Passport & Plate - Homemade Pasta with Creamy Tomato base sauce
South Africa | Wednesday, February 19, 2014 | 5 photos
Ingredients
For the Pasta
2 cups flour
3 eggs
Pinch of salt
For the Sauce
Olive oil
Garlic
Aromat (spice sold in South Africa)
Tomatoes
Tomato Paste
Fresh cream (optional)
Red, green and yellow capsicums
Zucchini
Mushrooms
Pitted olives
Italian herbs (fresh or dry)
How to prepare this recipeFor the Pasta
Place the flour on a clean surface. I used a stainless steel table top. Make a well in the middle and beat the 3 eggs with a punch of salt and pour into the well. Incorporate the flour into the egg mixture and have fun using your hands to knead, stretch and pull the dough. Make into a ball and cover completely with cling film. Place in the fridge for at least half an hour. Remove the dough from the fridge and after removing the cling film, slice the dough into pieces. Take each piece one at a time and put it through the different setting on the pasta machine, depending on the thickness of pasta you prefer. Finally put it through the cutter and hang to dry. I also placed the cut pasta on a lightly floured surface to dry. Blanch in boiling water with a bit of salt to taste and olive oil, until al dante. Strain out water and run boiling water over it to retain heat. Serve immediately.
For the Sauce
Heat a cast iron pot and put in some olive oil and freshly minced garlic and aromat. Cut your tomatoes in chunky cubes and add to oil. Let it sweat for a while and then add in the sliced veggies. Don't overcook the veggies or else it will lose its crispness. Add in tomato paste to thicken the sauce and finally add in the herbs. If I have fresh herbs I add it after the tomatoes have sweated. If I'm using dry herbs, I add this at the end of the cooking process, by crushing it in my hands to allow the oils to come out, before adding it to the sauce. Add the fresh cream in and stir at this stage if you want a richer sauce. I tend to only add the cream in if we have some in the fridge.
Serve on pasta with olive oil, Parmesan cheese and poppy seeds.
The story behind this recipeMy family have always had a love affair for pasta. I remember being quite young when my dad walked in excitedly the one day. He had this huge box with him and with a beaming smile presented it to my mum.
It was a lovely pasta machine! My mum looked at it, opened the box, took out the parts and promptly put it back in the box and put it on the top shelf in our pantry. As the years went by, the box got pushed further and further back, until it was covered in a thick layer of dust.
It became a joke in our family and my dad used to joke that my mum would use it as his tomb stone when he dies! A few years later, during a moment of inspiration, I decided to experiment with the pasta machine and surprise my dad with some homemade pasta. I recovered the box from the depths of the pantry, dusted it off and washed the machine for good measure. I googled a few pasta dough recipes and found the one that was the easiest. I had such fun making the pasta and that evening I made a sauce to go with it.
My family love pasta. We eat it plain with olive oil or butter, Parmesan cheese and a sprinkling of poppy seeds. We also love it with a tomato based sauce with crisp veggies. We complement it with an ice cold bottle of Appletiser or Grapetiser (sparkling apple/grape juice) and a healthy portion of salad.
It's our go to meal. After a trip away, locally or internationally. A healthy, hearty meal, after we've been invited out for one too many rich meals. We love the simple, yet fresh flavours that this dish provides.
