Last night I got the pasta machine out and was determined to turn out a successful batch of fettucini. All I hear is that it's so easy to make, so it was bugging me that my only pasta-making attempt was a failure.

Well, it turns out that it really is easy. All you need is some patience and a bowl of extra flour handy.

I used the pasta recipe from my Better Homes & Gardens cookbook (substituting whole wheat flour), which is different than the other recipes I've seen because in addition to eggs the wet ingredients include water and olive oil. I misread the recipe though, and used the full amount of flour in the dough, instead of saving 1/3 cup of it to sprinkle the work surface with. My dough ended up being very dry, but I just added a little more water and it seemed to turn out just fine.

Next time I make pasta for just the two of us, I'll make 1/2 a recipe. There is so much leftover. I'll also try it with white whole wheat flour.

For the sauce I cooked up an eggplant marinara, because I had half of a huge eggplant sitting in the fridge, waiting to be used for something.

Served with a crunchy green salad, and a lovely Francis Coppola Rosso Shiraz, it all ended up being a very tasty, meatless Sunday dinner.



Serves 4-6

recipe adapted from BH&G, rolling technique from the Kitchn

2 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup water
1 tsp olive oil

In a large bowl stir together 2 cups of the flour with the salt. Make a well in the center. In a small bowl whisk together the eggs, water, and olive oil. Pour into the well of the flour mixture and stir to combine.

Sprinkle a clean surface with the remaining 1/3 cup of flour. Turn out the dough and knead until smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes. Cover and let rest for about 30 minutes. (At this point I started making the sauce and put a big pot of water on the boil.)

Divide the dough into 4 equal portions. While working with one, cover the others loosely.

Flatten one of the pieces of dough between your hands until it forms a thick oval disk. Dust the disk, the roller, and your hands with flour. Have a floured baking sheet ready to hold the finished pasta.

With the roller on the largest setting, pass the pasta through a few times until it is smooth. Fold the dough into thirds (like folding a letter), and then pass it through the opposite direction you've been going. Pass it a few times until it's smooth again.

Now you can start thinning it out. Just keep changing your machine's settings to thinner and thinner, passing the dough a few times at each setting. If the sheet of dough gets too long, cut it in half. If at any point the dough starts to feel sticky, sprinkle everything with flour again.

Repeat for the remaining portions of dough.

When all the dough is rolled out, starting with the driest piece, send it through the cutting rollers, or cut it by hand. Separate the strips and set aside on a floured baking sheet.

Cook the pasta in boiling, salted water, until al dente, which should only take a couple minutes. Strain the pasta and toss it with a little olive oil to keep it from sticking together.

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 large eggplant
2 14.5-oz cans diced tomatoes
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
salt
pepper

Slice the eggplant into about 1/2-inch slices. Lay on a sheet or cutting board and sprinkle generously with salt. Let sit until droplets of water form, 5-10 minutes, then turn over and repeat with the other side. Rinse the eggplant slices under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Cut the slices into a dice and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and eggplant and cook a few minutes more, until eggplant is starting to soften. Add tomatoes, basil, oregano, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper. Stir to combine and simmer 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding water if necessary. Taste and adjust seasonings. I used my potato masher to mash up the sauce a bit while it was cooking.

Serve over pasta and top with freshly grated parmesan cheese.