One of my favorite ways to enjoy Nello's Sauce is over fresh homemade pasta. It's as simple as that: these two ingredients (sauce and pasta) meet in perfect harmony on the plate. Now how do you make pasta at home, you ask? While it takes some time, it's not all that hard. Here are the steps to make the ever-so-delicious "Nellotelli" pasta.


Ingredients: 1) Flour, 2) Eggs, 3) Salt, 4) Nello’s Sauce, 5) Homemade or your favorite store-bought meatballs.

Recipe: ---How many mouths you have to feed will determine how much pasta you’ll have to make. While pasta recipes vary, typically for every one cup of flour you mix one egg (or even two). I prefer two.

---On a flat, nonporous surface--or simply in a large bowl--measure out the right amount of flour to form a “mountain.” Let’s call this mountain our dear Mount Vesuvius! Like Mount Vesuvius, this one is going to erupt.

---To prepare it for the eruption, place the tips of your pointer and middle fingers at the mountain’s peak, spin then to form a volcano hole, one big enough to hold the right proportion of egg. Then, crack the eggs open, drop them in, add a pinch or two of salt, and begin to work the ingredients together (add a bit of warm water, if needed). Knead, fold, push down with heel of hand; knead, fold, push down with heel of hand. In the end you’ll be left with a ball of dough.

---Now, let the dough rest for thirty minutes in a covered bowl. Once it’s rested, divide it into manageable pieces and roll it through the pasta machine to form thin sheets. You will likely have to fold the dough over itself a number of times to assure you get a lengthy, thin, wide piece of dough.

---Once you’ve formed the sheets, on the lightly-floured, hard, nonporous surface place them and run a sharp knife to divide the dough into half-an-inch-wide strips.

---Place the strips of dough between your palms, rubbing your hands together (as if warming them) to force the dough to form rolls. The strips should look like canoes.

---Crosswise, cut the rolled strips every one inch. Set aside the pasta on a towel or drying rack until you have finished making the amount of pasta you like!

---While this is going on, warm Nello’s Sauce and meatballs in a sauce pot and also bring a pot of water to boil. Toss in a couple pinches of salt, then your fresh pasta, and, depending on the pasta’s thickness, let the pasta cook for seven or eight minutes. Please check every now and again to assure it’s served al dente (slightly firm at the core).

---Once it’s cooked, strain the pasta, then mix it in the pot with the sauce. Stir over a low heat for thirty seconds, then serve. It’s as easy as that!