I was very lucky to have my mom in town this Mother’s Day. We were not able to celebrate Mother’s Day together these past two years because of the long distance between us, so this year was extra special. To celebrate, we decided to make my grandmother’s homemade pasta, pasta sauce, and meatball recipe (aka “homemades”).

It might sound odd to some, but yes, a native Filippina can make some killer pasta.  When she married my Italian father, she promised his mother she would take care of him – and that meant making homemades for all special occasions.

Making homemades with my mother has been a tradition for as long as I can remember. This is definitely a tradition I look forward to sharing with my children in the future.

Mom’s Homemade Pasta Recipe

Pasta Ingredients
Serves 8 people

Note: Read the entire recipe all the way through before you begin! This can be made a day in advanced. You will need 2 people to prepare the pasta. 

4 cups of flour (set aside an extra cup for kneading and drying the pasta)
8 large eggs
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp water
pinch of salt
1 pasta maker machine (I have the Imperia Pasta Machine. You can buy one here.)

Directions

1. Before you start making the dough, prep your cooking area by laying table cloth on your kitchen table. You will also want to anchor your pasta machine to the kitchen table, too. Caution! This process gets messy!

2. Start by creating a volcano shape with the flour. Crack 8 eggs in the middle of the flour and add olive oil, pinch of salt, and water. Beat eggs, olive oil, salt and water with a fork before combining with flour. Combine flour and mixture with your hands. Knead until the mixture is well incorporated. While you are kneading the dough, add flour throughout the process. Form the dough into a ball and cover with a large bowl and let it sit for 30 minutes.

3. After 30 minutes, shape the dough into a loaf. One by one, cut an inch of dough and ring through the widest setting (#10) of the pasta machine. Lay the flattened dough out on the tablecloth you prepared on your kitchen table. After the entire loaf of dough has been wrung through the pasta machine, let the pasta dry for 10 minutes.

4. Change the pasta maker setting to #8 and run flattened dough through the machine like you did before in Step 3.

5. Reset the pasta maker to setting #2 and run the flattened dough again through the machine (as you did in step 3 and 4). Let the pasta dry for 45 minutes depending on the wetness of your pasta. Continually check back on the consistency of the dryness of the pasta. Turn periodically and rub with flour to help with the drying process.

6. When the pasta is almost dry, but not too dry, attach the type of pasta you would like to achieve. We are using the fettuccine attachment. Cut the long strips of pasta in half and run through the pasta machine.

7. You can let the pasta sit overnight, or you can cook it right away.

8. When the pasta is ready to be cooked, bring water to a boil and when the pasta rises, remove from boiling water.

Sauce Ingredients
Serves 8 people

1 28 oz tomato sauce
1 4 oz can  tomato paste
3 cups of water
1/2 lb beef chuck
4 hot Italian sausage links
4 sweet Italian sausage links
1/2 pork tenderloin
1 tbsp oregon
1 tbsp parsley
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tbsp sugar
1 small whole onion, peeled
3 cloves garlic
2 bay leaf
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Cut meat into large chunks except for sausage (you will cut this within the sauce after it’s made). Brown sausage, pork, and beef chuck in a large stock pot. Add tomato paste and garlic, stir to combine. Add 28 oz can of tomato sauce and water and stir to combine. Add seasonigs, parsley, oregano, Italian seasoning, bay leaf, onion and water. Add sugar to remove acidity, stir to combine.

2. Bring to a boil. Then, bring to a simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Meatball Ingredients

Serves 8 people

2 lbs ground beef 80/20 meat to fat ratio
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Place all ingredients and a bowl and form into small meatballs.

3. Line a baking sheet with foil and place meatballs about 3 inches apart from each other. Bake for 45 minutes.

4. Add meatballs to sauce for half an hour before serving.

Making homemade pasta is a lot of work, but the reward is even greater. We were so excited to have friends over to enjoy the fruits of our labor. It truly is a special meal when you can share it with friends and family.