Pasta dishes play a key role in the diets of many people, yet few of us actually prepare pasta from scratch. Dry pasta is very convenient and fresh pastas are now readily available at major supermarkets. Fresh pasta, however, is simple to make, and there is something utterly satisfying about eating pasta made by your own hands. In my Pasta Pasta Pasta cooking class, we begin by creating various flavored pasta doughs. Participants learn how to roll out the dough to create a wide variety of shapes from farfalle to fettuccine, and learn how to create filled pastas like ravioli and tortellini. I demonstrate the best way to cook fresh pasta and we finish the pasta dishes with various sauces and meats.

Spinach Fettuccine Puttanesca with Shrimp
Michael Salmon, Hartstone Inn, Signature Recipes from an Elegant Maine Inn

To Make Spinach Pasta Dough
3½ cups pasta flour (semolina)
5 ounces fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
2 Tablespoons warm water
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

In a blender, purée the spinach, water, and egg until smooth.

Place the flour on a clean working counter and make a well in the center. Add the spinach liquid, salt, and olive oil to the center of the well and gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet, forming a smooth-soft dough (adding additional water if necessary to make the dough soft.)

Knead the dough 10 minutes, wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Yields 1½ pounds of dough.

1 Tablespoon salt
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 pound extra-large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 batch spinach pasta dough, cut as fettuccine
1 shallot, minced
¼ cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
¼ cup country mixed olives, pitted
1 cup marinara sauce (homemade or your favorite brand)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Fill a large pot ¾ full of water and bring to a boil with 1 Tablespoon salt.

Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the shrimp and cook on one side for 1 minute.

Drop the spinach fettuccine in the boiling water and cook for 7 minutes or until al dente, stirring occasionally. Turn the shrimp over and add the minced shallot. Cook for another minute. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and olives and toss. Pour in the marinara sauce and stir, heating the sauce through.

Strain the pasta, allowing all of the water to drain off, and add it to the pan with the sauce. Mix the pasta in with the sauce and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Serves 4.

Michael Salmon is the chef and owner of The Hartstone Inn .