Fresh Homemade Pasta Recipe with Asparagus and Prosciutto Ham

I’ve said it so many times and I’ll say it again, there is nothing like fresh homemade pasta, nothing.  I’ve made a ton of homemade pasta over the past few years, but it hasn’t come without tons of heartache.  I’ve actually jacked up quite a few pasta dough recipes before I could finally get it right.  I know, my Italian ancestors would be rolling over in the graves but none-the-less I think I’ve got it right now.  Go ahead and throw away any pasta recipe you’ve used in the past, because I can tell you right now every single time you’ve made it it’s been different.  There is no way the eggs you used were the same size that you used in the recipe before.  No way on earth you used the exact amount of water because pasta dough may not need as much or as little due to the size of the eggs.  What I’m getting at is no pasta dough recipes are the same because the elements are never the same.

Just like any good recipe, it all starts with really high-quality ingredients. Bob’s Red Mill makes a ton of wonderful products, but I’d say 1 of the items we use most is the Bob’s Red Mill All-Purpose Flour.  It’s just so incredibly versatile to handle just about all of my baking needs.  It has enough protein in it to make fantastic breads and pizza crusts and is delicate enough to make beautiful cakes and pie crusts.  It’s also perfect for making this fresh homemade pasta recipe, but the technique of making it is equally as important.

The process of assembling the dough is really easy.  First start by pouring your flour out onto a clean surface and use the back of your hand to make a well in the flour.  Next crack in a few eggs and begin to whisk.  For an extremely general recipe you are looking at 2 large eggs to every 1 ½ cups of flour, but don’t take that to the bank until we know what you need when the kneading starts.  I like to whisk the eggs with the fork and once they are “scrambled” so to speak, then you want to slowly add the flour into the mixture using your fork.  Once the dough begins to come a bit thicker I usually switch over to a bench knife at this point, so I can scrape everything off of the surface to incorporate it into my pasta dough recipe.  Now is when your recipe may or may not need some tweaking.  If the dough is way too dry, and you’ll know because it won’t come together at all, then you need to add in a little water to help bring things together.  I can’t even give you the amount of water, but I would start with a tablespoon and work from there.  You want your homemade pasta dough to be like a firm pie crust dough.  Outside of the ingredients this next step is probably the most crucial.  Knead the dough for at least 7 minutes and when I mean knead I mean knead, so don’t stop for one second.  Yes, your arms and shoulders will be tired, but this is probably the single most important step into making a successful pasta dough recipe.  After the 7 minutes or so are up, knead it for another 2 minutes just to make sure.  I actually set a timer to ensure I am doing it for the full allotted time.

Once your dough is kneaded, wrap it in plastic or put it in a plastic baggie and let it rest in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes so that the gluten can begin to form which will help when you need to roll it out and stretch it.  After the dough is done resting, remove it from the plastic bag and divide it into 3 equal parts and begin rolling it.  Press one of the dough pieces down to flatten it out and dust each side with flour and using a pasta crank roll it out on the widest setting and run it through 3 to 4 more times before closing the setting in by 1 dial.  I usually get to about the 5 or 6 setting on the dial before it feels good enough to run through to make the actual pasta noodles.  Here is another crucial thing I figured out and it’s to NOT fold the dough after sending it through the pasta crank.  THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO REASON TO DO IT, NONE!!  I’ve had more issues with folding the dough over than probably any other issue, so keep it flat and keep sending it through.

Last but not least you want to let the pasta dough dry out for about 10 minutes before cutting the sheets of pasta down to about 12 inches, sprinkling on some flour and then cranking it through your desired noodle selection.  I use linguine often because it’s so versatile and for me it’s the perfect size to any pasta recipe.  Once your pasta has run through you can either hang it on a rack or sprinkle on lots of flour and form it into a loose round shaped ball on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper.  Let the pasta dry for about 10-20 minutes before boiling it.

I serve up this homemade pasta recipe with some fresh asparagus, mushrooms, prosciutto, lemon, ricotta, parmesan and burrata because why not?  This thing is cheesy and so delicious, and even better yet incredibly easy to make.

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Fresh Homemade Pasta Recipe with Asparagus and Prosciutto Ham

There is absolutely nothing like homemade pasta. The flavor is so rich and so delicious that you'll never want to eat store made pasta again. This Fresh Homemade Pasta Recipe with Asparagus and Prosciutto Ham has the perfect combo of flavors and right in season as the weather starts to warm up!

Course Main

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Servings 6

Author Chef Billy Parisi

Ingredients

For the Pasta:

• 3 cups of Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose Flour
• 4 eggs
• cold water as needed

For the Toppings:

• 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup each sliced shiitake and portabella mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon of finely mince garlic
• 12-15 trimmed and sliced fresh asparagus stalks
• ¾ cup of whole milk ricotta cheese
• ½ cup of grated Parmesan cheese + more for garnish
• 1 ball of burrata cheese cut into wedges
• 6 slices of prosciutto ham
• zest of ½ lemon
• parsley leaves for garnish
• Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Linguine: Add the flour to a clean surface and make a well. Add the eggs to center of a well and whisk using a fork.
2. Gradually bring in flour from the outside until it is combined. Use a bench knife to scrape together all of the ingredients and knead for at least 7 minutes. You may need to add a bit of water if the dough is too dry.
3. Once the dough is kneaded form it into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for 30 minutes.
4. Next, divide the dough into 3 sections and roll out each piece using a pasta roller with hand crank on the lowest setting. Next, turn the setting higher and roll the dough. Repeat until you get to #6 setting and roll it again. The dough should be a long thin sheet. Set aside on a floured surface and repeat with the other 2 dough balls. Cut the dough sheets into 10"-12" sections.
5. Add the linguine attachment, sprinkle the dough again with flour and roll out each 10"-12" cut sheets of dough and form into little pasta balls on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper. Rest for at least 10 minutes so that pasta can dry out a bit.
6. Pasta: Add the olive oil to a large saute pan over medium-high heat and cook the mushroom until they are caramelized. Once brown, about 3 to 4 minutes add in the garlic and mix in.
7. Turn the heat to low and add in the asparagus and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the heat off.
8. Add ½ of the pasta to a large pot of boiling salted water and cook until al dente, about 2 to 3 minutes.
9. Transfer the pasta to the saute pan with veggies and toss in ricotta cheese, parmesan, salt and pepper and mix until combined.
10. Add the tossed pasta to a plate and garnish with prosciutto ham, sliced burrata, parmesan cheese, lemon zest and parsley.
11. Serve.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Bob’s Red Mill. The opinions and text are all mine.