Fresh Fettuccine with a Zucchini Marinara sauce

Fresh pasta has this tenderness and and unctuousness that store bought pasta can scarcely compare with. I bought a pasta machine last week and had to try it out this weekend. Fresh pasta needs a lot of "love", ergo a lot of pounding and stretching, to make as it uses hard summer wheat but needs the glutinous flexibility of winter wheat. So be prepared to exercise those dormant muscles in your hands and arms as they're in for quite a workout while making the dough. 

For the sauce, I used a simple marinara, with the addition of some zucchini and bacon for that little textual lift. For a vegetarian version you can omit the bacon entirely, and add some crisp onion as a garnish at the end for a little crispiness.

Ingredients

Fettuccine

• 4 cups fine wheat semolina, or hard wheat flour
• 5 eggs
• 1 tsp salt
• Extra plain flour for dusting
• Vegetable oil for oiling

Marinara Sauce

• 6 whole tomatoes
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 5 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp pepper
• salt to taste
• 1/2 a zucchini, chopped into thick quarters
• 3 rashers of back bacon, roughly chopped

Method

Fettuccine

1. Mix the eggs, salt and semolina together and knead into a firm dough. You shouldn't need any extra water, but in case the dough is a little loose add a little plain flour to kelp bind it together
2. Once the dough is made, place it on a floured workplace and oil your fingers. Then punch the dough down and stretch it out with the base of your palms. Roll it back and stretch it out again. Working this way with the dough will get the wheat germ to release its gluten.
3. Keep working on the dough until its springy to touch; which should take around 10 minutes of kneading. Then wrap in cling-film and let it rest for at least 30 minutes.
4. Once rested split into 8 sections, and take one while keeping the rest under cling film to prevent it from drying out.
5. I used a pasta-machine, so roll it out until the pasta sheet is around 1 mm in thickness (setting 7). Then cut it out into fettuccine strips and boil in salted water. Keep the dough and fettuccine strips lightly floured to keep it from sticking. 
6. The fettuccine when cut would appear to be bunched together, but they would separate out when boiling. Just lightly shake it just as you add it to the boiling water and it will separate out.
7. Cook until its just cooked and just firm to touch, which should take around 2-3 minutes. Drain and lightly oil.
8. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.

Marinara sauce

1. Score the top of the tomatoes crosswise and boil until completely cooked. Remove and keep under cold water, then peel the skin off the tomatoes.
2. Add the boiled and skinned tomatoes to a food processor along with the oregano, thyme and paprika. Grind until you get the desired texture, such as keeping it chunky or smoothening it out.
3. Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the chopped garlic and onions.
4. Fry until the onions turn translucent and add the zucchini. Fry and cook the zucchini and add the white wine.
5. Stew on a high flame and add the ground tomato.
6. Add the pepper, basil and some salt to taste and bring the sauce to a boil. Then lower the flame to medium and let it stew. I like my marinara sauce to be thick and thus I cook the sauce uncovered. If your cooking it uncovered, keep stirring it periodically to prevent it from burning. Once cooked remove from heat and keep covered.
7. Fry the chopped bacon on high heat and in its own fat. Add the crisp bacon to the sauce and mix in in.
8. Create a base of fettuccine and ladle the sauce over. Serve up and dig in.