For most folk, the image of a kid in a candy shop would not be a child in a big ol’ farm kitchen, festooned with oodles of noodles. But it fits my story as a young kid on the farm. Homemade hand cut egg noodles, which my mother had hung to dry over every free surface in the room-counters, tables and chair backs. Now this just happened to leave the neatly cut ends of the l-o-n-g noodles at about the height of a small farm girl… While I’m sure she cautioned me to leave them alone, inevitably I’d manage to sneak in unseen to tweak off the yummy ends of that soft dough, leaving a row of ragged edges like a set of snaggle teeth. Was I in trouble? Probably. But not so much so that I recall ending the error of my ways…
Noodles were a staple on the Midwestern dinner table, usually served as part of “something and noodles,” such as chicken and noodles or beef and noodles. I never learned to make them; by the time I was old enough, Mom was too busy on the farm or had returned to full-time work. She simply didn’t make them any longer. And what was never mentioned was the fact that egg noodles are actually pasta.
Italian American food was not a particularly familiar cuisine on the farm. My mom did make a basic spaghetti sauce, but it was always served on the long dried strands of pasta found in a box on the grocery store shelf. But after leaving the farm for the wider world, and as that world began to offer a broader selection of cuisines, I came to know fresh pasta as a highly desirable commodity. I simply never connected the simple egg noodles of my childhood with fresh pasta, because we didn’t eat it that way. And the idea of making it at home seemed quite daunting…
The fact that my husband had spent his early childhood in the south of Italy only multiplied the intimidation factor. His nickname as a kid was “the spaghetti boy.” We acquired an Italian pasta machine years ago and he would on occasion make fresh pasta. That seemed to suffice until several months ago when I saw a class being offered at Hayden Flour Mills https://www.haydenflourmills.com where I purchase many of my grain products. The company mills an ancient variety of wheat known as Sonoran white wheat, originally brought to the area by the Spaniards as they moved north through Mexico to claim land and establish missions. Highly digestible, I use it in many of my baked goods.
A life-long need to make pasta suddenly bloomed, so I registered for the class. Picture a gaggle of multi-aged women around a big wooden baking station. Gab and flour were both flying freely; eggs were breaking and dough was kneaded. We took turns learning how to thin and cut the dough, feeding through the pasta machine. We cut and stamped tortellini and used a cavarola board to make cavatelli. My fear melted away, as I discovered this process was actually pretty easy, particularly for someone who has baked for years. I was also reminded that camaraderie makes learning reinforcing. Many kudos to Emma and Jill, our instructors at the mill, for making the afternoon both fun and functional.
I drove home with a pound of various shapes of pasta, including half a pound of yes; you guessed it, egg noodles. Checked out the pantry, finding the ingredients to turn those scrumptious strands of dough into this recipe. So as we head into a new year, do I think you should make this pasta dish or even make your own pasta? Sure if either of those appeal to you. You can certainly make the dish with convenient fresh pasta from the refrigerated section of the grocery, or even dried pasta. But more importantly, try something you’ve always wanted to do, but thought you couldn’t. Accomplishment feels pretty satisfying.
Pasta with Butternut and Bacon
Ingredients
- 1 poblano pepper
- 2 cups diced butternut squash
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary crushed
- 5 slices bacon
- 8 ounces fresh or dried pasta of choice
- 1 tablespoon flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- pinch pepper
- 1 cup milk or alt milk
- ¼ cup grated pecorino or parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Turn the oven on to broil. Place the poblano pepper on a baking pan and broil until blackened, turning to broil all sides. Remove from the heat and place in a paper bag to steam. Once cooled, scrape off the blackened skin, remove seeds and dice the flesh. Set aside.
- Heat the oven to 425° F. Toss the butternut squash with olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano, cayenne, cumin and rosemary. Spread out on a baking pan either sprayed with cooking spray or covered with parchment. Bake for 20 minutes, stirring once, or until browned and tender. Set aside.
- Begin heating a large pot of water with 2 to 3 quarts of generously salted water. Slice the bacon in ½ inch strips and sauté in a medium skillet until browned and crisp. Remove to a paper towel to drain. Pour off the bacon fat, leaving one tablespoon in the skillet. When ready to make the sauce, heat the bacon fat over medium high heat until sizzling, then stir in the flour until smooth. Gradually add the milk, stirring constantly until it comes to a boil. Turn heat down and simmer sauce for 1 minute. Add the grated cheese and season to taste. Stir in the diced poblano.
- When the water is boiling, cook the pasta according to the recipe or package directions. When al dente drain the pasta, reserving ½ cup starchy cooking water. Toss pasta with the sauce, butternut squash and bacon slices, adding starchy cooking water as needed to thin the sauce.
Yum!!!
Thanks for the memories as well. I, too, grew up in a household where homemade noodles were made as needed by grandmother and mother. Ours were left to dry, carefully aligned on clean, white, fresh linens opened on a flat surface.
I, as well, tried my hand at making them, but unfortunately the demands of work, graduate school, etc., intervened & I discontinued making them. Perhaps I need to resume the craft. There’s nothing better than tender homemade noodles.