Being part of a wonderful online community can be so rewarding. I have met online and some in real is many wonderful people from all over the world. Often you follow your new friend’s blogs regularly and comments are always mutually left. It can be quite inspiring.

But there is a dark side too! Oh yes you have to beware! A blog you follow can one day post a recipe that will become your obsession. You will not rest until you make this recipe yourself. Days can go by and you remain always haunted by the craving of replicating and tasting that recipe you read on XYZ’s blog. This post is dedicated to such a situation.

Homemade pasta! It was actually the second time Joumana posted a recipe about pasta in a relatively short period of time. I have made pasta in the past a few times but always thought it was so much trouble. But her two posts planted a deep rooted seed into my foodie subconscious: I wanted homemade pasta and I wanted it NOW! So I made my first batch at home and love it so much I called Stef and told him we were making homemade pasta that weekend. Turns out our friend Gege was in town too so she brought a long a rolling pin. No fancy pasta machines for us! The only condition was Stef asked if he could be in charge of making the sauce as well!

What attracted me to this recipe was the easy of making the dough. Three ingredients at minimum and a food processor. Unfortunately I did not keep track of Stef’s pasta sauce but I can assure you it was absolutely delicious. And he got to prepare it in his brand new Chef’s coat, a belated birthday gift he got from Gege that very day.

Easy Homemade Pasta

Ingredients:

  • 8 ounces or 250 g. of all-purpose flour (if you have Flour 00, great!)
  • 2 eggs (large)
  • water
  • 1 ounce of steamed greens(spinach, frozen veggies, arugula, etc)

Directions:

  1. In a food processor place the steamed greens and the eggs; chop in the processor for 1 minute.
  2. Add the flour and process until the dough holds together. You may need to add water at this stage, try adding 1 tablespoon at a time.
  3. Knead briefly on the counter, cover it and let it rest for 30 minutes.
  4. With a rolling pin and flour roll out as thin as possible and cut into your desired shape.
  5. Place in boiling water to cook for a few minutes. If not using the pasta right away let them air dry properly.

I found the trick to get your pasta thin with a rolling pin (and to save some energy) is to cut large strips when you feel there is no more stretch happening. Keep rolling and cutting down until you get it paper thin. It’s really worth the effort to get it as thin as possible. It’s a great group activity too, we had a manufacturing line going practically with 3 rolling pins.

We had so much fun preparing this dinner, especially with a cocktail or two in hand. And mishaps and silliness was on the menu too. The flour bag went flying off the counter onto to the flour and then we were just being plain silly goofing of with a black top and flour dusted hands. I debated on whether I should post that pic but you know what, cooking is also about having fun and not having to take yourself to seriously…so you get to see me in a silly moment.