Pasta alla Papalina, with Homemade Noodles

(Pasta recipe from Marcella Hazan's "Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking"; papalina recipe from Mario Batali)

I'm not going to sugar-coat this. My first solo pasta-making experience was kind of a hot mess, process-wise. The end result was good, but what it took to get there was less than pretty.

Frankly, I was surprised, because I've been making pasta (lasagna noodles) with my mom for Christmas for years. Since I can remember, really. And, I mean, it's a process - it takes awhile, etc. - but it's pretty smooth sailing.

The same cannot be said when I went it alone. The first thing that went wrong was breaking the eggs into the flour. Marcella says to just make a little "bowl" out of flour, right on the countertop, and break the eggs into it, then mix. I made my flour bowl all wrong, and the eggs went pouring out the side:

 Yeah. It just got worse after I took this picture. Lots of fun to clean up. I started over with a bowl, and made a much better (deeper, wider) flour bowl this time:

Things went smoothly after this for awhile. I slowly incorporated the flour into the eggs. It was still pretty sticky, so I added more flour. And then more. And then some more. Still sticky. More flour. You get the idea. Finally, I got to this:

I then divided it into smaller pieces to run through the pasta maker:

And those eventually became this:

That doesn't look so bad, you might say. But the thing was that the pasta just stayed sticky. The whole time. When it came time to run these pieces through the noodle-making attachment of the pasta maker (there I made another, unforgivable, inconceivable error - I rinsed the attachment off. I got it wet, and it took forever, and all kinds of experimenting, to get it dry), they just got stuck everywhere - to themselves, to the pasta maker, to me. I even quadrupled, at least, the drying time. No dice. Eventually, I just ended up hand-cutting them.

There is a line in Marcella's cookbook that says, "allow the strips...to dry for 10 minutes or more, depending on the temperature and ventilation of your kitchen". I remember reading that and scoffing. Who does Marcella think I am, I thought, that I have the skill and time to consider the temperature and ventilation of my kitchen? Pah! Well, Marcella, as usual, was right. The difference between making pasta in the middle of dry, cold December, and making it in the middle of hot, humid August, is - clearly - huge. Yes, I will blame my difficulty on the weather.

Like I said, the end result - the taste and texture - was great. Worth it. And the papalina! Mostly, I just love to say - and write - that word. But also, it's delicious. Slightly lighter than carbonara, and a nice pop with the peas. Definitely a make-again.

Sheesh, want the recipe, already?

HOMEMADE PASTA NOODLES (for 3/4 lb pasta; pasta maker with roller required)
1 cup flour
2 large eggs

Pour the flour on a work surface, if you're brave, or into a bowl, if you know better. Shape the flour into a mound and hollow out the center, making sure it's deep enough and wide enough to fit two eggs. Break the eggs into the hollow.

Beat the eggs with a fork, gently. Slowly draw a little flour into the eggs, little by little, and mix the eggs and flour as you go until the eggs are no longer runny. Draw the sides of the mound together with your hands and work the eggs and flour together with your hands until the eggs and flour are combined. Add more flour if you think it's too moist.

You can test the moistness of your dough by pressing your dry, clean thumb deep into the center of the mass and seeing if it comes out clean. If it does, you don't need any more flour and you can move ahead.

The next step is to knead the dough. With your hands. Always knead in the same direction. Do this for about 8-10 minutes.

Divide the dough (you can cut it with a knife) into six equal parts. Set up your machine with a clean, dry dishtowel or tablecloth nearby. Set the pair of rollers on the machine at their widest setting. Flatten one of the pieces of dough by pounding it with your hand, then run it through the machine. Fold the dough twice, into a third of its length, and then feed it narrow-end-first into the machine again. Do this 2-3 more times, then lay the flattened piece of pasta on the towel and repeat with the other five pieces. Don't let the pieces touch one another.

Adjust the pair of rollers on the machine down one notch (one notch tighter). Run each piece of pasta through the machine once, this time without folding, narrow-end-first.

Repeat this process, going one notch tighter, until you reach the desired thickness. I stopped at the second-to-last notch, because mine were so sticky that they would've started to fall apart if they were any thinner.

You'll see the pasta get progressively thinner and longer as you go.

Once you're done with the thinning, let the strips dry for 10 or more minutes...or, you know, an hour, if your kitchen is hot and humid. They shouldn't be so dry that they crack when cut, but they shouldn't stick to one another.

In theory, at this point you would attach the noodle-cutting contraption and run each piece through the machine. Or, you can cut it with a knife.

Fresh-made noodles cut really, really quickly. Gather the pasta in a single towel and slide them into boiling, salted water. They will become whiter when they're ready - eyeball it, and taste a couple, to know they're al dente.

PASTA ALLA PAPALINA
3 tbsp or so olive oil
3 oz or so sliced prosciutto, cut or torn into squares/strips
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
2 large eggs
1/2-3/4 lb pasta
1/2 cup grated parmesan
Ground black pepper

Combine half the oil and the prosciutto in a pan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the prosciutto has rendered some of its fat and is golden brown. Remove from the heat and stir in the peas.

Cook the pasta and drain it, reserving about 1/4 cup of the pasta water. (Guess who forgot this step?)

Whisk the eggs together in a medium bowl to break them up, then whisk in the remaining olive oil and half of the reserved pasta water.

Add the pasta to the prosciutto and peas and stir and toss over medium heat to mix well. Add the egg, remove from the heat, and toss vigorously to slightly cook the eggs (add a splash or two more of the reserved pasta water if necessary to loosen the sauce). Stir in the parmesan, season with pepper, and serve immediately with grated cheese on the side.