Celery salad with coriander, green onions and sesame

WASHINGTON — Although I rarely say no when faced with a difficult and tedious kitchen task (peeling a particularly knotty ginger root or dozens of pearl onions, for example), I’ve tried making pasta by hand, and I simply don’t have the patience.

Finally, I decided to purchase a Philips pasta and pasta maker. $300 well spent*

I agonized over how to use this powerful new tool in my column. Should I make one of the four Roma pastas? Or an Asian dish like ramen? Dumpling wrappers? The possibilities are practically limitless.

However, my first foray into homemade pasta had to start with Marcela Hazan. Often called the “Italian Julia Child,” she was so good at her craft, she once said she would never write a cookbook because she didn’t want to write in English. s

Fortunately for all of us, someone offered to translate her work. Fortunately for me, New York Times Cooking had my back with their Bolognese sauce.

I won’t go into detail about the pasta making process because unless you have a Philips machine your measurements will be different.

Cook store bought pasta according to package instructions until cooked. Just know that home made will be much better. And yes, I’m going to be obnoxious about using only fresh pasta moving forward. Sorry about that, that’s my personality.

1. Heat 1 tbsp Vegetable oil And 3 tablespoons Unsalted butter. Cook half a cup of cubes Onion Two-thirds of a cup of each cut into cubes Carrot And celery. Season with salt and pepper
2. Add half a pound minced meat And a quarter of a pound My land porkBrowning the meat. Season with salt and pepper
3. Add 1 cup Pure milk And an eighth teaspoon ground Nutmeg
4. Add 1 cup dry white wine Leave it on low heat until it evaporates (so that it no longer smells bad).
5. Add 1.5 cups A can of whole peeled tomatoes
6. “When the tomatoes start to bubble, reduce the heat until the sauce comes to its slowest boil, with an intermittent bubble rising to the surface,” says Marcella. Cook uncovered for 3 hours or more, stirring occasionally.
7. Taste and adjust seasoning
8. Served with grated ParmesanFresh parsleya spray of olive oil, Red pepper flakes

*With the volume of carbs I consume, I expect to recoup the cost savings over dried pasta at the supermarket within a year.

** Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt. always and forever. I’m just tired of being specific.