DH bought one of Lidia Bastianich's cookbooks for me for Christmas. We have been watching her show, Lidia's Italy, on PBS for months, and she never fails to make our mouths water. Unlike the super models pretending to cook on those other shows, Lidia is a real Italian (with a real Italian shape) making real Italian food. Since making pasta was on my "To Learn" list anyway, I thought her book would be a good place to start. I might have to get a little inventive with some of the ingredients. They just don't sell Grana Padano in Newark. I wonder why?
You can find the recipe for Walnut Pesto Here.
I have several observations about hand made pasta:
- It is amazing. This recipe was easy to follow and delicious. There is no going back for us now.
- I am convinced that no one who eats much pasta would ever be overweight if they always rolled the dough by hand. What a workout! A pasta machine might just have to go on my purchase list. It will probably turn out to be a mistake, however. For now, I'll just roll.
- Fresh pasta has always been one of those "dare I even try?" things. It turned out to be far easier than I imagined.
- According to M, it was "the best meal I've had all week!" Of course, she's comparing it to frozen pot pies and boxed mac n cheese.
- It pays to try new things. I fully expected the rest of the family to push the walnut pesto pasta around their plates suspiciously before rejecting it outright. Surprise, surprise.
