# Making fresh pasta, what to put on it??



## Bellyman (Jul 6, 2013)

Got a new pasta machine for Christmas!  Made a "trial run" of pasta just a bit ago, just to see how it would come out. It's awesome!! But, pasta needs something on it and my choices are limited.

I could use some marinara sauce (made earlier and brought with) but was kinda saving that for another occasion. I don't have much in the way of herbs without running to the store. (At step-son's house.) I have fresh garlic bulbs. I have some oregano. Only a few flakes of parsley left, and that would probably be good but don't really have enough. Have some parmesan cheese and some butter but no cream or milk so an alfredo sauce is not likely to happen. No cream cheese, either.

I made some browned butter with a toe of garlic in my "test" batch, separated it into two small bowls and added some parmesan and oregano in one and parmesan and parsley in the other. Didn't care a whole lot for the one with oregano but the one with parsley wasn't bad. Kinda needed something to brighten it up, though, and I was thinking of adding a drizzle of lemon juice over the top. Ideas getting convoluted...

But really, I was looking for some ideas if one of you might have some. I don't have a lot to work with so it will have to be simple. I would say even just some olive oil and some kind of an herb to go with but as I said, herbs are limited. I do have the olive oil, I use a touch of that just making the pasta. 

Anyway. Supper is in about 2 hours and it sure would be nice to do something at least a little bit special. Got the actual pasta covered, and that's really good. Just don't want to ruin it with something not so go on it. If you have ideas, shoot 'em out here, maybe something really good is yet possible.  

Thanks!


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## mmoetc (Oct 9, 2012)

I'd roast some of the garlic and when done squeeze it out into some melted butter and olive oil, toss it with the pasta and top with the grated Parmesan and chopped parsley. Fresh lemon juice will add a bit of acidity and brighten the flavors. Salt and pepper to taste and if you've got, and like, red pepper flakes they never hurt.


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## Bellyman (Jul 6, 2013)

mmoetc said:


> I'd roast some of the garlic and when done squeeze it out into some melted butter and olive oil, toss it with the pasta and top with the grated Parmesan and chopped parsley. Fresh lemon juice will add a bit of acidity and brighten the flavors. Salt and pepper to taste and if you've got, and like, red pepper flakes they never hurt.


Thanks! That sounds like a plan.  I only have a tiny bit of parsley but it'll have to do.


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## alida (Feb 8, 2015)

Quote:
Originally Posted by mmoetc View Post
I'd roast some of the garlic and when done squeeze it out into some melted butter and olive oil, toss it with the pasta and top with the grated Parmesan and chopped parsley. Fresh lemon juice will add a bit of acidity and brighten the flavors. Salt and pepper to taste and if you've got, and like, red pepper flakes they never hurt.
Thanks! That sounds like a plan. I only have a tiny bit of parsley but it'll have to do.

We follow the same recipe mmoetc posted; so simple and so flavorful.
Pasta machines are a lot of fun to work with.


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## mmoetc (Oct 9, 2012)

With fresh pasta the simpler and fresher the toppings the better. During the summer one of our favorite meals involves nothing more than fresh pasta, melted butter, fresh basil picked outside the back door and fresh grated Parmesan cheese.


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## Bellyman (Jul 6, 2013)

I haven't done a lot with home-made pasta yet. I got a very cheap pasta machine (the kind that rolls out the dough into a sheet and an attachment to make either spaghetti or fettuccine) but never quite figured out what kind of wheat to mill to get a nice pasta texture and flavor.

My step-son and his fiance gave me a much better model of what I had before for Christmas and it really does work a whole lot better. And they also picked up some Italian 00 flour for me to try as well since I'd mentioned I'd like to try that. 

The pasta itself is almost stupid simple... 100g of flour, 1 egg, a pinch of salt and a drizzle of olive oil. Mix/knead until it resembles a ball of playdough. Let rest a bit. Roll out into sheets. Cut into whatever shape desired. Boil. And it's some darn good eatin'! At least that's the current recipe, subject to change, of course.  

The flour makes a really tender pasta with a good flavor, too. Wish my Nutrimill ground a little finer... 

Thanks again for the thoughts!


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## mmoetc (Oct 9, 2012)

If we get really ambitious we'll walk a bit further out the door and grab some cherry tomatoes. Throw those in the heating oil and butter and cook just until they start to soften and pop. Serve as above.


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## Bellyman (Jul 6, 2013)

Thanks for the input!

The pasta was topped with some browned butter and garlic, a tiny bit of parsley and dang it, I completely forgot the parmesan. Doh!  A bit of lemon juice sprinkled on it did brighten it a bit and a sprinkle of red pepper flake gave it a little zing. 

But it was really good, no leftovers. I didn't even get seconds. And I think it was a pretty good try considering the lack of herbs and an ameture cook.


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## mmoetc (Oct 9, 2012)

Glad it worked out. Sometimes the toughest thing for a cook to learn is to not over complicate things.


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## tlrnnp67 (Nov 5, 2006)

I got this recipe from Lindsay Wells' You Tube channel. It is delicious. I could just eat the salsa/basil mixture by itself with a spoon! I use very thinly sliced red onion and add extra fresh garlic and parmesan cheese. Sometimes I'll change out the red wine vinegar for balsamic vinegar.

A lot of times I won't have fresh basil on hand, especially in the winter, but I almost always keep jarred basil pesto in the pantry, and it is a good substitute for the basil oil. This recipe is very adaptable to whatever you have on hand. 

*Linguini with Salsa Cruda and Pan Seared Halibut *
*Ingredients*


4 halibut filets
1 tsp each salt and pepper
300 grams uncooked linguini pasta
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
 *For the Salsa Cruda *


4 cups coarsley chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup thinly sliced sweet onion
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste (be generous enough with the salt to really bring out the flavor of the tomatoes- start with about a half tsp and then taste as you go increasing as needed)
1 tsp dried chilies 
 *For the Basil Oil:*


1/2 clove finely chopped garlic
1/2 cup loosely packed basil leaves
1/4 cup good quality olive oil
 *Directions*


Mix the Salsa Cruda ingredients together in a large bowl.
Pulse the basil oil ingredients in a blender until smooth.
Add the basil oil to the Salsa Cruda. Cover and let sit at room temperature for an hour or two.
 Add extra virgin olive to a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Season the fish with salt and pepper and it add to a large non-stick pan over medium high heat. Sear the fish for 3 to 4 minutes on each side and then add the juice of 1/2 a lemon and baste the fish with the sauce. Remove the halibut from the pan to a serving platter and cover lightly with tin foil until ready to serve.
In the meantime, cook packaged linguini noodles in well salted boiling water just until al dente, this should take about 8 minutes. Drain, and then add one cup of the salsa cruda to the pasta, and stir well. Serve on a plate topped with the halibut, more salsa cruda, and nice glass of your favourite red wine.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

One of my favorites is Carbonara which is nothing more than bacon, eggs and cheese:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonara



> Carbonara (Italian: [karbo&#712;na&#720;ra]) is an Italian pasta dish from Rome[1][2] made with eggs, cheese (Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano-Reggiano),[1] bacon (guanciale or pancetta), and black pepper. Spaghetti is the usual pasta; however, fettuccine, rigatoni, linguine or bucatini can also be used. The dish was created in the middle of the 20th century.[3]
> 
> The pork is cooked in fat, which may be olive oil, lard, or less frequently butter.[4] The hot pasta is combined with a mixture of raw eggs, cheese, and a fat (butter, olive oil, or rarely cream)[2] away from additional direct heat to avoid coagulating the egg, either in the pasta pot or in a serving dish.
> 
> ...


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## killi (Feb 6, 2017)

Thanks for sharing the recipe, it sounds delicious.


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## WannabeWaltons (Nov 18, 2016)

A little off topic but maybe not... Does anyone. Have any recipes for sourdough pasta? I do not have a pasta machine so I round be rolling with a rolling pin and cutting with knives. Is pasta possible by hand? I'm so tired of buying expensive gluten free pasta when I crave noodles as non fermented wheat makes my oldest kidd have issues.


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## Aidenwillson (Feb 10, 2017)

Thanks for the recipe! On the weekends be sure to cook! I will ask my husband as a gift pasta machine


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## MoBookworm1957 (Aug 24, 2015)

Found my Italian Pasta Machine (Marcato) at thirty store.
Love it, making noodles tomorrow for homemade chicken noodle soup.
Found pasta cookbook at thirt store too.
Curly pasta likes loves chunky sauce found out.


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