When I looked at the calendar last week I couldn’t believe that it was the last week in February – how did that month go by so fast? And then it hit me I hadn’t tried out a new recipe for the month yet! I couldn’t fall behind on only the second month of the year :) So as I was deciding what to make this recipe popped up in my news feed. I have been wanting to try out my new Kitchen Aid pasta attachment for months and with an empty Saturday on the horizon and these meatballs screaming “must make and eat immediately” all my problems were solved. And I’m now considering that instead of just a random recipe I should make a new Smitten Kitchen recipe each month because that is how this is turning out :) Note: see January’s here.

So the with the recipe for meatballs and some yummy marinara settled I started looking into fresh pasta recipes. I’ve made it before with white flour and a hand crank, but since we are trying to stay healthy and we prefer the taste I wanted to try a whole wheat version. I started researching to make sure the different type of flour wouldn’t affect my already tried and true recipe and discovered so much more. I stumbled across Giuliano Hazan’s tutorial and it was so easy to follow. It solves the problems of the well breaking and dry dough. I learned that you shouldn’t refrigerate the dough while its resting because pasta hates cold. And I learned the correct way to knead. So, if you’ve never attempted pasta before stop and go watch these videos. (And maybe even if you have.)

But here is what my adventure into pasta making looked like:

 

 

I started with the meatballs because Deb says it’s best to let them firm up in the fridge for 30+ minutes so they don’t lose their shape when cooking. And since the sauce cooks for 20 minutes and then the meatballs for another 25-30 (the time your dough needs to rest), the progression seemed perfect. Meatballs, sauce, dough. Though since I was new to all this they ended up hanging out in the sauce on low for an extra 30 minutes and I didn’t mind at all. They just bubbled away happily while I rolled out my sheets of pasta.

I also scooped them out using a scoop instead of forming them by hand so they would all be the same size.

Then it was on to the sauce. I took Deb’s recipe above and combined it with a few others to enhance the flavor so it would be robust enough on it’s own. Oh and instead of 1 can I used 4 – and then I put all the extra in jars (without the meatballs) and froze it so we could have sauce to use forever. Seriously, there are like 10 jars in my freezer now. Oops – thankfully my in laws gifted us a huge separate freezer as a wedding gift which between sauce and pasta is filling up quickly :)

 

Then it was on to the pasta. Giuliano says that for every egg you need 3/4 a cup of flour and that is the ratio I used. I did find I needed much more water than suggested and I think it’s because of the whole wheat flour. I added it in tablespoon increments until the dough came together (ended up being close to half a cup!). So maybe next time I’ll use an extra egg…

Start with your flour in a pile on a cutting board. I used wood because pasta hates cold, but any counter top should work fine. Then make it into a well:

Crack your eggs in the middle and instead of using your hands like a lot of chefs do – take a fork and whisk the eggs as if you were making an omelet.

Then slowly drag a bit of the flour towards the middle with the fork until you have a loose dough.

At this point you can scoop all the flour into the middle and start to mix it. The pre-mixing of the flour should help avoid a big mess. If your dough is not forming, start to add water slowly.

Then kneed. You should only have to for about 3-5 minutes and people say “you’ll know when you are done” and it’s pretty true. You should have a nice soft dough. Then wrap in plastic wrap and leave on the counter for at least 20 minutes but up to 3 hours. It needs to rest and let the gluten relax! Notice glass of tasty wine nearby… :)

Now on to the rolling. Hook your attachment up to the Kitchen Aid or secure your hand crank if using. Set the opening to 2. Then divide your dough into as many segments as you used eggs (so 3 in my case). With your hands flatten into a wide rectangular type shape, coat with a little flour, and feed through the pasta maker. I put my speed on 2 as well. Then fold in thirds, run through again, fold in half run through again. Only for the 2 setting will you run it through 3 times – the others only twice. Again this video is going to show you that better than I can tell.

Then continue with all your segments until you’ve run them through twice on the 4 setting.

Cut your sheets in half so you have shorter more manageable noodles then switch over to your pasta cutter attachment. Run through and cut your pasta.

 

As it comes out the other side grab it with your hand and fold or twist it into little nests and set on a towel to dry for later or immediately place into boiling water to eat!

I let all my nests except the one I ate dry for about 20 or so minutes and then put them into ziplock bags to freeze. I put enough to feed Scott and I into each bag but you can do it however works for you.

Then, combine your noodles, meatballs, sauce, and some fresh Parmesan in a bowl and enjoy. Even if you are still covered in flour :)

 

I think with a little more practice I could get this process down to less time, but I spent about 3 hours from starting the meatballs all the way through freezing the sauce. However now I just have to reheat and enjoy!