Homemade pasta- nothing better!

Ever since I saw Pastor Ryan's "recipe" for homemade pasta over on The Pioneer Woman's site, I have been looking for any opportunity to make it. Well, opportunity presented itself at a farewell dinner for my oldest daughter, when she felt that a change of scenery was in order, and decided that the windy city of Chicago was in her future- 1700 miles away. As I write this, she is still on the road. Gone less than 24 hours, I truly do miss her already...

{Insert joyful smile here}

I can't believe how easy this pasta is to make! Any other time I have made pasta, it had numerous ingredients, and the end result never seemed to justify the effort. But this only requires 2 ingredients- 1 cup of flour and 2 eggs- and I always have those on hand, don't you? All you do is mix the two together, let the dough rest about 20 minutes (rest is critical to the end result), roll with a floured rolling pin super thin, and then cut with a pizza cutter into your desired shape (or use your pasta roller, however, I love the rustic look of hand cut), and boil for 2-3 minutes. It couldn't be any simpler. Just remember that the thinner the dough, the nicer the end result, and if you have a wood surface to roll your dough out on, that performs much better than a smooth surface.


Originally, I had intended on making a Bolognese sauce that Pastor Ryan had also made to partner with this recipe. But it seems that no one else in my family was feelin' it... they wanted something a bit lighter. So, I sliced up about 3 cloves of garlic, and added them to about a 1/2 c of olive oil, and warmed the oil on low heat for about twenty minutes, so as not to burn and turn bitter. I turned off the heat and set it aside. It smelled amazing...

Then, I remembered that Patsy over at Family, Friends, and Food, had made some amazing roasted tomatoes, and thought how wonderful they'd be with fresh pasta. So I roasted a pint of cherry tomatoes I had on hand...


I grabbed a large handful of fresh basil and sliced into a chiffonade...



And then combined the garlic oil, basil, and roasted tomatoes (with all the roasted juices) in a bowl with some kosher salt and pepper to taste...



Then enjoyed an absolutely delicious dish...



I love finding a recipe here and a recipe there, and combining them to make a simple, yet fabulous dish. This was an easy, yet fun recipe to make... a great one to involve your children in! I absolutely loved the chewiness of the pasta, and the fresh flavors of the garlic, basil, and tomatoes.

You know, making this pasta was so easy, it will definitely be a staple in my kitchen from now on. Seriously- 2 ingredients for the pasta..? Sweet...