You know those gifts you give that benefit you? Yeah. That's what happened when I gifted a KitchenAid pasta attachment to my husband last Christmas. It was maybe one of the best ideas I've ever had.

This past May long weekend was rainy and free of plans. So what do you do when you are stuck at home? Pasta. Lots and lots of pasta. We decided to try our hand at freezing fresh pasta to cook later.

While there is still some things we have to learn about a perfectly frozen pasta nest, having fresh pasta cooked in under 15 minutes means we did something right.

To make enough for 6 meals (plus left overs for lunches), we decided to do 6x our standard recipe. But let's pretend we did a standard recipe, since, that's enough for a good meal plus left overs.

Rule #1: Use weight to measure your flour. There are way too many variables to consider just measuring by cups, including altitude, humidity, the kind of flour used, etc. Always, always weigh your flour.

But that's enough rules. Let's make pasta.

While I'm not sure the scientific reasons for letting the dough rest, it's important. Make sure it stays covered, otherwise you'll be dealing with very dried out dough.

We have a fettuccine cutter, but for some variety, we cut some noodles by hand for tagliatelle.

We haven't mastered the art of the pasta nests quite yet. I guess that just means more pasta is in order. Below is our go-to recipe. It is translated from German, and is actually for a delicious Schwabish dish called Maultaschen. But, it works perfectly and is delicious!

RECIPE

(Recipe from Die echte deutsche Küche)

Ingredients

300 g Flour + more to roll out dough
3 Eggs
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Soft butter or oil (I use oil)

Instructions

Put flour in a mixing bowl. Add in eggs, salt and the oil (or butter) and mix until a smooth dough is formed. Knead the dough, adding in a few drops of cold water if needed. Let rest, covered, for 20 - 30 minutes.
When ready to roll, take small pieces of dough (whatever is manageable for your roller or to roll by hand). Flatten with your hands or rolling pin before placing in roller. Use widest setting to begin rolling. Roll two or three times, folding the dough in half after each time. Once smooth, begin decreasing width, until at desired thickeness (we typically do to 6). Once thickness is reached, you can cut into noodles by hand, use your favourite noodle cutter, or prep for ravioli.**
Place cut noodles on a drying rack until ready to cook.
Bring a big pot of salted water to a boil. Once boiling, add noodles and cook until al dante (about 5 mintues). Drain and toss with butter or oil to keep from sticking.
Enjoy!

**If freezing, place cut noodles into small nests and toss with flour. Make sure to toss them a few times as they dry. Place in freezer bag, label and lay flat in freezer.