Hand-Rolled Ricotta Pasta with Brushland’s Grandma Sauce
For easy meal prep, double the recipe and reserve half. Place the uncooked pasta on a baking sheet, sprinkle with flour, and freeze. Once frozen, transfer the pasta to a freezer bag or other airtight container. When ready to eat, simply boil the frozen as you would store-bought pasta.
Ingredients
SAUCE
- 1 28- ounce can peeled whole tomatoes
- 1 bunch basil torn
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Pinch freshly ground black pepper
PASTA
- 1 pound ricotta cheese
- 1 large egg
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- Shaved Grana Padano cheese for garnish
Instructions
- ►SAUCE: Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix with clean hands, crushing tomatoes as needed, until sauce is mostly uniform in texture. Set aside or store in refrigerator for up to 10 days.
- ►PASTA: Combine ricotta cheese and egg in a large bowl and stir with a rubber spatula. Add flour and salt and stir until dough comes together. Turn dough out onto a clean, floured work surface. Knead dough until fully combined and smooth. Rest dough for 30 minutes.
- ►Portion dough into golf ball–size mounds and dust lightly with flour.
- ►Roll each dough ball into a long, ¼-inch-thick rope using your fingers. Cut each rope into 1-inch pieces. Place dough pieces on a rimmed baking sheet and sprinkle with flour to prevent sticking.
- ►Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil in a large saucepot. Drop pasta into boiling water and cook until pasta floats. Once all pasta is floating, strain and transfer pasta to another saucepan.
- ►Add butter and half of tomato sauce (or more to taste) and warm over medium-low heat. Garnish with Grana Padano and serve.
Sohail Zandi
Sohail Zandi is the chef and co-owner of Brushland Eating House in Bovina, N.Y.
