Vegetable ragù with homemade pasta

Made this earlier this week and was very happy with the outcome. Recipes adapted from a few different sources, but summarized below.

Sauce

A simple, fairly forgiving pasta sauce that uses a classic base of onion+carrot+celery plus canned tomatoes and whatever hearty vegetables you have on hand. Works for softening odds and ends in the fridge.

Ingredients (approximate)

• Olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 250g carrots and celery, diced (or any soft vegetables you want to use up — I tossed in a couple diced radishes and half a jar of leftover pizza sauce)
• 3–4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tbsp (30 g) tomato paste
• 2 tbsp (about 6 g) dried Italian herbs (blend with olive oil if you like)
• 1 × 400 g can whole peeled tomatoes (crush or blend)
• 120 ml cheap red or white wine
• Salt (generous)

Method

1. Heat oil in a large pan over medium. Add onion with a pinch of salt; cook until soft and translucent.
2. Add carrots/celery/other vegetables. Cook a few minutes until they start to soften.
3. Stir in garlic, tomato paste, and herb mix. Cook until fragrant.
4. Pour in wine, scrape the pan, and let it reduce for 2 mins
5. Add the canned tomatoes and some water. Simmer gently, uncovered, for an hour maybe less but longer than usual, so it really thickens and deepens in flavor. Stir occasionally and add more salt to taste if needed.
6. Cook pasta. Transfer to the sauce with a splash of pasta water. Toss until coated and pasta is finished cooking.

Pasta

Ingredients

• 400 g 00 flour
• 180–200 ml warm water
• 2 tbsp (30 ml) olive oil
• 1 tsp (5 g) fine salt

Method

1. Mix flour + salt. Add water gradually into a well you make in the middle, stir, then knead ~10 min until smoothish, will still be slightly textured but don't worry. Rest 1 hr wrapped.
2. Cut dough in quarters and do one section at a time while the rest stays wrapped to prevent drying. Roll very flat, use plenty of flour fold, then cut into <1 cm strips (rustic is fine).Toss into little piles with more flour.
3. Boil strips in well-salted water until they float and turn glossy, ~3 min. Reserve some pasta water.
4. Toss pasta with ragù and a good bit of pasta water until emulsified.

Notes

• Sauce keeps a week in the fridge or months frozen.
• Pasta freezes well after shaping and folding into a nest.