In full disclosure, I haven't made pasta very many times in my life. But my husband just received his great-grandmother's pasta maker. His great-grandmother was born in Italy and came to the United States, eventually landing in Pennsylvania. I don't know much more (yet!) about the history of this particular pasta maker, but it has been an inspiration to start making fresh pasta.
I think making pasta is much easier if you have a stand mixer. We don't. So we kneaded it by hand, which took a long time and constantly had me questioning if we were doing this right.
Long story short, the pasta turned out beautifully -- and, no surprise, our Organic Seaweed Seasoning added a subtle savory flavor without being overbearing at all. We dressed the pasta, once boiled, in a creamy pea and asparagus sauce.
I'm providing here the base recipe, though if you have more experience with pasta, feel free to make it how you usually do.
Seaweed Pasta
Ingredients:
2 cups semolina flour
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
2 - 4 tablespoons of Organic Seaweed Seasoning
Directions:
In a bowl, add the flour, and Seaweed Seasoning, and mix well. After mixing, make a well with the flour in the center of the bowl. In a separate bowl, crack and mix the eggs. Introduce the eggs into the center of the well and blend them together. (If you have a mixer, you can use a mixer to blend.)
Once mixed, transfer dough to a floured surface. Knead the dough (this took me a long time!) until soft and uniform. Cover in plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for one hour.
Divide the dough into four sections, and working one section at a time, roll flat. Starting at the widest setting on your pasta machine, roll the dough through 2-3 times. Repeat at the next smaller setting. Continue through each setting on the pasta machine until your dough is a thin sheet.
We used the fettucini setting to cut the noodles. Gently lay the pasta onto a tray that's sprinkled with semolina flour.
To cook the pasta, boil the noodles in salted water for 4-5 minutes. Enjoy your fresh pasta!
