Winter continues with a vengeance. That’s not news, is it? We’ve had lows below zero all week. This kind of weather calls for serious comfort food. Food that is rich and heavy and starchy. Food that will fill you up and keep you warm while working in this cold. Food like egg noodles.
I remember my mother and grandmothers making noodles. Every flat surface in the kitchen would be layered with sheets of newspaper covered with noodles drying. In these modern times most of us aren’t cooking for a houseful of hungry farmhands, so noodle making doesn’t have to be the same all-consuming production that it was once. You can roll out a batch for 4 people without covering the entire house with noodles and flour.
This is my favorite recipe for egg noodles. It makes a tender and flavorful noodle. If you get your eggs from a local farmer the noodles will be even better. Eggs from chickens that have been allowed to roam and peck the earth are so much richer and more flavorful.
Homemade Egg Noodles
Makes enough to serve as a main course to 4 people
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups flour
pinch of salt
two eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon butter.
Procedure
Melt and cool the butter
Beat the eggs
Mix everything together except the milk
Add about half the milk and stir
Add the rest of the milk gradually as needed. You want a dough that is soft, but not too sticky
Turn the dough out on a floured surface and knead for a few minutes until smooth.
Cover and let rest for 10 minutes or so
Roll the dough out on a floured surface, dusting with flour as needed to keep it from sticking.
The noodles will about double in thickness when you cook them, so roll them out accordingly.
If you have a pasta machine it will make short work of turning the dough into noodles. Otherwise you can cut the dough into noodle length sections, roll those sections up loosely and then cut across the roll at whatever width you want your noodles to be.
Spread the noodles out on newspaper to dry for a couple hours before cooking. It’s very satisfying just to look at them as they dry and bask in the glow of a job well done. If you make more than you need they freeze well after drying.
Cook the noodles in broth with some stew beef or chicken and you’ll have a meal that reminds you of home and keeps you warm body and soul.
