Merciful God, You are great in compassion and Your tenderness for us is without measure. We ask You to give us today our daily bread, and also provide for the needs of all of Your hungry children around the world. Through Christ Your Son and Our Lord. Amen.

Saturday, December 1, 2007

Homemade Noodles




I'm not certain when packaged noodles became available. I'm sure I could Google it. I know that women, stuck in their kitchens day after day, probably thought they were at least as good as sliced bread (or maybe it's the other way and sliced bread was as good as packaged noodles). It seems a shame, though, that because we
can buy packaged noodles, nobody makes them any more. At least no one in my neck of the woods.

I don't make homemade noodles each and every time we eat noodles. But, I do make them when the recipe benefits from the real deal. And when I have time. Because I'm not telling you that it's oh so easy to make them and you'll just whip them out in no time at all. They do take time, but they are worth it in the right dish.

The other night we had Turkey and Noodles for dinner. I used the stock from boiling the turkey carcass, and the several cups of turkey I got out of it, as well. But, you see, in this recipe, the noodles are the darling. They are the show. Without homemade noodles, this dish would be booorrring. So, I made two pounds of homemade noodles (in about the same time it takes to make one pound) and made a dinner and a lunch out of them.

The turkey and noodles can also be made with chicken. And you don't have to start with your own stock. I frequently start with canned stock and some bone-in chicken pieces. This is really not so much a recipe as a method, but I am posting the noodle recipe, which comes from
The Joy of Cooking, as well as the lunch noodle recipe. I use the stock thickening method for the Turkey and Noodles because we like more of a gravy than a soup.

Turkey and Noodles

2 quarts turkey or chicken stock
onion, quartered
3 stalks celery, cleaned, including leaves
2 to 3 cups turkey or chicken (you can dice it, but we like larger pieces in ours)
4 carrots, cleaned, peeled, and sliced crosswise
flour and water for thickening (if desired)
1 lb. homemade noodles
salt and pepper

Place stock, onion and celery in large stock pot.
Bring to a boil and simmer for an hour or two.
Strain stock and discard vegetables.
Season to taste.
(You can jazz this up any way you like, but I just use salt and pepper.)
Add meat and carrots and cook unticarrots are tender, but not mushy.
If you want to thicken your stock (for more of a turkey, noodles and gravy instead of soup-ish), make a "slurry" of flour and cold water and add to hot broth.
Cook until desired thickness is achieved.
Taste and adjust seasoning again, if needed.
Add noodles and cook until they are done (about 5 minutes).



Noodles with Garlic and Bread Crumbs

4 T. butter
2 T. olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 c. bread crumbs (plain or seasoned or a mixture)
1 T. minced fresh parsley (if desired)
egg noodles, cooked and drained

Melt butter and olive oil in a large skillet.
Add garlic and bread crumbs and stir until bread crumbs just begin to brown.
Stir in parsley if desired.
Add hot noodles and stir until coated. Serve.

Egg Noodles

1½ cups flour
1 T. butter
⅛ t. salt
2 large egg yolks
2 large eggs


In a large bowl, cut butter into flour and salt to form fine crumbs.


Make a well in the center. Lightly beat the eggs and pour into the well.
Using a fork, gradually mix the eggs into the flour until it comes together (dough will be slightly sticky).
Divide the dough into quarters.



Start rolling each piece of dough with a rolling pin, stretching it as you roll.

Sprinkle with flour as needed between rolling.
(You may need to cut your piece if you run out of room. Just cut part off and set it aside to finish rolling later.)
Repeat procedure until all dough is very thin.
After rolling each piece, place on a pasta racks or over a dowel.
(I just lay my pieces all over the kitchen -- using baking racks and any other clean surface available.)
Let dry about 20 minutes.
Roll sheets up (I just fold one third down and one third up and cut across the folds with a pizza cutter) and cut to desired thickness.
You can roll and cut this dough with a pasta roller and cutter,
but for this recipe I like the thicker, wider, more rustic noodle.

If you're not going to use all of these noodles at once, or if you double the recipe to use half later, place the reserve noodles in a plastic zipper bag, suck out the air, and freeze.
To use them, do not thaw, just put the frozen noodles in the boiling water to cook.



4 comments:

Andrea said...

Yipee!!! I made a recipe like this a few years ago and lost it. It was one of my kids favorits. I'm going to make it as soon as I have a block of time to cook.

annie said...

I have never made noodles, and have always wanted to try - its my sister in law's "thing" in the family, and I didn't want to step on her (pretty touchy) toes. I can make them for my own family in my own house, though, right? Also, I love the step-by-step pictures.

Dea said...

This looks so good Barbara! I can't believe how thin you get them with a rolling pin! I must try your recipe, as mine is so hard to roll out... I usually end up breaking out the pasta machine which is a complete pain!

We don't have anything like these over here, and it's such a shame. I remember the time I first tasted chicken noodle soup with home made noodles, at our Parish Christmas bazaar in MI. Amazing. These little old Polish ladies had been making them all week and I was simply overwhelmed. I dragged everyone I knew there over the years to taste the soup. Incredible! ;-) Thanks for sharing!

Unknown said...

You are amazing and have me feeling totally inadequate. LOL! That looks delicious.