HOMEMADE WHOLEWHEAT PASTA

This week’s theme is  SWIRL AND TWIRL and immediately I thought of pasta.  But we had to drive down to San Diego for an emergency trip so I don’t have anything in my refrigerator that I can use. (Read: I was too lazy to go shopping at the grocery store!)  I do have flour in my freezer, though, so I decided to  make homemade wholewheat pasta. It really is a breeze if you have a pasta machine (I got mine on a year-end sale from the cooking school down the street for $5!) But if you don’t, you can still making it using a rolling pin.  It just takes longer and a lot of arm exercise! I made fettuccini and spaghetti noodles and sauteed the spaghetti in butter, garlic and fresh chopped basil leaves (from my herb pot garden)  for a quick snack. Yumm!!  I had my pasta drying on my kitchen chair and on the towel rack by the refrigerator, my husband wasnt’ sure that it won’t fall apart when boiled. Such confidence in my cooking! Hah!  These  works best for us since I can make only a small portion if I want. And it’s fresh! Of course, the pasta can be dried and frozen if you want.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup wholewheat flour
• 1 egg
• some water (to bind the dough)

Directions:

1. Place flour in a bowl or on a clean workspace.
2. Make a well on the center and add the egg. Start incorporating flour and egg using your fingers. Add water a tablespoon at a time and mix until you get a firm and still somewhat sticky dough.
3. Let rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
4. Divide into 4 smaller doughs and run each dough through the pasta machine until it is thin enough that you can see the silhouette of your hand behind the pasta sheet.  Cut as needed (spaghetti, fettucini, ravioli, etc.)
5. Dry on a pasta rack or on a tablecloth for at least an hour.
6. To cook, boil 4 cups of salted water.  Add noodles and cook for 2 -3 minutes.  Fresh noodles only need to be cooked 2 minutes especially if you will be using it with sauce.
7. Add to your favorite pasta sauce.

The above recipe can easily serve  4 people  (depending on how huge the servings are!).  You can also experiment with different flavors by adding vegetables to the dough such as chopped spinach or beets. Or you can use different flours such as semolina, soy, all purpose or buckwheat.

Related Posts

• Lasang Pinoy Sundays: Shades of Spring and Summer
• Lasang Pinoy Sundays: Easter EGG hunt
• Spiced Yogurt Muffins
• Daring Bakers: Mallows and Milan Cookies
• Lasang Pinoy Sundays: WHIP eat