| hand-cranked pasta with lentil Bolognese |

We got an Instant Pot for Christmas and we’ve been cooking up a storm in it. I had a fast lentil marinara with spaghetti on the menu for lasted this week but then my son was begging for hand-cranked pasta this afternoon, so we moved it up on the menu (cause I’m surely not making hand-cranked pasta on a weeknight!).

It was SUPER tasty so I wanted to make sure and write down the method for myself to find in the future. Hope you enjoy it, too!

Instant Pot Lentil Bolognese 
half an onion, diced
Half a red pepper, diced
4 oz portabella mushrooms, chopped pea-size
Oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, garlic
1/2 c French lentils
15 oz tomato sauce (organic tomato sauce is more flavorful and worth the extra cost)
Splash of red wine vinegar
1-2 T sugar, to taste

1) Turn on sauté feature on IP. Once it gets hot, add 1-2 T olive oil. Sauté onion, red peppers, mushrooms for 3-4 minutes until they start to soften.
2) Add about  1 t dried oregano, 1 t dried basil, a pinch of red pepper flakes, and 3-4 cloves garlic minced.
3) Add French lentils, tomato sauce and about 8-10 ounces water. Stir.
4) Pressure cook for 9 minutes. Natural release.
5) Stir. Add more water if you’d like a thinner sauce. Add the vinegar and sugar. Salt and pepper to season.

HAND-CRANKED PASTA TIPS
There are about a million recipes online for homemade pasta. If you have a hand-crank I wanted to share some tips I’ve learned over the years, along with my regular method.

Basic recipe (to serve 4 people)
2 eggs
2 c flour (half AP and half semolina works nicely - semolina makes it easier to work with)
1/4 t salt
1 T olive oil
1/4-1/2 c water


  1. In a food processor, pulse the flour, salt, and egg until it’s crumbly. 
  2. Turn the processor on and drizzle in the olive oil. 
  3. Keep it going and drizzle in the water until it starts to ball up around the blades. It should still be crumbly but should be starting to gather. 
  4. Take out of processor. Kneed gently into a ball and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. 
  5. Once the wrap is on the dough, press the dough together tightly and flatten into a large disk. 
  6. Let the dough rest at room temp for 15-30 minutes while you have a cup of tea. 
  7. Cut dough into 4 sections and remove one from the wrap. Wrap up the rest so it doesn’t dry out. 
  8. Work the section through your pasta maker down to the thinnest level (see tips below). Set it to the side. 
  9. Repeat with the other three sections, ensuring to keep the not-yet-used ones wrapped up. 
  10. Cut each loooooong piece into chunks that are 10-12 inches long (probably 3 chunks per sheet). 
  11. Cut into noodles. Place onto a floured cookie sheet and swirl around so they can stay separated while you continue to work. 
  12. Boil in batches for 3-4 minutes each. Strain and run cold water over each batch. 
  13. Eat. Die happy. 
Tips:
- The method of egg/flour THEN the water is really important. It works great. 
- Do NOT skip the step of letting the dough rest. You will regret it. It makes it so much easier to work with. 
- I like to run mine through the thickest setting on my crank about 3 times before moving on. Each time I just run it through, fold it into thirds and then run it through again. This helps it get very smooth before moving on and helps everything hold together. 
- Keep a little flour on your table as you work and periodically rub down each size of your sheet of pasta dough with it to ensure that once you get to the thinnest setting it won’t all stick to itself. 
- The backs of ladderback chairs make nice places to let the big sheets rest while you finish up. I find that it’s more efficient to do all the sheets first and THEN cut into noodles. 



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