Tineke “Tini” Younger’s Pesto Pasta

Homemade Pasta Ingredients

Instructions

Mound the flour onto a clean work surface (or a large bowl) and use your hands to form a well in the center. Add the eggs, olive oil, and salt to the well. Using a fork, beat the eggs to break up the yolks. Gradually begin to incorporate the flour until the dough turns into a shaggy mixture.

Once the dough becomes too tough for the fork, use your hands to bring the dough together into a ball. Knead the dough by pushing the dough ball forward with the heel of your hand, then turning it a ¼ turn, and repeating until it’s soft, supple, and smooth, about 5 minutes—dust the surface lightly with more flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking, but don’t add too much so that the dough becomes dough and hard to knead. When it’s ready, the dough should spring back when gently pressed with your fingertip.
Divide the dough in half and shape each half into a flat square. Wrap each in plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours. Pasta dough can be wrapped tightly and refrigerated for up to 1 day. Bring it to room temperature before rolling.

Lightly dust your work surface with flour and, using a rolling pin, roll out one dough half (keep the other piece of dough covered with plastic wrap so it doesn’t dry out) to a large rectangle, about 20 x 12-inches—it should be thin enough that you can see the outline of the palm of your hand through it. If you have a pasta maker or pasta roller attachment for your stand mixer, you can use that, passing the dough through each number twice up to 7 (if using a machine, you’ll need to cut the dough halves into quarters).

For lasagna sheets: Cut the rolled dough into 13-inch long pasta sheets. Dust with flour and transfer to floured baking sheets–flouring is important so they don’t stick! (For Meat Lover’s Lasagna (page 000), you’ll need 1-1/2 batches of the dough.)
For fettuccine: Arrange the rectangle of rolled dough on your work surface and dust lightly with more flour if it’s at all tacky (cut it into more manageable pieces if needed). Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, slice the dough into long ¼-inch thick strands, or if your pasta maker has a fettuccine-cutting attachment, you can use that. Transfer the noodles to a baking sheet and gently toss with a bit more flour to keep the strands from sticking to each other as you gently let them fall into a small nest. Repeat the rolling and cutting process with the second piece of dough.

Homemade Pesto for Pasta Ingredients

⅓ cup pine nuts (about 1 ½ ounces)
4 cups lightly-packed fresh basil leaves
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 ounce Parmesan cheese, finely grated (about ½ cup)
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon grated lemon zest, plus 2 to 4 teaspoons freshly-squeezed lemon juice
¾ teaspoon kosher salt¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Place the pine nuts in a small, dry skillet over medium-low heat. Toast, shaking the pan occasionally (a good place to practice the well-known chef “pan flip!”), until lightly browned and very fragrant, 4 to 5 minutes. Immediately transfer the nuts to a bowl to avoid any carryover cooking. Set aside to cool.
Rinse the basil with cool water, then shake it mostly dry (leave some water clinging to the leaves). Transfer to the bowl of a food processor with the garlic, Parmesan, and pine nuts. Pulse until finely minced, 20 to 30 seconds. With the machine running, drizzle in the olive oil and blend until mostly smooth and emulsified with a few chunks remaining. Add the lemon zest, 2 teaspoons of the lemon juice, salt, and pepper and pulse a few times to combine. Take a taste and add more lemon juice and/or salt as needed. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week (drizzle the top with a thin coating of olive oil to help maintain the bright green color for longer).