A comforting, homemade pasta dish – fresh pasta is laced with matcha and tossed with a lemony creme fraiche, finished with crispy prosciutto and arugula.
What a fun week I have in store for all of you! Today I’m excited to share this recipe for Homemade Matcha Pasta with Tangy Crème Fraiche and Crispy Prosciutto that I created in partnership with JORD Wood Watches, and on Wednesday I have all of the details from the fun Spring Fling Brunch I hosted with some of my favorite Santa Barbara lady entrepreneurs. It’s going to be a great one!
Now that we’ve officially stepped into the month of March, it seems that there’s much anticipation of change in the air. The pressure of our New Year’s resolutions has died down a bit, if only for the fact that “real life” has picked up again after the post-holiday coma we all fall into. I’ve personally felt a new sense of urgency, that I should always be doing more, more, more and that there is so much I should be doing that I should rarely be having any down time.
It’s a dangerous cycle we all fall into, and I try to stay conscious of not going too far down that rabbit hole. I strongly champion balanced living, after all, and how can I do so authentically if I myself am not taking the time to practice it?
Which is why I was so excited when JORD Wood Watches approached me to create a recipe having to do with time and how we should spend it during this turning of the seasons. As adventurous as I am in the kitchen, there are certain projects I’m hesitant to dive into, simply because I have never done them before, have a slight fear of the “unknown,” and just plain not thinking I have the time. Making homemade pasta has been at the back of my mind for quite a while, but I kept pushing it back because I thought it was complicated, required too much equipment, etc. After only a nanosecond of thought, I knew that this partnership with JORD was the perfect opportunity to set aside an afternoon in the kitchen and take the time to master this favorite carb of mine. I’m happy to say that my Homemade Matcha Pasta with Tangy Crème Fraiche was a HUGE success, and I have now made it three times in one week because it is just so good!
But before I get to the recipe, I want to talk a little bit about my JORD Frankie 35 Series women’s watch. Let’s just say that as soon as I saw the entire line of JORD Wood Watches, I knew this was a company I wanted to work with. All of their products are gorgeous, and the watches can go from casual to elegant, which means I can wear my watch both in the kitchen and out to a fancy dinner with my man. I love the wooden texture and the contrasting colors on the watch faces. I opted for the navy watch face with the zebrawood band, and I love that it goes with most of my wardrobe since I very much tend to lean towards all neutral colors. Even when I’m working in the kitchen all day and most likely wearing yoga pants, I can throw on my Frankie 35 and feel instantly put together.
Wearing my JORD Wood Watch in the kitchen is also a great reminder for me to be mindful and take my time when exploring new recipes and techniques. As a chef, photographer, social media manager and consultant, it’s all too easy for me to rush through my “”To Do” list for the day and, before I know it, it’s dark outside and time to wind down. I continually have to tell myself to take a second (or minute) or two to really enjoy the process and remember why I started my own business in the first place. Every time I look at this unique watch, it reminds me what I’m here to do – share my joy of food with all of you!
As I mentioned, this Homemade Matcha Pasta with Tangy Crème Fraiche and Crispy Prosciutto ended up being the perfect dish for my first foray into the pasta-making world. As soon as I finished my first test of the recipe, I texted my husband and said “If you have time, stop by for lunch. I just made homemade pasta and it’s the best thing I’ve made in a long time!” Really, nothing compares to fresh, homemade pasta. Nothing.
In order to make this “matcha” pasta, I simply whisked some culinary grade matcha powder into the flour before kneading the dough. It didn’t turn out quite as vibrantly green as I had hoped, but trust me, the flavor is allll there.
After the dough was made, I divided it into two pieces and used a rolling pin to make each piece of dough thin enough to pass through my Kitchen-Aid pasta roller attachment. You could also use a manual pasta roller, or even just a very long wooden rolling pin to get your pasta down to the proper thickness.
Once the pasta was rolled out thin enough to make fettucine, I cut each piece in half (I don’t know about you, but I hate SUPER long noodles) and then rolled each piece up like those good ol’ fruit rollups you had as a kid. This way, you can slice the dough evenly and the fettucine will turn out much straighter than if you were to just free-cut all the way down the length.
The next step is to unroll the individual fettucine and let them dry slightly before cooking (about 5 minutes is all you need, although you could let them dry for longer.) You don’t need a fancy pasta dryer to do this, I simply laid mine out along my marble slab.
Even though I went on and on about never wanting to make homemade pasta because I thought it would take too long, I’m very happy to report that my assumptions were wrong and I was able to get this entire dish made in less than an hour. The pasta rolling and cutting take the longest, but once those steps are complete, the rest of the components that make up Homemade Matcha Pasta with Tangy Crème Fraiche and Crispy Prosciutto come together in a flash.
I crisped up some prosciutto in a large pan with olive oil, and whisked some lemon juice, olive oil and heavy whipping cream into my crème fraiche to make the sauce. Once added to boiling water, the pasta was done in seconds, and I added it to the pan with the prosciutto along with some minced garlic. The whipped crème fraiche and a couple of hefty handfuls of arugula were the finishing touches to this amazing, intricately-flavored dish.
To me, making this Homemade Matcha Pasta with Tangy Crème Fraiche and Crispy Prosciutto was the perfect foray into my new world of homemade pasta-making, a fulfilling project that helped me remember why I love my job in the first place – because I can spend as much time in the kitchen as I want!
And now for even better news – you can become part of the wood watch family too! That’s right, I’ve teamed up with JORD to offer one lucky person $100 to use towards any product on the JORD Wood Watches website. But wait, there’s more! Anyone who enters will receive a $25 gift code to use on the site once the contest ends on March 12. So hurry up and enter now!
Click here to enter (and keep scrolling for the delicious pasta recipe!)
Homemade Matcha Pasta with Tangy Creme Fraiche and Crispy Prosciutto
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons culinary grade matcha powder
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 2 ounces prosciutto, chopped
- 1/3 cup creme fraiche
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 cups arugula
Instructions
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and matcha powder. Pour onto a clean, dry surface and create a small well in the middle. Crack the eggs directly into the well, then whisk gently with a fork, slowly bringing in some flour from the sides. Once eggs are mostly incorporated, begin kneading the dough with your hands. Keep kneading and pressing with the palm of your hand until everything has come together. There will be some extra flour that doesn’t make it into the dough, but that’s okay. About halfway through your kneading, wipe off your workspace so there is no additional flour. The dough will be a bit tough, but that’s how it’s supposed to be!
- Cut the dough in half and roll out with a rolling pin until it’s thin enough to pass through the widest setting on your roller. Pass the dough through at this setting a few times, folding in half a couple of times if there are any holes. Once your dough passes easily through the widest setting, go up to the next thinnest setting and pass through a few times again. Continue this process until both of your pieces of dough have gone through setting 4, which is the recommended thickness for fettucine on the KitchenAid pasta roller.
- Once again cut each sheet of dough in half so that you’re not working with super-long pieces of dough. Take each new sheet and roll it up like you would a fruit roll-up or tortilla. Slice each roll in ¼ to ½ inch pieces (the width of fettucine) and then unroll and spread out on a clean, dry surface to dry.
- While your pasta is drying, prepare the sauce and toppings. In a large saute pan (one that will be big enough to hold all of the pasta and the toppings), warm one tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chopped prosciutto and cook until crispy. Turn off heat. In a small mixing bowl, combine crème fraiche, the other tablespoon of olive oil, lemon juice, heavy cream, salt and pepper using a whisk. Set aside.
- Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Once boiling, slide in the dried pasta and immediately start stirring with a wooden spoon (this will help prevent it from sticking together.) Bring water back to a boil. The pasta will be done cooking 5-10 seconds after the water starts boiling again. Keep an eye on it, it cooks quickly! Drain pasta and add to pan with crispy prosciutto.
- Add minced garlic to the pan with the pasta, and then add the whipped crème fraiche sauce. Stir to combine. Add a tablespoon of butter to thicken things up a bit.
- Stir arugula into pasta right before serving. Enjoy!
Nutrition
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This pasta turned out great, Robin! Dying to try it! And that watch is a beauty. Lovely post!
Thanks Becky!! Let me know how it goes once you try the recipe!