Fresh Pasta ~ Sage Brown Butter and Garlic ~ Italian Tomato Sauce…

Fresh Pasta….Absolutely the Best Way to Eat Pasta. If we are going to use those “Oh So Precious” calories on food, Pasta wins out for me…Well maybe except a hot brownie with fudge and caramel…haha! Despite what most think, Fresh Pasta is So easy to make…eggs, flour, olive oil and salt! That’s it and within an hour you can have delicious Fresh Pasta! Of course with those watching and working on their wasteline and eating healthy…you can make Fresh Pasta from Chick Peas and Lentils which also make it gluten free!

 

This is also a GREAT PARTY IDEA!!! Yes, I cna come to your Home or Office and Teach this to your guests or co-workers. Everyone will learn ~ Laugh and then feast on your creations! This post includes the Fresh Pasta Recipe and also recipes for Sage and Brown Butter Sauce plus Authentic Italian Tomato Sauce.

 

Brown Butter can be tricky but it is super simple… the result: a Nutty Delicious Flavor that when united with fresh sage, garlic, olive oil and Parmesan cheese becomes heaven on earth!

Authentic Italian Tomato Sauce has hundreds of variations…so you can take the basics and make it your own! I do however I feel that you can create a great sauce with canned tomatoes. In fact in Italy centuries ago the tomato crops were so plentiful and bushel and bushels of tomatoes would rot before they could be used. The Italians from Sicily and parts of Southern Italy developed the first Tomato Paste. Spreading reduced tomato sauce on wood planks in August and the hot sun would dry out the sauce and it would be scraped up and formed into little balls to preserve and for easy storage. First introduced by a Spanish Franciscan in the 16th century.However, the first use of tomato sauce with pasta did not show up in cookbooks until 1690. I am making a basic tomato sauce. Of course whatever recipe you use here a few tips: add a bay leaf to sweeten, not sugar, always put your fresh or dry spices in with the onions and garlic to wake up their flavors and cook your paste with the spices, onions and garlic for a super intense flavor.

Now lets talk Cheese… All of the pre-grated cheeses have filler in them. To keep the freshly grated cheese from clumping The FDA allows up to a 2-4 percent of cellulose and wood pulp…YES I said wood pulp in the already grated can cheeses to prevent the clumping. Unfortunately, many manufacturers put much more, some up to 30 percent…So even though fresh grated may be more expensive, I would rather be consuming 100% Parmesan or Romano cheese then eating wood pulp…read the label!

 

Fresh Pasta ~ One Pound
3 eggs
2 cups of white or whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons olive oil

Make a well on the table with the flour, in the center add the eggs, salt and olive oil. Using a fork lightly beat the egg mixture then with a scrapper begin to bring in the flour to make a shaggy dough. Once all the flour is absorbed form into a ball and need for at least 5 minutes, adding flour until it is no longer sticky. Wrap the ball in plastic and let rest for 30 minutes.Cut the ball in 4-6 pieces and flatten each one out to resemble a rectangle. whether you are using as I did the pasta attachments for your Kitchen aid or a hand pasta machine the process is the same. make sure the rollers are well coated with flour. Start at the lowest setting and run the dough through twice going form 1-5. At this point you have lasagna noodles or put them through the fettuccine cutter on the machine. Let them hang to dry for 30 min or until completely dry.. 24 hours. Boil a big pot of water with salt only..no oil is required for fresh pasta. ( it has not been sitting in a warehouse for maybe 6-12 months) yikes! Cook to Al Dente…which literally means “to the tooth”. This is such an accurate description because when you bite down on cooked pasta that is Al Dente, it will stop at your tooth. Meaning your tooth will stop and you need a little extra bite down to get all the way through the pasta!

Brown Butter Fresh Sage and Garlic Sauce~ For 1 pound pasta
2 sticks of butter
8 cloves of garlic minced
1/2 cup olive oil
10 leaves of fresh sage slice in thin ribbons (chiffonade)
2 cups of freshly grated parmesan cheese (save the rind)
1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley

Melt butter in skillet and swirl often until you see the butter fats begin to turn brown. Do not let it burn, it should begin to smell like toasted nuts and be a light brown. Immediately remove from the flame and add the garlic and sage. swirl it around so the garlic and sage cook, about 1 minute later add the olive oil and stir to combine. Add to the Fresh cook Pasta and toss well , then sprinkle with the parmesan cheese and toss again, top with parsley….enjoy!

House Italian Tomato SauceHouse Italian Tomato Sauce
Fresh Fettuccine Italian Sauce and Fresh Romano CheeseFresh Fettuccine Italian Sauce and Fresh Romano Cheese
Italian Tomato Sauce ~ For 1 pound of Pasta
1/4 – 1/2 olive oil
1 large vidalia onion chopped
4 cloves of garlic minced
1 tbsp. dried oregano
1 cup fresh basil chopped
1 tbsp. sea salt
2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
2 6oz cans tomato paste
1/2 cup red wine
1 28oz whole canned tomatoes (crushed by hand)
2 bay leaves
Wedge Romano or Parmesan Cheese Grated

On medium heat let olive oil get hot, once hot add the onion and garlic, let saute for 4-5 minutes and add the fresh and dry spices. Mix well and turn heat down to low. Let all the flavors marry for about 3-4 minutes then add the tomato paste. Turn heat up to medium, stir well to blend onions and spices with tomato paste. Cook this mixture for another 5 minutes then add the wine and the tomatoes. OK…now here is a very important part of getting a deep rich flavor…The rind that is left from the cheese you grated gets thrown into your sauce. This add such a wonderful flavor, the rind will not dissolve all the way and remove before serving sauce. Turn heat down to simmer add the bay leaves and simmer about 2 hours if possible, if not an hour will be ok, the longer the better. Of course add whatever you like to this recipe…but this is a great start! To serve pour 1/2 of the sauce over the pasta and toss well, top with half of the cheese. Serve the remaining sauce and cheese in bowls on the side!