In this week’s new episode of Married and Hungry, I’m teaching my beloved husband how to make pasta from scratch! If you’ve never made pasta at home, or haven’t made it with someone who hasn’t a clue of what is going on, then you’ve been missing out on some serious laughs. This Homemade Pasta with Easy Cherry Tomato Sauce is just the fun activity you need to fight those quarantine blues away. Move over homemade sourdough because homemade pasta is here and it’s so much more inviting. I’ve shared the episode below so you can watch it after reading this post if you’d like! But more importantly, give this recipe a try because at the very least, this sauce just might be your new favorite quick and easy tomato sauce! You heard it here first.
Let’s start by making the pasta dough first, since that has to rest for a tiny bit of time. Place the flour, in a mound, on a clean work surface. Sprinkle with salt and lightly toss with your fingers to combine.
**Note: I’m using a mix equal parts all-purpose flour and Italian “00” flour, but feel free to use all of AP or all of 00 if you want! The 00 flour has a bit more gluten in it and I really like the texture it gives pasta! I just buy it online on Amazon.**
Make a well in the center, crack the eggs in and add the olive oil. Use a fork to lightly beat the eggs in the center and then begin to bring in some of the flour around the center.
**Tip: I like making pasta by hand on a board like this because it’s how I learned in Culinary School, and I’ve seen so many Italian cooking videos do it like this (it’s so much fun!) but of course you can just make this in a stand mixer or in a bowl with a wooden spoon.**
Continue adding in flour from around the well that you’ve made, and keep mixing until the dough starts coming together to form a rough and shaggy dough.
Knead the dough by hand, sprinkling with a bit of flour if it is too sticky, until the dough is smooth and somewhat firm. Wrap in plastic and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
**Note: Because of the kneading, it overworks the gluten in the flour and so you might find that your dough is firm, so allowing it to rest for half an hour allows the gluten to relax and then creates a much softer dough, making it easier to work with!**
Now let’s turn our attention to the sauce. This is such an easy sauce that you can whip up in no time at all. Set a large saucepan over medium-high heat with the oil. Once hot, add in the shallot and garlic and season with a pinch of salt, pepper and the crushed red pepper flakes. Cook until softened, and just beginning to brown, about 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the cherry tomatoes, lower the flame and cover with a lid.
Cook, stirring occasionally until the tomatoes have burst and a sauce has formed, about 15 to 20 minutes. Once sauce is done, give it a taste and adjust seasoning accordingly, adding more salt or pepper as needed. Keep warm over low flame.
Let’s turn our attention back to the pasta. Cut the rested dough in half and keep one portion covered as you work with the first. Dust the piece of dough liberally with flour on both sides and then pass through your pasta roller on the widest setting. Dust both sides with flour once more and pass through the pasta roller again, but this time you’ll pass it through one setting down. Continue reducing the setting on your roller, dusting the dough, and passing it through the machine until the desired thickness is reached. At this point, you can either cut the pasta ribbons by hand or use the cutter attachment on your roller. Dust the ribbons lightly in flour and place on a floured tray as you continue rolling the rest of the dough.
**Note: I know that’s a lot to read, but there wasn’t a much easier way to write it out without so many words and still having it make sense. At the end of the day, if you don’t have a pasta roller you can totally just roll the dough out with a rolling pin, as thin as you like and then cut into ribbons with a sharp knife!**
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, season liberally with salt and add the pasta. You’ll want to cook it anywhere from 1 to 5 minutes, depending on how thick you made your noodles. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, drain the pasta and transfer to the pot with the sauce. Add about ½ cup of the pasta cooking liquid and give it all a gentle stir until well combined.
**Tip: The best part about homemade pasta, aside from it’s tender awesome taste, is that it cooks up much quicker than dried store-bought pasta!**
Divide the pasta between shallow servings dishes and top with dollops of ricotta. Garish with torn basil leaves, a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of Parmesan.
**Tip: Instead of ricotta, you can also top the pasta with burrata that you’re sort of broken up on top. That would be super delicious as well!**
I kept things vegetarian because sometimes it’s nice to not eat meat or poultry, but of course you can always add some in if you’d like. Italian sausage or even chicken sausage would be delicious in here. Just brown it the pot first, remove and then make the sauce as directed right in the same pot. Then stir in the sausage at the end.
I know that sometimes it’s not always feasible to make pasta from scratch, so of course if you’re in a pinch and just want to get dinner on the table fast, you can totally just make this with store-bought pasta. I would use the fresh pasta in the refrigerated section instead though, so you can get that homemade taste from the store! This would be great with store-bought ravioli as well.
Don’t forget to watch this week’s episode of Married and Hungry (if you haven’t already). I learned how to add the episode to this post and so you can now watch it here (below). And I do hope you’ll give this recipe a try! It’s a fun weekend project to make with whomever you live with. Let me know what you think, and as always don’t hesitate to leave a reply with any questions, comments or substitution inquires you might have. Stay safe my friends!
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CCZHl-ZnCh-/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Homemade Pasta with Easy Cherry Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
Pasta Dough:
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose or Italian 00 flour plus more for dusting
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil plus more for topping
- 2 shallots diced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- Kosher salt and coarse ground black pepper
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes optional
- 2 pints cherry tomatoes
- ½ cup ricotta cheese
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves
- ¼ cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Place the flour, in a mound, on a clean work surface. Sprinkle with salt and lightly toss with your fingers to combine. Make a well in the center, crack the eggs in and add the olive oil. Use a fork to lightly beat the eggs in the center and then begin to bring in some of the flour around the center. Continue adding in flour and mixing until the dough starts coming together to form a rough and shaggy dough.
- Knead the dough by hand, sprinkling with a bit of flour if it is too sticky, until the dough is smooth and somewhat firm. Wrap in plastic and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- In the meantime, let’s make the sauce. Set a large saucepan over medium-high heat with the oil. Once hot, add in the shallot and garlic and season with a pinch of salt, pepper and the crushed red pepper flakes. Cook until softened, and just beginning to brown, about 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the cherry tomatoes, lower the flame and cover with a lid. Cook, stirring occasionally until the tomatoes have burst and a sauce has formed, about 15 to 20 minutes. Once sauce is done, give it a taste and adjust seasoning accordingly, adding more salt or pepper as needed. Keep warm over low flame.
- Let’s turn our attention back to the pasta. Cut the rested dough in half and keep one portion covered as you work with the first. Dust the piece of dough liberally with flour on both sides and then pass through your pasta roller on the widest setting. Dust both sides with flour once more and pass through the pasta roller again, but this time you’ll pass it through one setting down. Continue reducing the setting on your roller, dusting the dough, and passing it through the machine until the desired thickness is reached. At this point, you can either cut the pasta ribbons by hand or use the cutter attachment on your roller. Dust the ribbons lightly in flour and place on a floured tray as you continue rolling the rest of the dough.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, season liberally with salt and add the pasta. You’ll want to cook it anywhere from 1 to 5 minutes, depending on how thick you made your noodles. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, drain the pasta and transfer to the pot with the sauce. Add about ½ cup of the pasta cooking liquid and give it all a gentle stir until well combined.
- Divide the pasta between shallow servings dishes and top with dollops of ricotta. Garish with torn basil leaves, a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of Parmesan. Enjoy!
Can the pasta dough be made ahead of time and put into the refrigerator until ready to make, say later that day or the next?