Happy Fat Tuesday!!

Pasta is one of those things that tastes 100 times better when it's home made, and in truth it really isn't that hard to make. I grew up making pasta dough, among other delicious things, with my Dad. He's 1/2 Italian and grew up where it was the men in the family's job to make pasta. He has two daughters so I get to inherit the men's role :) Ravioli is always my favorite to make with him! Tonight though I was going simple, just a little fresh pasta to have with some breaded zucchini and some red sauce. It's so simple, yet SO FLAVORFUL!

There was pasta hanging/spread out EVERYWHERE when John got home!

All you need is a pasta press and you are good to go! Doesn't it just look pretty :)

A quick dip in a pool of boiling water and we were ready to chow!

Whole wheat pasta
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
2 eggs
dash of salt
drizzle of olive oil

Pile flour and salt in a large bowl (or if you are brave, right on the counter) create a well in the center and crack eggs into it. Beat eggs with a fork and slowly start incorporating the rest of the flour into the center until well mixed. Then use your hands to kneed the dough into a ball, at this point you may need a little more moisture so a little drizzle of olive oil will do the trick! Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for about 20 minutes at room temperature.

Divide into small pieces (around 8) and work through pasta machine to flatten. Start at the highest number on the side and work your way thinner (lower number) I only did mine to a 3... for ravioli we aim for a 1! Thick dough ravioli is a pet-peve of mine... BLEH! I like mine THIN! Anyway... once you have your nice thin sheets, crank them through the cutting part of the machine (the part in the front right side of my photo above). I did a thicker fettuccine cut as apposed to a spaghetti size width. Separate the pieces and hang to dry. Once you are done cutting all of the dough boil up some water and get ready to chow! Make sure your sauce is done first though, since this pasta will cook up quick (4-8) minutes depending on how thick you made it, and how dry it's gotten since you made it.

Drain and serve it up with your favorite sauce or whatever else you like!

Come back tomorrow for the zucchini recipe, a perfect meal if you are celebrating ash Wednesday and can't eat meat tomorrow... or for a Friday in Lent... or you know if you don't ever eat meat :D