A typical conversation during quarantine: "Let's have pasta, even if we don't have pasta!" Crazy? No, but necessity sharpens the wits! We make the impossible possible. Pasta without pasta. You got that right. You think it's impossible, but it's not. Let's start with the basics. Pasta can be made at home! But not only that, we can also prepare a ‘pasta’ dish with other ingredients.
Making homemade pasta: just water, flour and salt
The pasta we eat every day is simple – made from semolina flour and water – so why not try making it at home? The only difference is that yours will not be dry like the ready-made version. For fresh and delicious homemade pasta.
Ingredients: 14 oz semolina flour, 2 cups warm water, 1 teaspoon salt
Mix the flour with the salt and make a fountain on a pastry board. Slowly add the lukewarm water and mix until you have your pasta dough. Get creative with the shape: orecchiette, strascinati, tagliatelle, fusilli…
Homemade lentil pasta
Legume pasta is now available in all supermarkets, in different formats and variations: lentil, chickpea, bean and pea pasta. They have different colors and a different flavor, but the consistency is the same as durum wheat pasta. But have you tried making it from scratch before? To make lentil pasta, you have to make lentil flour first. I'm sure you have a bag of dried lentils in the pantry that has been abandoned since New Year's Eve, right? It’s time to use it!
The recipe for lentil flour
Rinse the lentils under water and then place them on a clean cloth and let them dry for about 12 hours. Toast them in the oven at 300°F for about 10 minutes. Let them cool and then blend them in the food processor – or in a coffee grinder, if you have one – and reduce them to the finest possible grain. Strain them to split any leftover lentils and blend again. Do the same with dried peas or dried chickpeas.
How to make homemade lentil pasta
Weigh 200 g of lentil flour and add a teaspoon of salt. Make a fountain and add two eggs. Work well with your hands until you have a compact dough. Cover the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest in a cool place for about half an hour. Form the shapes of pasta your prefer. The cooking is very fast; in just a few minutes, the lentil pasta will be ready. Lentil pasta goes well with a vegetable ragù, but also with tuna and onion.
Vegetable spaghetti
You’ve probably heard about these, if you haven't bought them already. Carrot and zucchini noodles are a life-saver! To make vegetable spaghetti, simply use the magical tool to create noodles and cook them very little in the pan (because they’re vegetables, not pasta). Season to taste.
Zucchini and carrot spaghetti with pesto and cherry tomatoes
First, peel the carrots and wash the zucchini well. Remove the ends and process the vegetables for spaghetti. Cook in a pan with a drizzle of oil for a couple of minutes – just long enough to make everything soft and slippery like spaghetti. Season with pesto that’s been lightly diluted with hot water, cut tomatoes and pine nuts. You can also bake the tomatoes in the oven with salt and oregano and a pinch of brown sugar to make them confit. Finish with pan-roasted almonds.
Leek noodles
Leek noodles are even easier to make. You don't need any special tools, just two fresh leeks. Cut your leeks into slices and sauté them in a pan with a knob of butter. The leek goes well with dairy products, so dress it with a light béchamel sauce, a fondue, or even just sprinkle it with grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.