Paul's Homemade Pasta

A rainy weekend in Southern California can only mean one thing. Our SUV's and 4-wheel drives can't handle the slick roads. So of course we aren't leaving the house and need something to take up any down time between football games. A classic Paul solution - homemade pasta - made once every 5 years when we remember how easy it is.

My Italian mother despises the process citing "flour in her sink" as a reason to avoid the kitchen until dinner time. Meanwhile my "Spanish" (wink) father, takes the whole process very seriously. When making said pasta, you must follow these steps.

1. Proper drink to sip while cooking (wine and margaritas are both permissible)

2. Oldies music or Football on in the background

3. Ample flour on the counter

4. Plenty of pasta for the rest of the week

Ok now onto the actual pasta recipe. We use the standard pasta dough recipe out of Culinary Italy. Also, if you have the same massive book from the early 2000s on Italian cooking, open to page 191, or just read below.

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Basic Pasta Dough Recipe

Ingredients

4 cups / 500g All-Purpose Flour

5 Eggs

1/2 tsp Salt

Extra flour for dusting

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A few things before we get started:

• A stand mixer will absolutely streamline this, but is not necessary at all.

• A pasta maker (used to press and cut) is also a great tool, but again not needed. You can use a normal rolling pin to flatten dough into sheets and a knife to cut into pasta.

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If you have a stand mixer, you can just add all of this to that and mix on medium low till well combined. If you need to, add small increments of water to assist in mixing.

You can also do the classic way by sifting flour onto your workspace (clean your countertop beforehand, please). Make a well into the flour, add eggs and salt. Fluff the flour into the well and gently form a coarse dough. Knead for about 15 minutes until smooth.

Cover and let rest for 1 hour.

Cut dough into smaller pieces and slowly work through pasta maker until it reaches the desired thickness. Or if you're doing this by hand, use a rolling pin to thin out sheets till you've reached a desired thickness. Add flour when needed to keep the dough from getting too sticky. For ravioli, we like to stretch the dough to setting 5 out of 6 on the attachment. For other shapes, setting 6 (the thinnest) is our favorite.

After cutting dough, dust with more flour and let dry before storing in fridge or freezer.

This pasta is absolutely divine served with my bolognese sauce, pesto, or any other personal favorite. A house classic is Butternut Squash Ravioli, so look below for that!

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Butternut Squash Ravioli with Burnt Butter & Sage

This is my dad's go-to for homemade pasta. It's perfectly cozy for this time of year and easier than you'd think.

Ingredients

For Filling

1 Butternut Squash - peeled, chopped into medium sized pieces

1 cup Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese - freshly microplaned / grated

1/4 cup Ricotta Cheese

Olive Oil

Thyme

Salt

Pepper

Nutmeg

For Sauce

1 stick Salted Butter

Fresh Sage leaves

Toasted Pine Nuts (optional topping)

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Set oven to 400F. On a baking sheet, add peeled and chopped butternut squash. Season generously with fresh or dried thyme, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Roast for approximately 45 minutes, tossing about halfway through.

Freshly grate about a cup of parmigiano reggiano. Not to be a total snob, but if you're going through all the work to make fresh pasta, you're gonna want fresh parm, not the store bought kind.

Once the butternut squash is slightly chilled, add about 520g to a food processor or blender. Blitz with a light drizzle of olive oil. Add 1 cup of the fresh parm and blend. Add in ricotta cheese and blend again. Add in nutmeg, mix then taste for any additional seasonings. Sorry in advance, I didn't measure again, but start with about a 1/4 tsp and go from there.

Add to ziploc bag and chill for about 1 hour. The ziploc makes it easy to pipe the filling for the ravioli, just cut bit of the corner and use it like a piping bag.

You can use molds or shape them by hand, just make sure each ravioli is properly sealed before cooking.

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The pasta and sauce come together quickly, only about 10 minutes total.

In a large pot, heat heavily salted water over high.

At the same time, melt the stick of butter over medium in a large pan. Add about 20 sage leaves (there's really no such thing as too many). Stir and adjust temperature as needed. It'll be perfectly browned when it's no longer foamy and has a nutty aroma. Around 5 to 10 minutes.

Pasta will be al dente around 3 minutes (when the start to float). Strain and add to browned butter. Gently toss and serve, topped with plenty of fresh parmesan.

For toasted pine nuts, add to a pan on medium, gently stir until golden. It'll only take a few minutes and they easily burn, so keep an eye on these.