Thanksgiving Pasta

I’ve been trying to keep to my own little tradition of making fresh pasta every Sunday. Having this ritual challenges me to make a meal out of whatever I have in the kitchen that inspires me. Naturally, these dishes are heavily influenced by the time of year and with Thanksgiving & Christmas just around the corner, I wanted to use some of the quintessential flavors of the holidays in this dish.

A savory, buttery sage sauce with warm Nutmeg, a tangy & sweet Cranberry drizzle — anything that makes me feel warm and cozy inside. A little bit of hygge in a bowl. I also took a liking to making my own Cranberry Juice & sauce last year so I’ve been looking for a reason to start again. I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients

1 Cup Flour
2 Eggs
1 cup + 2 tbs Cranberry Juice
4 tbs Butter
1 clap of Fresh Sage
Juice of 1 Orange
Zest of 1 Orange
1 tbs Brown Sugar
Pinch of Nutmeg
Sea Salt
Black Pepper

For the Pasta:

2 cups Flour
2 Eggs
2 tbs Cranberry Juice
Pinch of Sea Salt

Add 1 cup of Flour to a clean surface that you can get MESSY. Create a well in the middle with your fingers large enough to add the 2 Eggs inside. Beat the Eggs with a fork without breaking the walls of the well. Add a pinch of Salt & the Cranberry Juice. Continue to beat mixture together & slowly begin carve the interior walls of the well into the wet ingredients and combine. Continue this until the mixture is combined enough to where you can use your hands.

It’s now time to get down, dirty & a little bit sweaty. 

The key to making a good pasta dough is to really get to know each other. Spend some time together, & show it a little bit of tough love. Take the dough, throw it on a flowered surface, and press on the dough with the palm of your hand through to your surface and move your momentum forward. Fold the now elongated dough in half, turn it 45 degrees and repeat. Continue this until the dough is completely combined and not sticky at all. Keep adding your remaining flour as needed , but know that flour takes time to combine into the dough & you don’t want the dough too dry either. It’s balance, people, it’s a life skill. All in all, you’re going to be kneading for about 10 minutes.

Once the dough starts to feel like play-dough, put him on a nice floured surface, cover with a kitchen towel to prevent him from drying out & let rest for about an hour. You’ll know it’s done when you cut down the middle and it looks totally smooth.

If you have a pasta maker this next part will be just a bit easier, but it’s not impossible if you don’t have one. If you have one, you probably already know how to use it, but just in case, let’s get some basics. You’re will have an easier time if you use a rolling pin to get the dough down to a manageable height - about a 1/4 inch thick. Start at the widest setting, run the pasta through once, fold it back in half and run it through another time - this is called laminating. Add any flour you may need so that the pasta doesn’t stick to the machine. Go one notch tighter & repeat until the thickness of your pasta matches the width of the spaghetti setting on your device. Then use the spaghetti setting to run that bad boy through and hang those skinny little noodles up to dry. 

If you don’t have a pasta maker, use your rolling pin, elbow grease & a little patience to roll out the dough and cut it into spaghetti-sized strips. To make it easier, you can make fettuccine by cutting larger strips.

For the Butter Sage Sauce:
4 tbs Butter
1 clap of Sage
Pinch of Nutmeg
Sea Salt
Pepper

Now it’s time for the sauce. This is the easiest part. Let the butter melt in a large pan, chiffonade the Sage Leaves, & combine everything. Keep warm, but make sure not to brown the butter. Let that sit over low heat until you start to smell the spices, let everything continue to steep over a low simmer.

For the Cranberry Orange Drizzle:
1 cup Cranberry Juice
Orange Juice
Orange Zest
1 tbs Brown Sugar
Black Pepper
Sea Salt

Combine all ingredients into a small sauce pan & let the sugar dissolve. Let simmer until the sauce is reduced to the point where it holds to the back of your spoon. Again, be careful not to burn the drizzle, the color should remain a bright red. 

At this point the pasta should be dry and ready to get in its bath. Bring a large pot of water and loads of sea salt to a boil and add in your pasta. You’re going to salt the water much more with fresh pasta then you would with dry pasta because it will spend far less time in the water (about 4-5 minutes). Once the pasta is about ready turn up the heat on the sage butter sauce & use a pair of tongs to add the cooked pasta to the sauce. Add about 1/2 cup of the pasta water and allow it to reduce to a silky sauce.

Serve immediately with the Cranberry Orange glaze.  If you’re feeling extra, garnish with little Sage leaves and extra Orange Zest. 

Serves: 4

Tools Used:
Fork
Tongs
Pasta Maker (Optional)
Rolling Pin
2 Pans, 1 small & 1 large enough to hold all of your pasta
Pot for Boiling water