Dairy-Free | Mostly Beans

This classic pasta recipe is just about perfect. One batch is enough for skillet lasagna or about 4 servings, approximately.

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Classic Semolina Pasta

Fresh pasta that can't be beat

Prep Time2 30

Total Time2 30

Course: Ingredient

Cuisine: Comfort Food, Italian

Keyword: Basics, Pasta

Servings: servings

Calories: 297kcal

Equipment

Pasta press (e.g., Kitchenaid attachment)
Rotary cutter
Noodle rack

Ingredients

1 cup semolina flour
1 cup bread flour or all-purpose flour
1 large egg
½ tbsp olive oil
¼ tsp salt
½ cup cold water

Instructions

Combine the semolina flour, bread flour, and salt in a large bowl. Using a fork, mix these ingredients together, then using a sifter, sift into another bowl. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, crack the egg and beat well with a fork. Add the olive oil and mix well. Add the cold water and mix well again.
Pour the liquid ingredients into your mixer bowl and attach the flat beater. Add half of the sifted flour mixture, turn to speed 2 and mix 20 seconds. Add the rest of the sifted flour mixture and mix an additional 20 seconds.
Exchange flat beater for the dough hook. Turn to speed 2 and knead for 2 to 3 minutes, until a dough ball is formed. Stop mixing and scrape down the sides as necessary to get it form a ball. Continue kneading for a few minutes. Good pasta dough should be elastic and pliable, but FIRM (not soft like bread dough). It should not stick to your fingers or fall apart. To test for the correct consistency, pinch a small amount of dough together after kneading for 2 to 3 minutes — if the dough stays together without sticking to your fingers or falling apart, it should work well. If too soft, add more flour by dusting the top of the dough and knead some more, continuing to dust the dough with flour until achieving the right consistency. If too dry, sprinkle the dough with a bit of water (less than 1 tsp at a time) and knead some more.
Wrap dough in plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator for a minimum of 1 hour (this step is very important).
Remove dough from refrigerator and let it rest for 15 minutes still wrapped. Using your hands, roll dough into a log, about 6-inches long. Cut the log into 6 slices, then flatten each piece slightly. Spread slices out so they aren't touching and cover with plastic wrap. Put out a sprinkling of bread flour that you will use to make sure the exterior of the pasta stays low-friction as it gets compressed by the pasta roller.
Using the widest setting on the pasta press, turn mixer to speed 2 and take one piece of the flattened dough coated in a bit of flour and feed through the rollers. Fold dough in half and roll again. Repeat 3 more times, lightly dusting the sheet of pasta with flour in between each rolling if it feels the slightest bit sticky.
Move adjustment knob to setting 2 and feed the dough sheet through the rollers only once. Continue to increase roller setting until desired dough thickness is reached: 4 for standard egg noodles; 4 or 5 for lasagna noodles, fettuccine, spaghetti, and ravioli; 6 or 7 for tortellini, thin fettuccine, and linguine fini; 7 or 8 for VERY thin "angel-hair" type pasta or a very fine linguine.
Once desired thickness is achieved, place sheets on a flat surface to cut into noodles (if desired) using the rotary cutter. You may need to cut sheets in half if they have grown too long for standard noodle length.
After cutting each sheet, hang to dry on a floured pasta rack. Dry for a minimum of 10 minutes. IMPORTANT: Flour the pasta rack or the plastic hangers before placing pasta on them. ALSO, separate the strips of pasta as best you can, so they aren't touching. This way they won't dry sticking together. If you want to dry the pasta for later use, dry for several hours and then store in airtight containers or bags.
When ready to cook, boil your water and add salt. Fresh pasta will cook faster than commercially bought pasta – about 4 to 5 minutes in vigorously boiling water for al dente.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Classic Semolina Pasta

Amount Per Serving

Calories 297 Calories from Fat 36

% Daily Value*

Fat 4g6%

Saturated Fat 1g6%

Trans Fat 1g

Cholesterol 47mg16%

Sodium 164mg7%

Potassium 127mg4%

Carbohydrates 53g18%

Fiber 2g8%

Sugar 1g1%

Protein 11g22%

Vitamin A 68IU1%

Calcium 19mg2%

Iron 2mg11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

This is a classic from the archives – nearly seven years old as I update and retype this in 2021. This is homemade gourmet at its best.

This makes two separate servings of two. Refrigerate or freeze the excess pasta and use only half of the “sauce” ingredients per each time you cook it.

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Spinach Pasta

Prep Time1 30

Cook Time15

Total Time1 45

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: California

Keyword: Pasta

Servings: servings

Calories: 708kcal

Equipment

Food processor
Pasta rollers

Ingredients

Pasta

10 oz frozen spinach thawed, pressed, and chopped
4 cups all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
1 tbsp water

2 pints cherry tomatoes halved
1 tsp salt
4 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp red pepper flakes

Instructions

Make Pasta

To remove moisture from the spinach, microwave it for a about 1 minute and then press as much water out of it as you can in a mesh strainer. Use towels (or paper towels) to further dry it. Once as dry as possible, chop it in a food processor until very fine.
With the flat beater on, combine the spinach and 4 cups flour into the stand mixer bowl and stir them up a bit. Then add the 4 eggs and 1 tbsp water and mix with the flat beater for about 30 seconds until it comes together.
4 cups all-purpose flour, 4 large eggs, 1 tbsp water
Switch to the dough hook and mix on low for about 2 minutes. Remove the dough and knead by hand for a few minutes, adding extra flour to the get the right consistency, which is stiff, but pliable and not sticky at all.
Let the dough rest for at least 30 minutes. Do not refrigerate or it will be too cold.
Cut the dough ball into eight equal pieces and work on one piece at a time. Use plenty of flour. Start with the widest setting on the roller and put it through a few times, folding it over in half in between passes. At the end your sheet should be the exact width of you pasta roller. If the dough starts to stick at all, dust the sheet of pasta with flour. Then you can work it through the roller until it gets down to your desired thickness (setting 4 is ideal for thick but manageable pasta).
Cut the pasta as desired and hang to dry on a pasta tree.

Storing Extra Noodles

Place nests of pasta in a freezer bag and store until you want to cook them (no more than one month is ideal).

Cooking the Pasta

For fresh or frozen pasta, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. When it’s boiling, add your pasta. After 3 or 4 minutes all the pasta should be floating and that means it’s done.

For the Basic Sauce

As the pasta is cooking, add 1 pint of halved cherry tomatoes with 2 tbsp of olive oil to a large skillet and put it over high heat with 1 tsp of red pepper flakes and 1 tsp salt. Don’t completely cook down the tomatoes, just heat them up and get the flavors to combine some. Turn the heat to low.
2 pints cherry tomatoes, 1 tsp salt, 4 tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp red pepper flakes
When the pasta is done you can use tongs to pull it out of the water and add it straight to the pan with the tomatoes, allowing a bit of the pasta water to come with the noodles. Stir a bit to cook off the pasta water and serve immediately.

Notes

Serves 4

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Spinach Pasta

Amount Per Serving

Calories 708 Calories from Fat 180

% Daily Value*

Fat 20g31%

Saturated Fat 4g25%

Trans Fat 1g

Cholesterol 164mg55%

Sodium 742mg32%

Potassium 975mg28%

Carbohydrates 109g36%

Fiber 7g29%

Sugar 7g8%

Protein 23g46%

Vitamin A 10002IU200%

Vitamin C 58mg70%

Calcium 165mg17%

Iron 10mg56%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.