and pepper. Discard the garlic. (Now you know the secret to our sauce: It has garlic flavor, but no bits of garlic.)
Variation
Fresh Tomato Sauce: Make this when you come across beautiful plum (Roma) tomatoes at the market in the summer. Substitute 4½ pounds of ripe tomatoes for the canned tomatoes. Bring a pot of water to a boil over high heat. Using a small sharp knife, cut the stem core out of each tomato. Working in batches, add the tomatoes to the water and blanch just until the skins loosen, about 2 minutes. Using a wire strainer, transfer the tomatoes to a large bowl of cold water. Drain well. Remove the skins. Coarsely chop the tomatoes. Use as directed above.
Basic Egg Pasta
MAKES ABOUT 1 POUND, 2 OUNCES
We have our fresh pasta delivered from an establishment that has been in business even longer than we have. Fresh pasta cut into fettuccine and linguine is available at supermarkets, but the sheets needed for lasagna and manicotti are not easy to find. (That’s because even pasta shops cut sheets into strands or shape them into ravioli.) Here’s how to make egg pasta at home the way countless Italian cooks still do every day. Hand-cranked pasta machines can be purchased at kitchenware stores or online. The pasta roller attachment for some brands of heavy-duty stand mixers works very well and is quite fast.
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2¼ cups all-purpose flour, or as needed
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT
A hand-cranked pasta machine or a pasta rolling (not extruding) attachment for a heavy-duty stand mixer.
1. To make the dough with a mixer: Combine the eggs, water, and oil together in the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer. Fit with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed to combine. Gradually add enough of the flour to make a soft, pliable dough that cleans the sides of the bowl. Change to the dough hook. Knead with the mixer on medium-low speed, adding more flour if the dough sticks to the bowl, until the dough is smooth and supple, about 5 minutes.
To make the dough by hand: Put 2 cups flour in a large bowl and make a well in the center. Add the eggs, water, and oil to the well. Using a fork, beat the egg mixture to combine, being sure not to mix in any of the flour at this point. Stir the egg mixture with the fork, then gradually begin drawing in the flour, until all of the flour has been combined with the egg mixture to make a moist, shaggy dough. Knead the dough in the bowl a few times to smooth it out. Turn out the dough onto a floured work surface. Knead, adding more flour as necessary, until the dough is smooth and supple, about 8 minutes.
2. Shape the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
3. Set up the pasta machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Divide the dough into sixths. Working with one-sixth at a time, keepingthe other portions covered with plastic wrap, shape the dough into a thick rectangle about 3 by 4-inches. Dust the dough with flour on both sides. With the machine on its widest setting, pass the short end of the dough through the rollers a few times, folding the dough in half lengthwise after each pass, and dusting with flour as needed to keep it from sticking. When the dough begins to smooth out, move the dial to the next setting. Repeat, flouring and folding the dough for two to three more passes, and passing the dough through progressively narrower rollers until the pasta is a long sheet about 1/16 inch thick. Drape the sheet over the back of a straight-backed chair, which allows the pasta to air-dry on both sides. You may need to use two chairs. (You could hang the strips on a pasta drying rack, but really, the chairs work fine. Or cover a table with a tablecloth, lightly dust the cloth with flour, and lay the pasta strips on the table, turning them often as they dry to avoid sticking.)
4. Let the pasta dry, turning it occasionally to
Variation
Fresh Tomato Sauce: Make this when you come across beautiful plum (Roma) tomatoes at the market in the summer. Substitute 4½ pounds of ripe tomatoes for the canned tomatoes. Bring a pot of water to a boil over high heat. Using a small sharp knife, cut the stem core out of each tomato. Working in batches, add the tomatoes to the water and blanch just until the skins loosen, about 2 minutes. Using a wire strainer, transfer the tomatoes to a large bowl of cold water. Drain well. Remove the skins. Coarsely chop the tomatoes. Use as directed above.
Basic Egg Pasta
MAKES ABOUT 1 POUND, 2 OUNCES
We have our fresh pasta delivered from an establishment that has been in business even longer than we have. Fresh pasta cut into fettuccine and linguine is available at supermarkets, but the sheets needed for lasagna and manicotti are not easy to find. (That’s because even pasta shops cut sheets into strands or shape them into ravioli.) Here’s how to make egg pasta at home the way countless Italian cooks still do every day. Hand-cranked pasta machines can be purchased at kitchenware stores or online. The pasta roller attachment for some brands of heavy-duty stand mixers works very well and is quite fast.
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2¼ cups all-purpose flour, or as needed
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT
A hand-cranked pasta machine or a pasta rolling (not extruding) attachment for a heavy-duty stand mixer.
1. To make the dough with a mixer: Combine the eggs, water, and oil together in the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer. Fit with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed to combine. Gradually add enough of the flour to make a soft, pliable dough that cleans the sides of the bowl. Change to the dough hook. Knead with the mixer on medium-low speed, adding more flour if the dough sticks to the bowl, until the dough is smooth and supple, about 5 minutes.
To make the dough by hand: Put 2 cups flour in a large bowl and make a well in the center. Add the eggs, water, and oil to the well. Using a fork, beat the egg mixture to combine, being sure not to mix in any of the flour at this point. Stir the egg mixture with the fork, then gradually begin drawing in the flour, until all of the flour has been combined with the egg mixture to make a moist, shaggy dough. Knead the dough in the bowl a few times to smooth it out. Turn out the dough onto a floured work surface. Knead, adding more flour as necessary, until the dough is smooth and supple, about 8 minutes.
2. Shape the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
3. Set up the pasta machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Divide the dough into sixths. Working with one-sixth at a time, keepingthe other portions covered with plastic wrap, shape the dough into a thick rectangle about 3 by 4-inches. Dust the dough with flour on both sides. With the machine on its widest setting, pass the short end of the dough through the rollers a few times, folding the dough in half lengthwise after each pass, and dusting with flour as needed to keep it from sticking. When the dough begins to smooth out, move the dial to the next setting. Repeat, flouring and folding the dough for two to three more passes, and passing the dough through progressively narrower rollers until the pasta is a long sheet about 1/16 inch thick. Drape the sheet over the back of a straight-backed chair, which allows the pasta to air-dry on both sides. You may need to use two chairs. (You could hang the strips on a pasta drying rack, but really, the chairs work fine. Or cover a table with a tablecloth, lightly dust the cloth with flour, and lay the pasta strips on the table, turning them often as they dry to avoid sticking.)
4. Let the pasta dry, turning it occasionally to
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