Im a Pasta Making Pro 😋

Soooo, the other day I had such an awesome experience making homemade pasta for the first time. It was so much fun!!!!! and it felt really good to finally make a healthier choice for myself, which if I am honest - I am not always the best at doing, despite the greatest of intentions.

I've always been a huge lover of pasta, but I've been attempting to eat a little healthier these days, so I've been exploring ways to make the things I love most, a little more nutritious without sacrificing the most important part… the flavor! That's why I decided to throw caution to the wind and give this a go!

About a year ago, I was given a pasta making machine as a gift from a friend, but until now I had it hiding away in my kitchen cupboard. I think I was actually a little scared to open it up and give it a try, for fear I might just create a total disaster instead of a meal, hehe!

Nonetheless, I started by researching different pasta recipes online and found a really simple one with just water, flour, eggs, and a little bit of salt. I was surprised by how easy it was to make the dough, and how quickly it came together. When the dough was ready, I let it sit for a little bit before rocking and rolling :)

Then I used the pasta machine to roll out the dough! Honestly, it made me feel like a little kid with playdough all over again! It was marvelous!! It took a little bit of practice and a whole lot of mess to get the hang of it, but once I did, it was easy peasy smooth sailing. I just loved the way the dough passes through the machine and transformed into the most beautiful, silky sheets of deliciousness. The whole process actually felt like therapy.

Once the pasta was rolled out into long flat sheets, then I changed the setting on the machine to what resembled thin flat spaghetti - not unlike linguine really, but just a little thicker - so I suppose tagliatelle?! and cooked it for about 12 minutes. It came out perfectly al dente.

I tossed the cooked pasta with a simple tomato and basil sauce, to which I added a little bit of chopped and wilted spinach and then topped it with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. It was absolutely delicious!!!!! YUM YUM YUM!!! It had a slightly different flavor which was actually so much nicer than store-bought pasta.

Doing this from scratch was such a fun and rewarding experience. Not only did I get to enjoy a delicious meal, but I also felt good knowing that I made a healthier choice for myself. And like I said, there was something really therapeutic about the whole process!I can't wait to experiment with different flours, pasta shapes and flavors in the future. Homemade pasta is definitely going to become a regular part of my cooking routine.

Have you ever made your own pasta or any other fun foods from scratch?

Eliza xxx