough is ready when it’s smooth, elastic and doesn’t stick to surfaces.

Cover your dough with plastic wrap and let it rest for 20 minutes. This is a very important step.

If you’re attempting to hand-roll your pasta, more power to ya. For your sanity, I recommend the mechanical route.

Cut the dough into four or eight pieces (eight is easier to work with, but if you want long, wide sheets of lasagna, for example, you might want to do four). Flatten the first piece to about 1/2-inch thick with your palm or a rolling pin, and feed it through the pasta maker, starting with the largest thickness setting (usually the “1” setting).

Incrementally increase the setting each time you feed the dough through the pasta maker.

My pasta was a tiny bit too thick, I think, so next time I’ll follow the tips I found: pasta should absolutely be no thicker than 1/16 of an inch and a good rule of thumb is to roll it out to the second-to-thinnest thickness setting on your pasta maker. Repeat this with the other portions of dough and cut pasta to the desired shape. I ran my sheets through another attachment to make linguini.

Dust your cut pasta with flour and dry on a drying rack or flat surface for 20 minutes or so. If you aren’t ready to cook it right away, freeze in plastic bags for later use. Cook fresh pasta for 2-3 minutes and prepare as desired.