Homemade pasta is both a challenge and a glory. There are machines to help you cut it but mixing the dough requires a “feel,” that sense of knowing when it is right. Otherwise your result may be permanently al dente to an unpleasant degree.
The Chinese prize a type of home made noodle that is fashioned by separating a piece of dough into strands at a speed faster than the eye can follow.
If you are interested in being your own Marco Polo, start with Eastern Europe instead of Italy or China. My mother taught me how to make noodles from potato dough (she learned from her mother, and so forth). They are forever tender. The potato keeps them thus. And, the potato is why I am offering them to you in the first place. On this bitter winter it is our local storage vegetable.
Potato Noodles
1 large potato
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons salt
2/3 to 3/4 cups flour
1 large onion, thinly sliced and separated into rings
3 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 teaspoon minced dill
Peel and boil the potato in unsalted water until it is tender. Finely mash it and allow it to cool to lukewarm. Stir in the egg and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Mix in the flour to make a soft dough. Be sure to add enough of the flour so the dough is not sticky. Transfer the dough to a well-floured board.
Knead lightly for a minute or two. Roll into a rectangle approximately 8 x 12 and one-fourth inch thick. Bring a kettle of salted water to a boil. At this time, place the onions and remaining teaspoon of salt in a heavy-bottomed skillet or saucepan, cover tightly, and place over low heat to steam until very tender but not brown.
Cut the dough into strips one-fourth inch wide and cut the strips into one-inch pieces. You may cook the noodles as they are or roll each one lightly, into a slender sausage shape. Drop into boiling water and boil about three minutes, until they rise to the surface. Drain and keep covered.
Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add the breadcrumbs and stir in the steamed onions and dill. Add the cooked noodles, heat and toss lightly to mix with the crumbs and onions, and serve.
Serves four as a side dish.
NOTE: one cup of finely shredded cabbage or one-half cup of thinly sliced green pepper may be steamed with the onion and added to the bread crumb mixture.
