Fresh Pasta Is So Worth It:
In general, there is an idea that making fresh pasta is immensely time-consuming and very challenging. However, this conclusion about fresh pasta is very incorrect. A standard pasta recipe only includes four ingredients: all-purpose flour, eggs, salt, and olive oil. Once you combine these ingredients, your dough is practically done. Now if you don’t have the necessary equipment such as a pasta machine or a pasta roller, making fresh pasta becomes a bit more challenging, but is still very much feasible. You will have to use a rolling pin to flatten your dough to your desired length and cut the dough with either a knife or a pizza cutter. If you do, however, have a pasta machine, the pasta-making process is super easy. Just run your pasta through the machine a few times, and voilà, you have beautiful bright yellow threads of homemade spaghetti.
Let’s Talk About the Texture:
Perfectly cooked fresh pasta has a texture that is very different than that of dried pasta. Homemade spaghetti is super tender and delicate and has the perfect amount of bite. The spaghetti is super smooth and overall, has a wonderful mouthfeel. Truly, fresh pasta is not difficult to make, and putting in the effort to make homemade pasta is definitely rewarding.
When to Use Fresh Pasta vs. Dried Pasta:
Although I love using fresh pasta in my dishes, fresh pasta is not always the correct choice. Generally speaking, you should use fresh pasta for more creamy, dairy-based sauces and dried pasta for more hearty or meaty sauces. Fresh pasta is very delicate and will not hold up well to a meaty sauce such as a Neapolitan ragù (an Italian tomato sauce with meat). In this recipe, you can really go either way. Although the tomato cream sauce is fairly hearty, the addition of the cream makes the sauce more creamy and velvety, which works well with fresh pasta.
The Tomato Cream Sauce:
The tomato cream sauce in this dish is truly delicious. Even though the only real distinction between this sauce and a regular tomato sauce is a 1/2 cup of heavy cream, the cream makes a real difference. Tomato sauce always has lots of acidity from the tomatoes and many times this sourness can become overwhelming. The cream really helps tame this acidity and brings out the wonderful, natural sweetness of the tomatoes. The cream also adds a nice richness to the sauce.
Bacon Compliments this Dish Perfectly:
Bacon is the secret star of this homemade spaghetti dish. In the tomato cream sauce, you have the acidity, you have the creaminess, you have the herbaceous notes from the seasonings, but what you’re missing is salt and fat. Bacon steps in and gives you both of these elements. Something about the mixture of the sweet and tangy tomato sauce with the salty bacon is divine. It is the perfect balance of sweetness, acidity, and umami. Additionally, the fat content from the bacon gives the dish another level of richness and warmth. Another key role of the bacon is that it provides an additional crispy texture.
Homemade Spaghetti with tomato cream sauce and bacon
Cuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Medium4
servings1
hour30
minutesFresh homemade pasta topped with a tomato cream sauce and bacon
For the pasta
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons olive oil
- For The Tomato Cream Sauce
1 clove garlic (minced)
1/4 large white onion (diced)
12 oz can of crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream
- Garnishes
2 tablespoons roughly chopped parsley
1/4 cup bacon(cooked and roughly chopped)
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
- Begin by making the fresh pasta. Place the flour on a clean surface and make a well in the center. Place the eggs, salt, and olive oil into the well. With a fork, gently whisk the eggs, salt, and olive oil together, being careful not to break your wall of flour. Using your hands, begin to incorporate the flour in with the wet mixture until it forms into a shaggy ball.
- Knead the dough for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and completely combined. If the dough is too dry, sprinkle a few drops of water on the dough and continue to knead. If the dough is too wet, sprinkle small amounts of flour on the dough and continue to knead.
- Wrap your dough ball in plastic wrap and allow to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Next the sauce. In a medium sized pot, pour enough olive oil to cover the surface. Place in onions, and once they become translucent, add in the minced garlic.
- After a few more minutes of cooking, pour in the crushed tomatoes. Reduce the heat to low and add the water, salt, sugar, dried basil, dried oregano, and black pepper. Let the mixture simmer together for 5 minutes before adding the heavy cream. Close the sauce with a lid and allow to simmer together on very low heat for at least an hour or until you are ready to serve.
- On a lightly floured surface, remove the pasta dough from the plastic wrap and cut the dough into quarters. Dust a sheet tray with lots of flour. This will be where you put your fresh pasta.
- Using a rolling pin, roll one-quarter of the dough out slightly into an oval shape. Run the dough through the pasta machine three times on level 1 (the thickest setting). Then three times on level 2, three times on level 3, and three times on level 4. Then using your spaghetti attachment, run your dough through to form your spaghetti. Place the fresh spaghetti into the floured tray.
- Repeat step 7 with the rest of the dough.
- In heavily salted boiling water, cook your spaghetti for about 3 minutes.
- To assemble the dish, place spaghetti in the bottom of the bowl, pour on a ladle of tomato cream sauce, add bacon pieces on the pasta, sprinkle on some of the fresh parsley, and finish with Parmesan cheese.
Notes
- If you do not have a pasta maker, you can roll the pasta out very thinly and cut thin strips using a knife or a pizza cutter
- This fresh spaghetti freezes beautifully for up to 3 months
If you enjoyed this recipe, come check my Cold Cucumber Soup with Shrimp and Pickled Onions Recipe.
