I confess, pasta is the only food, upon seeing a photo that actually makes me salivate! A world without pasta is a world without love in my opinion. I have to admit that I have a cupboard full of different shapes, short, long, tubular, whole grain, made with or without eggs and that’s not to mention all the Asian types, wheat, rice, buckwheat. I think I need a support group!
The first time I made homemade tagliatelle/fettuccine was a complete revelation. Like most people, I relied on fresh pasta from shops. Thinking it was fine until the fateful day I made homemade. A neighbour had loaned me her hand-crank pasta maker and off I went, making the dough in my Kitchen Aid. The pasta I made had pureed green tomatoes added to the dough and the sauce was made from red plum tomatoes, all from our garden. The pasta was velvety and the sweet/acidity from the vine ripened tomatoes made a sauce with a perfect right balance.
A few years ago I decided to make “real” Fettuccine Alfredo, tagliatelle with butter and Parmesan, for my brother who had never had fresh pasta. He took the leftovers home to reheat in the microwave the next day. When I asked how they reheated he said “I don’t know because I ate them on the bus on the way home!”
A teacher friend asked me to instruct her Grade 10 and 11 Home Ec. class in the ways of homemade pasta. I showed them how to make the dough in a processor and then the students rolled out the dough in hand-cranked machines. They were not overly impressed, or at least not yet. I made two sauces for them to try. The first one a simple tomato, garlic, EVOO and basil, the second, simply butter and Parmesan. They were very, very surprised. Comments like “I would never have thought of making homemade noodles until now”, were uplifting to hear. They loved both sauces preferring to use loads more sauce than any Italian would dress theirs with. Oh well…it takes time.
Helpful link to Fettuccine Alfredo recipe.
