If you think making homemade pasta is too complicated for your skill-level — It isn’t.
It DOES take a bit of work, a dash of patience, and a tall glass of wine. But making pasta from scratch is so rewarding, SO insanely delicious (feelings!!) and much, much easier than you think!
Even when you’re making fancy noodles, like bucatini.
After making numerous batches of homemade pasta over the past few months, I have definitively concluded one thing: store-bought pasta is garbage. Fresh pasta has a lightness to it that’s incomparable to anything packaged — Once you taste the difference, you can’t un-taste it. The texture is delightfully chewy, pliable, and inviting, not gummy or hopelessly bland. The flavor is pronounced and hearty, just like you’d imagine the fresh stuff would be. And best of all? It reheats like a DREAM.
With fresh pasta there’s no nasty, congealed effect when re-heating leftovers, even if you use the microwave! I’ve nuked homemade noodles a week after they were placed in the fridge, and it seriously tastes just like the first time I made them.
It’s like magic, in real life. Especially when it’s portioned FOR TWO.
You start by making the pasta dough in the bowl of your KitchenAid® Artisan® Mini Stand Mixer. Achieving the right dough consistency is critical to pasta-making success, so take your time here. You want your dough DRY, almost to the point of crumbly. To achieve this, add your eggs slowly to the flour and use only the tiniest splash of water when needed. And if the dough still doesn’t come into a ball while in the Stand Mixer, that’s okay. A bit of extra kneading on a floured surface will fix that quickly.
Now before I continue, I just want to reiterate that this recipe is truly portioned FOR TWO. Depending on how hungry you are, there may literally be no leftovers when you’re finished eating. So if you want to have extra bucatini in the fridge — again, they reheat like a dream! — double what I’ve written here. Doing so will save you time in the future and keep you more happily fed in the present.
Anyway! Once your dough ball is formed break it down into tinier balls, about the size of a few walnuts. These little dough balls will then be fed through the Gourmet Pasta Press™ attached to your Stand Mixer, which is seriously the best contraption EVER. Not only is it so easy to use, but you can make all sorts of fun noodle shapes with it! Rigatoni, fusilli, macaroni? Have at it. Obviously I chose the bucatini, which is the fanciest of them all. Because if you’re going to labor over homemade pasta, you might as well be a bit snobby about it, right?
After you’ve fed enough dough balls through the press to achieve the right buc length (about 10″), swipe the noodles with the pasta cutter, dust them with flour, then build into nests. Repeat until all the dough has been used, then it’s finally time for cooking.
Since making the bucatini is a bit of a process, I kept the rest of the recipe straight-forward. This is a classic primavera scheme, brought together with a lemon-butter sauce that you will literally want to sip with a straw. I stuck with tomatoes, peas, onion, and asparagus for my vegetables, but feel free to get creative with your own combination. Perhaps some yellow squash, bell pepper, or eggplant? YES.
When the pasta’s fresh, it’s guaranteed to be delicious.
This is a quintessential summer pasta, with an undeniably herbaceous taste that feels healthy, clean, and rejuvenating. The lemon-butter sauce hugs every curve of the bucatini, while the veggies add wonderful texture, char, and earthiness to the dish. Overall, this is a super fresh, super light, super DELICIOUS dinner that you can effortlessly be making all. the. time.
Just don’t forget a sprinkle of sharp cheese on top. xo
Homemade Bucatini Primavera
Ingredients:
- PASTA:
- 2 cups all purpose flour + more for kneading/building nests
- a pinch of salt
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsps cold water
- 2 large egg yolks
- FILLING:
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 4 oz asparagus, chopped
- 4 oz English peas
- 1 small yellow onion, sliced
- 8 oz cherry tomatoes, halved
- a few pinches salt & pepper
- grated sharp cheese for serving
- SAUCE:
- 2 – 3 tbsps salted butter
- 2 tsps all purpose flour, sifted
- 1 tbsp chopped basil
- 2 tsps crushed or minced garlic
- 1/4 cup dry white wine (I used Pinot Grigio)
- 1 small lemon, juiced
- 1/3 – 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
Directions:
- Begin by preparing the pasta. Place the flour and salt in the bowl of the KitchenAid® Artisan® Mini Stand Mixer, attaching the flat beater to the top. Turn to speed 2, then gradually add the eggs and water, mixing for 30 seconds. Stop the Stand Mixer and exchange the flat beater for the dough hook. Again turn to speed 2, then slowly add the remaining egg yolks until the dough takes shape. The dough may appear dry and crumbly — That’s okay.
- Transfer the dough from the mixing bowl onto a floured surface, then kneed until combined and sturdy, about 1 minute. Next, use your hands to roll the dough into walnut-sized pieces.
- Attach the Gourmet Pasta Press™ to the KitchenAid® Artisan® Mini Stand Mixer, fitting it with the bucatini blade. Set to speed 10, then one piece at a time, feed the dough through the pasta press, adding a new ball of dough once the former disappears from sight. When the desired length of pasta is achieved (about 10″), use the pasta cutter to cut the noodles. Toss the noodles in flour, then twist into nests on a baking sheet or wood cutting board. Continue working until all dough has been used.
- Make the sauce. In a large saucepan melt 2 tbsps of the butter over a medium flame, then quickly whisk in the flour until incorporated. Next, add the basil and garlic and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute), then pour in the wine, lemon juice, and 1/3 cup chicken broth, bringing to a boil. Once a boil is reached, reduce flame to low, then test for flavor and texture. At this point, you can add the remaining butter and chicken broth should you choose. Keep covered and gently simmering until needed.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- In a large skillet heat the olive oil over a medium-high flame, swirling to coat the bottom. Add the asparagus, peas, onion, tomatoes, and salt & pepper to the pan, then gently saute until tender. Stir frequently.
- Once the water is boiling, cook the bucatini for 3 – 5 minutes until tender but not overcooked. Immediately drain, then toss in the lemon-butter sauce. Divide the pasta evenly among two bowls, distributing with the vegetables as you do. Sprinkle with grated cheese, then eat!
This post is sponsored by KitchenAid. All thoughts and opinions are my own