First of all, thanks again for all the super nice comments on Monday’s post about my new bag. It’s awesome to hear from you all and thanks for reading! Now on to the pasta…

I’ve been making homemade pasta for probably five years now, and last year I got a pasta press, which has revolutionized the process, not surprisingly.

There are still challenges and flops, though. Pre-pasta maker, I used my wooden rolling pin–this was also before I got a marble rolling pin, which I really highly recommend!–and I would wind up with a dough that was always slightly too thick. Now, with the pasta press, I have to be careful not to make the pasta too thin.

My press has seven thickness settings, and to make the pasta you just feed the dough through the press, decreasing the thickness each time. The first few times I did this, I pressed the pasta all the way down to the thinnest setting, and probably half of my ravioli split open in the boiling water. It is so frustrating to spend an hour or two making homemade filling and homemade pasta, and stuffing each one, only to waste a big percentage of the ravioli.

Lately, though, we’ve had some really happy successes. Last week, my partner and I helped my parents make pumpkin ravioli, which only took three or four hours. We all agreed that it was as good as any of us had made before, and I had so much fun I forgot to take pictures.

Last night, I made homemade lasagna, which I hadn’t made in years, and had never made with homemade pasta. This is such a treat, because compared with making ravioli or spaghetti, it’s so easy! No slicing or filling or drying the pasta–just run it through the press (again, only down to the third-from-thinnest setting), boil it, and put the lasagna together.

I fudged a recipe that had come with the pasta press. Here’s what I did:

Pasta
2 C. Semolina flour (I only had about 1-3/4 C., so I added a little all-purpose)
2 eggs
2 Tbs. olive oil
4 Tbs. water

Mix the ingredients well, adding water gradually until dough forms a ball. Knead at least five minutes, then wrap in plastic and let rest 10-15 minutes. When ready, cut dough in thirds and run each section through the press until it reaches desired thinness. (Or roll it out with a rolling pin, if you don’t have a pasta press/want to build arm muscle). Here’s how the pressing-process looks:

You can either let the pasta dry at this point before cooking it, or just put it into a big pot of salted, boiling water for about three minutes. Drain.

Lasagna
1 lb. ricotta
1/2 C. grated Parmesan
2 eggs
salt & pepper
1 Tbs. dried parsley
1-1/2 lbs. Italian sausage
14 oz. diced tomatoes
18 oz. tomato paste
1/2 to 1 lb. grated mozzarella

Mix the ricotta, Parmesan, eggs, salt and pepper together and set aside. Brown the meat, then add the tomatoes and tomato paste, parsley and any additional seasoning you like, and let simmer about 30 mins.

Preheat the over to 375F. Lightly grease a 9″x13″ baking pan. Layer the pasta, red sauce and white sauce–I made three layers of each, topped with a final layer of pasta. Spread the mozzarella over the top. I added some chopped sage to the mozzarella, but only because I’m obsessed with sage right now. Nice, but not necessary.

Bake uncovered about 40 mins, or until browned on top. Wait 10 mins before slicing.

Three of us devoured all but one slice. That must count for something. And the fresh homemade pasta made a difference–at least, I think it did.