Difficulty Level: Easy

I love making homemade pasta. I find it a very soothing and satisfying activity. The one drawback for me is that my kitchen counter is very small and it's hard to find the space to lay it out and dry it properly. I was pretty excited to make it at the cottage because I have just the spot to make it.

Our dining room table is 8' long and solid maple. It was originally a bowling alley floor that my husband salvaged from a renovation he was doing. It's really the heart of the cottage, the place where everyone gathers. We eat off it, read and work while sitting at it, play Scrabble and Boggle at it, us it as a ping pong table, and now I make pasta on it. It's big enough to make the pasta, lay it all out and still have space for someone to play Solitaire at the end while keeping the cook company.

The recipe that I made has been a family favourite for over 20 years. I only make this pasta at this time of the year because it really requires good vine-ripened tomatoes and fresh basil. I also don't make it very often because it uses a lot of cheese, but it's so popular that when people come for dinner at this time of the year, they ask if I'll make this for them. If you don't want the extra calories from the cheese or if you want a vegan pasta dish, this is still delicious with just the tomatoes, basil and garlic.

INGREDIENTS