Pasta is one of my most favorite things to eat for dinner. Pasta works as an excellent canvas to whatever you use it with. Today I'm going to share with you my signature dish that works with almost any kind of pasta. It's a fast gourmet dish if you use store bought pasta. It's even better with homemade fresh pasta. I will also share with you 3 different recipes I came across to making pasta at home. I just got a brand new toy for my Kitchenaid stand mixer. It is their pasta extruder.
ALWAYS SALT YOUR WATER!!! Anytime you make pasta, you must salt the water enough or your pasta will be bland. Salt it like the sea. I guarantee it will be delicious. Also, Al dente is where it's at.
KALLISTA'S SIGNATURE PASTA
1 lb of your favorite Pasta (or 1x recipe below)
1 Red Onion, chopped
1 Tbsp Butter
1 Tbsp Olive Oil, plus more for coating pasta
6 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
Pinch of Red Pepper Flakes
1/4 C Pine Nuts, toasted
Garlic Powder, as needed
Several Tbsps of Parsley (close to 1/8 C)
Sea Salt and Pepper, to taste
2.5 oz Sharp White Italian Cheese, grated (any of the Sartori cheeses rock, especially the balsamic bellavitano)
Boil Pasta in salted water to al dente. For fresh pasta, this takes like 2-3 minutes in a boiling pot of salted water. If you must use boxed pasta, I find that 6 minutes is usually perfect. It doesn't matter what the box says because they usually tell you to cook it for way too long so your noodles will end up super mushy.
On medium heat in a fry pan, saute Red Onion, Butter, 1 Tbsp Olive Oil, Garlic Cloves and Red Pepper flakes. Mix in with Pasta and toss with more Olive Oil to coat, Garlic Powder, Parsley, Sea Salt, Pepper and half of the grated Cheese. Serve with more cheese on top with Toasted Pine Nuts, Sea Salt, Pepper and a drizzle of Olive Oil.
In the following recipes, I will list them from easiest to hardest. By far, the whole wheat was the hardest and I kept having to add more and more water. Please keep in mind, your dough can change with the different flour brands and what the humidity level is in your kitchen. All of these dough recipes will work with other shapes than what is shown. If you are new to Pasta Making, I highly recommend starting with the egg noodle recipe first until you can get it right. If you want the egg noodles to be more authentic, then substitute half of the flour with Semolina (aka durum wheat flour).
BASIC EGG NOODLES
4 Large Eggs
3 1/2 C SIFTED All Purpose Flour
1 Tbsp Water
1 tsp Salt
Break Eggs into a clear liquid measuring cup. Make sure it measures to 7/8 C (207 ml). If it's low, add 1 tsp water at a time until measurement is reached.
Mix together the sifted flour and salt. Attach to your Kitchenaid mixer and turn to Speed 2. Add water and gradually add eggs. Mix for 30 Seconds to combine. Switch to Dough Hook and knead for 2 minutes on Speed 2.
Remove dough from bowl and knead on clean surface. Hand knead for 30 seconds to 1 minute or until smooth, pliable and holds together into a ball. You may need to add water or flour to get the proper consistency. It should feel slightly leathery.
Form into walnut size balls and extrude pasta into desired shape. Each shape uses different speeds, so refer to your machine's suggestion for each plate. Extrude and dry separately, up to 1 hour.
LIGHT WHEAT PASTA
2 1/2 C SIFTED Whole Wheat Flour
1 C SIFTED Bread Flour
4 Large Eggs
2 Tbsp Water
1/2 tsp Salt
Break Eggs into a clear liquid measuring cup. Make sure it measures to 7/8 C (207 ml). If it's low, add 1 tsp water at a time until measurement is reached.
Mix together the sifted flours and salt. Attach to your Kitchenaid mixer and turn to Speed 2. Add water and gradually add eggs. Mix for 30 Seconds to combine. Switch to Dough Hook and knead for 2 minutes on Speed 2.
Remove dough from bowl and knead on clean surface. Hand knead for 2 minutes or until smooth, pliable and holds together into a ball. You may need to add water or flour to get the proper consistency. It should feel slightly leathery and not crumble.
Form into walnut size balls and extrude pasta into desired shape. Each shape uses different speeds, so refer to your machine's suggestion for each plate. Extrude and dry separately, up to 1 hour.
WHOLE WHEAT PASTA
4 Large Eggs
2 Tbsp Water
3 1/2 C SIFTED Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 tsp Salt
Break Eggs into a clear liquid measuring cup. Make sure it measures to 7/8 C (207 ml). If it's low, add 1 tsp water at a time until measurement is reached.
Mix together the sifted flour and salt. Attach to your Kitchenaid mixer and turn to Speed 2. Add water and gradually add eggs. Mix for 30 Seconds to combine. Switch to Dough Hook and knead for 2 minutes on Speed 2.
Remove dough from bowl and knead on clean surface. Hand knead for 2 minutes or until smooth, pliable and holds together into a ball. You may need to add water or flour to get the proper consistency. It should feel slightly leathery and not crumble. This was the hardest dough to get right and I found myself adding plenty of water.
Form into walnut size balls and extrude pasta into desired shape. Each shape uses different speeds, so refer to your machine's suggestion for each plate. Extrude and dry separately, up to 1 hour.
For the Pasta Making Process, I used these recipes from Kitchenaid's Pasta Extruder Manual: Egg Noodle Pasta, Light Wheat Pasta, Whole Wheat Pasta. As for the awesomeness of Kallista's Signature Pasta, that one is my own that I've created. Any time I make it, people ask for more. I make it all the time without really measuring anything so feel free to adjust it to how you like!
