Lemon Pasta
This recipe is partly about the Lemon Pasta but mostly about the homemade pasta. Yes, you can make this with store bought fresh pasta or even dried pasta, but it tastes really great when you make the pasta yourself.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup semolina flour
2 eggs
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon
3 tablespoons grated Parmiggiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano cheese
Freshly ground black pepper
A few fresh basil leaves
Directions:
In a bowl, mix flours, eggs and oil with a wooden or non stick plastic spoon until it starts to come together then use your hands to make a craggy ball of dough. Turn out onto the counter and knead until it comes together into a smooth ball. This will take about 5-10 minutes and the dough will feel tight but smooth. Wrap in plastic wrap or a dish towel and let sit for a few minutes while you assemble the pasta maker.
I use a pasta machine like this one .
Cut the dough into about 5 pieces and set the dough press to the widest setting. Run the piece of dough through the machine at the widest setting (1) about 3-4 times, turning and folding so it gets kneaded some more. Then run the pasta piece through each setting , progressively going higher, two times. Don’t use the very last setting or it will be too thin. Last, run the pasta through the spaghetti or linguine setting. Set aside and repeat with all of the pieces.
Set a pot of water to boil and salt heavily. Once rapidly boiling, add pasta and cook for 4 minutes. Drain and toss with a pat of butter.
in a large pasta bowl, whisk the oil and the zest of one lemon. Add the pasta and toss. Add the cheese and black pepper and toss. Add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, toss and again, toss. Finish with more cheese and basil strips.
