No-Machine Homemade Rustic Pasta with Buttery Tomato Sauce

SERVES: 3–4 PREP: 15 minutes TOTAL TIME: 1 hour (including minimum resting time)

No-Machine Homemade Rustic Pasta with Buttery Tomato Sauce

SERVES: 3–4 PREP: 15 minutes TOTAL TIME: 1 hour (including minimum resting time)

It requires a bit of an upper-arm workout, but the end result is so worth it.

Don’t be scared of making homemade pasta! The fear in your heart is probably because you think you need fancy machines or an Italian nonna to coach you. But really, all you need are flour, eggs, olive oil, and water. The flour used for easier pasta-making is 00, which is finely ground, made from soft wheat, and has a baby powder-like silky texture. It has high elasticity for kneading but is also delicate so you don't end up with rubbery, tough, overworked dough. The process of making pasta is simple but will require a little bit of an arm workout: Roll it as thin as you can, but don’t worry—this is meant to be rustic and a little uneven in thickness and length so you can have fun making it instead of stressing out. Pair your homemade pasta with an equally simply homemade tomato sauce, inspired by Italian chef Marcella Hazan’s simple tomato, butter, and onion sauce. We pumped ours up with extra garlic and red pepper flakes for more flavor. Take this on as a solo treat yo self project or have a romantic night in with your partner or best friends.

Print the Recipe Save

INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

For the Pasta:

2 ⅓ cups 00 flour (also known as “pasta flour”)
3 eggs (try for ones with really vibrant yellow yolks!)
1 tablespoon olive oil
+ Water by the tablespoonful, if necessary
+ Pinch of kosher salt
+ Grated Parmesan cheese and fresh basil, for serving
+ Stuffed Garlic Knots, for serving

For the Buttery Tomato Sauce:

Makes 4 ½ cups

3 (14-ounce) cans good quality crushed tomatoes, preferably San Marzano
1 ½ sticks unsalted butter
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1 small onion, peeled and halved
3 cloves garlic
½ to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Make the Buttery Tomato Sauce: Combine the tomatoes, butter, salt, and onion, garlic, and chili flakes in a large saucepan, braiser, or Dutch oven. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce the heat to low and simmer until the sauce has thickened, 45 minutes to an hour. Discard onion and garlic cloves before serving. Season with salt to taste. Turn the burner to low and keep the lid on to keep the sauce warm while you make the pasta.
Make the pasta dough: Place the flour on a clean work surface and form a well in the center of the dough. Crack the eggs into well and beat the eggs with a fork, adding the olive oil mid-beating. Gradually combine the eggs with the flour a little at a time until incorporated, then knead into a dense, fairly dry dough. Knead, knowing the first few minutes will be really tough and will give you an upper-arm workout, until the dough becomes very smooth but still stiff and not sticky, 6–7 minutes, adding tiny drops of water if needed to help you knead, but trying to add as little water as possible! Divide the dough into 2 pieces and wrap each piece well in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes and up to 18 hours.
Roll out the pasta: Uncover one ball of pasta, dust your work surface with a little flour, then use a rolling pin to roll the dough, flipping it every 30 seconds, until a very thin disc forms. (It does not have to be perfectly round!) Make it as thin as you can, but know it won’t be as thin as fresh pasta from the supermarket or pasta shop! Fold the disc over in two-inch folds, then use a sharp knife to cut the pasta to the thickness you want (such as 1-inch wide ribbons like pappardelle or ¼-inch linguine). Unfurl the pasta, dust it lightly with flour, then repeat with the second ball of dough. Cover with a clean towel to prevent it from drying out.
Cook the pasta: Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Drop in the pasta, return to a boil, and cook until al dente, 3–4 minutes. Drain and serve with the Buttery, Garlicky Tomato Sauce, Parmesan cheese, fresh basil, and optional-but-encouraged Stuffed Garlic Knots.