Every year for Christmas I like to give a mix of homemade gifts. One of the food gifts I make a lot is pasta. I have come up with a couple of unique pasta flavors that store well and are also vegan which is important to me when I am making up my gift giving list. For this recipe I do use some special equipment that I have, but you can certainly do without it. I always use try to use the best produce I can find and Organic, if at all possible. This makes a small size batch, but just double/triple if you want to make a larger batch.
You will need the following:
1 1/2 Cups Flour I use this one
2 Organic Lemons
1 Tbsp Chopped Fresh Rosemary
1 tsp Sea Salt
Water
Chop your fresh rosemary and rest your lemons by running the lemons on a microplane or using a lemon zester. Only rest the yellow, once you get to the white stop as the white is not pleasant to eat. Juice both lemons in a 1/2 cup measuring cup and fill the rest with water.
I use my Kitchenaid Mixer to mix up the dough. Combine all of the ingredients except the water/lemon with the paddle attachment. Then add the water/lemon and combine until it looks like a crumb mixture. It should form a bath when you smoosh it in your hands. Switch to the dough hook and let it kneed for a couple of minutes.
If you don't have a kitchenaid mixer, get ready for your workout. Call your zumba friends over and make a night of it. Mix the dry ingredients, and form a well in the middle. Add the water/lemon to the middle and slowly incorporate the flour until you have a uniform mixture.
Wrap the completed dough in plastic wrap and leave it at room temperature for a half hour or more. This will relax the gluten in the dough. The next step is to cut the dough in thirds and roll it. Make sure an unused dough is covered with plastic wrap so that it doesn't dry out. This is the pasta machine I use. It is easiest if you have two people, but doable to do alone. Start at 1, running the dough through a couple of times, then go to 2, passing the dough through twice until you get to 4. You can make the pasta thinner, but I like the thickness of 4.
If you don't have a pasta machine, you can roll your dough with a rolling pin. I like to use a silicone pastry mat to roll out the dough, and also to cut it on. It eliminates the need for extra flour. If you have a sticking issue, just dust a little bit of flour on your dough. My silicone mat is nice because it has measurements on it. I lined my pasta sheet up to the measurements and with a pastry wheel, cut the dough with the wiggly side at 1 inch increments.
Once the dough is cut, I put them in a dehydrator set to about 145 degrees. Dehydrate them until all of the moisture is gone and they feel brittle. I left mine on for about 3 hours and they were finished. If you don't have a dehydrator, you can set your oven to it's lowest setting (probably 200 degrees) and dry your pasta out on a cookie sheet, with the door propped open with a wooden spoon. You could also skip the drying step and freeze them or use them right away.
To cook, add pasta to boiling water and cook for about 3 minutes or until the are cooked to your desired consistency.
