Home-made egg pasta with beetroot & walnut sauce

Fresh egg pasta in beetroot and walnut sauce, garnish with poppy seeds and parsley

"She can't cook!" my sister warned me about her domestic helper, Ethylene, before I went to her home for lunch last summer. Btw, my sister likes Ethylene a lot.

"She must be able to cook one thing or two? Didn't you tell me that she was a cook in a restaurant?" I questioned my sister.

"She worked in a spaghetti restaurant. She only cooked pasta. I don't eat pasta you know..." her voice trailed off...

Haha! My sister realized that she has been missing something good!

That afternoon Ethylene and I decided to make fresh pasta from scratch. But no rolling pin or pasta machine, fine, a wine bottle was on! Tender egg noodles were finally cooked in creamy sauce, fantastic! My sister had two bites, it was already considered a triumph since she's a completely hard-cored Chinese food's lover.

These flat noodles are incredibly easy to make; you don't even need to dusk off your pasta machine. But the key is, just like handling any bread's or pie's dough - T.I.M.E. I mean the inactive (resting) time. Always give the dough a rest after some rolling actions, then it will be easily spreading out; you can roll as thin as you want.

I didn't create this recipe, it is originated from one's from Dalle Alpi, Turin, northern Italy. The original doesn't contain any nuts, but I love adding some in order to create some "body" and a rustic feel.

To make the fresh egg pasta, please look out for the 2nd recipe. Plus some butter.

To make the sauce (base on 1 serving), you will need:

• 1 very small beetroot (or 1/2 of the medium). Peel, cut into cubes.
• 1 tablespoon butter (not any cooking oil)
• 1 clove of garlic, chopped
• a very small handful walnut, chopped
• 1/4 or 1/3 cup fruity white wine
• some water
• a pinch of ground nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon heavy/double cream
• 1 tablespoon ground parmigiano
• some salt and pepper

Pre-heat a skillet, saute the butter, garlic and walnut over very low heat, for about 3 minutes, but don't let anything get burn. Raise up the heat and saute the beetroot for 3 minutes, add wine, continue for another 2 minutes. Puree with some water. We aim for sauce-like consistency. Return the puree to the skillet, simmer it for about 5 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste, add a pinch of nutmeg. Set it aside while you cook the pasta.

Boil the fresh pasta for a few minutes (they cook much faster than the dried) until al dente. Drain, and immediately add some salt and butter, toss well.

To serve, re-heat the sauce, add the parmigiano and heavy/double cream, pour it over a serving plate, place the pasta on top, garnish with poppy seeds and parsley.

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