Fresh pasta:

I know you probably get tired of me harping on the use of fresh noodles, but there is nothing quite as wonderful as a fresh bowl of noodles with a fine sauce. I sometimes make this for lunch or as a primo for a big dinner. By the way, I recently purchased the pasta maker attachment to my KitchenAid mixer (see the discussion about making Italian sausage), and what a difference it makes over the hand cranking I have been doing over the years to get fresh pasta. You turn out "tons" of fresh pasta in a very short time.

Ingredients (6 servings):

• 1 pound – fresh fettuccine noodles
• 3 tablespoons – olive oil
• 2 tablespoons -- butter
• 1 pound – fresh button mushrooms, sliced
• 3 cloves – garlic, minced
• 1 ½ cups – dry white wine (e.g., chardonnay)
• 1 tablespoon – anchovy paste
• ½ teaspoon – red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon – fresh basil
• 2 teaspoons – fresh oregano
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 4 tablespoons – all purpose flour

Preparation:

Prepare the fresh fettuccine pasta and cook in salted water for about 6 minutes. When the pasta is finished, drain and then place it back in the pan you cooked it. Add the olive oil to keep the pasta from sticking until the sauce is prepared.


Fresh pasta strips





Fresh fettuccine cut from the strips.




Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat and add the mushrooms. Sauté until the water has cooked off the mushrooms and they begin to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for an additional 1 minute. Add the wine and anchovy paste and cook for about 10 minutes to thicken the sauce. Add the pepper flakes, basil, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. Add the flour to thicken the sauce and turn heat to low to keep warm until the noodles are ready.


The wine and anchovy sauce




Pour the sauce over the noodles and mix well. Serve immediately. Enjoy!