Fresh Pasta and red wine.

Marcato's Atlas 150 pasta maker is one of the recent additions to our kitchen. The boy had been going on forever about wanting one, so we decided to hit up cookworks and make his life long dream of fresh pasta a reality. I had never had fresh pasta before and really didn't understand why he was so into this idea, thinking pasta is pasta...meh. I now know how ignorant I was on this matter.

Our first attempt at noodles was a total success and not as difficult as I would have thought. The fresh pasta had so much more flavour and texture then any pasta I had ever had, making me realize every pasta I had ever eaten was a pale comparison to the real deal.

After our dinner we both agreed that we would never be buying pasta at the supermarket again. We made ours with meatballs, but in the future I would just do a marinara sauce so that I can eat way more noodles. All this plus it was so much fun!

• Pasta:
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• 3/4 cup All Purpose Flour
• 3/4 cup Semolina Flour
• 1 pinch salt
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons water

• Thoroughly sift together all-purpose flour, semolina flour, and salt on a clean surface. Make a mountain out of the mixture then make a deep well in center. Break the eggs, oil and water into a bowl and beat with a fork. Pour the mixture into the well a little at a time, gradually incorporating flour from the sides of the well.
• Knead dough for several minutes until it is smooth and springy (about 3 to 5 minutes). You'll know the dough is the right consistency when it does not stick to the counter and has a smooth surface. If it does stick, add a little flour. If it tears, add a little water. When done kneading, wrap dough tightly in plastic and allow it to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• SIDE NOTE: Don't leave the pasta to sit for too long. The dough will become too soft and will bunch up in the pasta maker when trying to make noodles.
• Roll out dough with a pasta machine or a rolling pin to desired thickness. Cut into your favorite style of noodle or stuff with your favorite filling to make ravioli. Bring water to a boil in a large pot, then add 4 teaspoons salt. Cook pasta until tender but not mushy, 1 to 8 minutes depending on thickness. Drain immediately and toss with your favorite sauce.

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• Meatballs:
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• 225g ground beef (organic)
• 225g pound ground pork(organic)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 egg
• 60g freshly grated Romano cheese
• 3/4 tablespoons chopped Italian flat leaf parsley
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1 cup stale bread, crumbled
• 1/2 cup olive oil

• Combine beef, and pork in a large bowl. Add garlic, eggs, cheese, parsley, salt and pepper.
• Blend bread crumbs into meat mixture.
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Fry meatballs in batches. When the meatball is very brown and slightly crisp remove from the heat and drain on a paper towel.
• Place cooked meatballs into Marinara Sauce and cook for 15 more minutes

Sauce:

1/4 cup of olive oil
4 cloves of garlic sliced in half
1 35oz can of imported Italian tomatoes
salt & pepper to taste
3 basil leaves, washed, patted dry and chopped

• Place garlic and olive oil in a large sauce pan.
• Turn heat to medium and cook garlic till soft and lightly browned.
• Add tomatoes and crush with their juices.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Bring to a boil, then lower and simmer for 20-25mins.
• Add chopped basil at the end, stir for one min.