I have done a few posts on making fresh pasta…but it is always so fun to make.  I am always amazed at how little effort it takes to make fresh pasta, sauce and meatballs. We finally put up our Christmas tree and decked the halls. How perfect are fresh pasta and meatballs for a cozy winter dinner?

This is how I do it:

My Tomato Sauce (makes 3 quarts)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil, you will add a few more tbsp later…so keep the olive oil out.
2 stalks celery, finely diced
3 small carrots, finely diced
1 large onion, finely diced
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
6 cloves fresh garlic, crushed and minced
Tomato Paste (1 small can)
2 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 cup marsala wine (or any red wine would also work here)
1/4 cup chicken stock
6 cups diced tomatoes (3 large cans)
2 bay leaves
1 parmesan rind
1 teaspoon salt, and more to taste
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions:
In a heavy bottom pot, warm up olive oil on med high heat.  Add celery, carrots, onion, oregano and crushed red pepper flakes.  Sauté for a few minutes…you want them to get soft but not too brown, about 5-8 minutes.  Add garlic, tomato paste and sugars.  Cook stirring often for about 10 minutes. You want to caramelize the sugars and the tomato paste.  This is SO important in the flavor of the sauce, so don’t leave the kitchen…keep stirring, because this stage could easily burn.  When you begin to see that the pot has some brown bits at the bottom, deglaze with the wine and chicken stock, scraping off the brown bits at the bottom of the pot.  Turn heat down to medium low and cook for about 8 minutes, some of the liquid will evaporate.  Now it is time to add the tomatoes and salt and pepper.  I also added 2 bay leaves, and a rind from a piece of parmesan.  I know that might sound weird…but whenever I buy fresh parm, I save the rind in the freezer.  I throw it in a pot of sauce or soup and it adds to that depth of flavor.  It won’t break your recipe if you don’t have one, but try it…it is really good!

Stir to incorporate everything, put a lid on it and let simmer for 1 hour.  Taste the sauce after 1 hour for salt.  Add more if you need to.  add in a few tablespoons of olive oil here…just to make it nice and glossy.  Stir and leave on the stove.  The longer you cook the sauce, the more the flavors will deepen.  The color gets darker, and it becomes so savory…I cooked mine while I did laundry and chores around the house…just checked on it every hour or so, making sure to stir in the olive oil, and that nothing stuck to the bottom.  Always tasting along the way for seasoning.  You can cook for 3 hours up to 8.  Turn off the heat, let cool, remove the bay leaves and parm rind.  Store in plastic containers.  It freezes beautifully.

I had a little time, so I made some dough and cranked out some fresh pasta.  Always amazed at how easy it is to make pasta, and I wonder why I don’t make it more often.  It is so good and easy!  I used the pasta roller and the fettucini cutter attachment for my kitchen aid.  This recipe makes a pound of fresh pasta:

Food Processer Pasta
2 lg eggs, beaten lightly
1 1/2 tb Water plus additional
1 3/4 c All purpose flour
1 tb olive oil

Add flour, egs and olive oil to food processor.  Slowly add water until dough forms a ball…you can add a bit more water if necessary, but do it slowly and only a few drops at a time…you don’t want wet dough.  Once it begins to hold and starts to forms a ball, dump dough into a bowl.  Form a complete ball with your hands, dust with semolina flour, or regular flour, and cover with a dry cloth at room temp for 30 min.

I then whipped up some meatballs while my dough rested. Found this simple recipe for yummy meatballs on Martha’s site. It is definitely a keeper.

Meatballs

INGREDIENTS

Serves 4.

Coarse salt and ground pepper
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 large egg
1 pound ground beef chuck
1/4 cup plain dried breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon olive oil

DIRECTIONS
Set a large pot of salted water to boil. In a bowl, combine Parmesan, parsley, garlic, egg, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Add beef and breadcrumbs; mix gently. Form into 16 balls.
In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil over medium. Add meatballs, and cook, turning occasionally, until browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add a few ladles of red sauce (I used about 1 1/2 quarts of my finished sauce) directly to the pan of meatballs; bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer; cover partially, and cook, stirring occasionally, until meatballs are cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes.

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