I am prepping dinner and I cooked up some spinach and white beans and sun dried tomatoes and fresh tomatoes and parmesan and such for pasta. It tastes good but its kinda a big pile of mush.

Should I blend it up or add some butter and pasta water and use it as is?

As I wrote in another question, I was given a pasta extruder machine but I don't know what to do with it. Then I realized that maybe I shouldn't even bother since dry pasta is so inexpensive ($0.97 for 16oz of spaghetti on Amazon). Does fresh pasta really taste much better than dried pasta? Is homemade pasta better then fresh pasta from the supermarket?

In terms of dry pasta, do you pasta experts have a favorite brand? How about brands of pasta sauce? Yes, I know that homemade is probably better but I don't cook. I live in NYC so I can probably find any popular brands, including foreign ones. But keeping it simple would be easier on my peasant budget!

I went solo to Portugal for three weeks and eventually got tired of eating out. This was the result of that feeling, probably the best spaghetti I’ve ever made in my entire life.

I guess I should have marked it “store bought” since I got the ingredients at the store…

Hey, when making homemade pasta for pastas such as spaghetti, is it best to use only 00 flour or blend with semolina as well? I'm looking for that firm texture, and feel it's hard to get with 00.

Got a bunch at the farmers’ market. Had never had them so I tried them simply and then a bit more decadently.

I don't know what I did wrong they were definitely thick even after rolling it out until the light passed through it like the recipe said, but came out delicious either way, made a quick butter garlic sauce from scratch and a little parm

Thank you everyone that gave me tips on my last post, this time around I actually picked a recipe out ( https://www.bailiesaiz.com/eats/HomemadePastaSmallBatch ) along with rolling it out thinner, and kneading for 10 minutes. The shape was no where near perfect but I could feel and taste the improvement. Decided to use up some homemade(ish) spaghetti sauce I had frozen. Garnish is Parmesan with homegrown basil.

I wound up following u/Chef_1976's advice to blend a little but, so I took a scoop out and blended it with some pasta water and left the rest as is.

It was damn delicious.

Rough recipe:

-1 lb pasta

-2 cans (30oz) cannelini beans (rinsed, drained)

-Sun dried tomatoes (I just used a big spoonful of jarred sun dried tomato pesto)

-Basil, oregano, thyme (dried, fresh, whatever you can get)

-An onion

-3-4 cups of diced tomatoes

-Baby spinach (I used 6 oz because thats what I had but I would use at least 8)

-A head of garlic

-Parmesan cheese

-Salt and pepper

-Red pepper flakes

-Half a lemon

Makes about 7 servings.

Quite interesting honestly, just do it as a game!

Something about the sauce, I used 500g beef and 500g pork mince. A can of tomatoes, some onions and garlic, carrots and wine. Add some basil if you like, and put salt and pepper how much you want.

Nice experience, can’t wait to my next dish!

At the market, I found some beautiful white and striped eggplants, and since they don’t need much preparation, I decided to make a simple sauce with roasted eggplant, roasted red peppers and feta.

Halve two red pointed peppers, remove the seeds and place them on a baking tray. Clean two small eggplants, trim the ends, slice them and arrange them on the tray as well. Add the feta cheese, drizzle everything with olive oil and roast for 35 minutes at 200°C (390°F).

When the vegetables are done, bring a pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add one tablespoon of salt and cook the pasta according to the package instructions.

Remove the skins from the roasted peppers and transfer them to a blender together with the roasted eggplant and feta. Add basil, cilantro and parsley, the juice of half a lemon, a little chili and a splash of mirin. Add two ladles of pasta water and blend until smooth and creamy.

Pour the sauce over the cooked pasta, toss everything together and serve.

Wishing i still had some damn was it good. Before anyone asks yes i've used guanciale and while not traditional some dried basil but still very tasty. Defenitely making again

Homemade Bolognese and 4 cheeses