Now this is my type of cooking. Simple, elegant, and dang delicious. In fact, if I had it my way I would make recipes like this Homemade Pasta Recipe with Lemon Ricotta and Smoked Salmon every dang day. Unfortunately, I’m busy as heck and can’t devote a few hours every day to feeding the family. So, when I get to do recipes like this one I really enjoy myself. It took me quite a while in my culinary career to appreciate all aspects of the cooking process. From the grocery shopping to the clean-up, it’s become therapeutic for me. Truth be told if the recipes require more intricate procedures I seem to enjoy them even more. I’m weird I know, but something about rolling out a classic recipe like homemade pasta just brings me so much joy. That’s right, I don’t even like running the dough through a machine to flatten it; I like to do it all by hand. Now you think I’m even weirder.
There is something so joyous when you see the fruits of your labor form something as beautiful as a sheet of homemade past dough. You throw some flour on it and hold it up so you can barely see through it. Perfect! One thing is for certain, if you roll out homemade pasta the palms of your hands will be a little soar, especially if you’re not used to doing it like this. However, I’m a bit of purist when it comes to creating classic recipes but I have zero problem with you running it through a Kitchenaid, none. Whatever makes your time more valuable in the kitchen so you can do what you need to do. Stories and personal feelings aside regarding rolling out pasta dough, let’s get into this Homemade Pasta Recipe with Lemon Ricotta and Smoked Salmon.
If you’ve never had or made homemade dough and are doing it for the first time, you will be amazed at how delicious it is. You will literally despise store bough dried pasta from here on out, it’s a fact! When noodles are homemade they have the ability to soak up more of the pasta sauce flavors making them that much more succulent. You also have the ability to add ingredients to your pasta to make them unique, like spinach or sun-dried tomatoes. Don’t get me wrong this homemade pasta recipe needs nothing, but if you want to get creative you can.
I spelled out the instructions in a lot of detail in the recipe below so I don’t want to bore you with all that. However, if you are looking for an intricate detail on how to make a homemade pasta recipe with pictures then check out my Homemade Fettuccine Pasta with Ragu alla Bolognese. To take a step back on the pasta recipe I absolutely recommend using semolina flour, but you can definitely use AP flour. Just a little FYI there.
When I was making this Homemade Pasta Recipe with Lemon Ricotta and Smoked Salmon, I knew I wanted some simple ingredients and flavors to compliment the labor of love that is homemade pasta. I love the combo of ricotta and lemon, so why not whip those together and fold it in with the pasta? Once I knew I had the base of the pasta I wanted to add some protein that sort of shares my culinary point of view with that of the simplistic cuisine of the mother land, a.k.a. Italy :-). I’ve really been into smoking foods the past few years and I couldn’t think of a better food to pair up with everything then smoked salmon. I also realize that you probably don’t have a smoker so for all intents and purposes we are just going to use some store bought smoked salmon, no shame. If you do get a smoker one day hit me up and we’ll talk about some great easy recipes for you to try, including smoked salmon. The only thing you need to do is break it up in small chunks or if you buy the slices, roughly chop it. The sour from the lemon compliments the richness of the ricotta and smoky salty goodness from the salmon like a dream come true, seriously. It is an excellent pairing and event better when eaten all together. Garnish with some fresh herbs and serve it up with some wine and crusty bread. Hope you get a chance to do this one, it’s a good one :-).
- 1 cup and 2 tablespoons of semolina flour
- 1 cup and 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
- 4 large eggs
- 4 to 6 ounces of cold water
- 1 cup of drained whole milk ricotta cheese
- zest of 1 lemon
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoons of unsalted butter
- 4 ounces of chopped smoked salmon
- Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper
- Fresh oregano and chiffonade basil leaves for garnish
- Fresh grated Parmesan cheese for garnish
- Sift together both flours onto a clean cutting board and form a well.
- Add the eggs to the center of the well and whisk with a form until scrambled and then slowly incorporate the flour into the whisked eggs until it is completely combined.
- Knead for 1 minute to ensure it is mixed in completely, add water if the pasta is too dry, form a ball and set aside for 1 hour.
- Next, divide the dough ball into 3 even parts and roll out each one until it is the 18” by 24” and place on a flour dusted sheet tray lined with parchment paper and let rest for 20 minutes. Repeat with the other 2 dough balls.
- Next, fold the dough over several times and slice it to your desired thickness. About ⅓” for fettuccine. Repeat the process until all of the dough has been cut and toss it together with a little bit of flour and place on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper and sit for 20 to 30 minutes. For a more detailed explanation with images, click HERE.
- Add the ricotta, lemon zest and lemon juice to a standing mixer with the whisk attachment and whip it on high speed for 2 to3 minutes or until light and fluffy. Season with salt and pepper.
- In a large sauté pan on medium heat with butter add in the cooked chopped smoked salmon and sauté for 2 to 3 minute to heat it up. Next add in the whipped ricotta and keep warm over low heat.
- Cook the noodles in a large pot of boiling salted water until they are al dente, or slightly crunchy, strain them add them to the saute pan with the ricotta and toss. Season with salt and pepper.
- Serve the pasta with fresh chiffonade basil and oregano leaves.