Semolina pasta is so easy to make at home with just two ingredients.

Making pasta at home is such a soothing and rewarding process. I find it really therapeutic.

There is something very calming about working with your hands, kneading and shaping the dough.

Especially during these strange uncertain times we find ourselves in, when normal basic ingredients like eggs, flour and dried pasta are hard to come by.

I have not been able to find flour or eggs for a week here. So i have been looking to alternatives.

Semolina pasta can be a great switch for the more common egg pasta dough. Plus it is vegan.

If you have a bag of semolina in the back of your cupboard gathering dust from that one recipe you needed it for ages ago, then why not prepare some of this pasta with it.

Pasta made with just semolina and water is very common in lots of regions of italy.

We love the chewiness of it, and i always find it more filling and satisfying.

I learnt how to make semolina pasta in Puglia when i was taught how to make orecchetti. That is a common shaped semolina pasta from that region.

This shape, that we like to call unicorn horn pasta is a bit easier to shape.

My take on trofie pasta, which is a pasta shape from Liguria.

Traditionally it is eaten with pesto, possibly to because of the amazing olive oil they have in that region.

We like it with tomato sauce too.

This dough can be made into lots of different shapes, see my blog post here for more ideas and tips.

Some people like to add some olive oil into the dough too.

I never add salt into the dough itself, i make sure the water i boil it in has plenty instead.

Making the semolina pasta dough

I have written a few posts about making pasta.

One – An in depth guide, details the different types and shapes. It can be handy if you are looking to explore pasta making further.

This batch made enough pasta for 4 small servings. Sometimes i make a bigger batch and freeze it.

• 200g fine ground semolina flour
• Approx 80ml water

You can double this recipe if you want to make a larger batch.

Sift the semolina flour into a mound on the work surface and make a well in the centre like a volcano.

Then pour in most of the water, I tend to not add it all in one go so that i can add as much water as i need when im mixing it by hand.

That way i can feel the moisture in the dough and judge if i need more water or not.

If you add too much water its fine, just add some more flour.

Mix with a fork, bringing in the semolina flour a little at a time, making a paste.

Using your hands now mix, adding more water as needed until the dough comes together into a ball.

Knead the dough for about 5 minutes.

The dough is ready when you have a smooth soft ball, and it bounces back when you press it.

It should not be too soft and sticky, you want a nice firm dough that isn’t too dry.

Cover the ball of dough and leave it to rest for 20 to 30 minutes.

Shaping the pasta

I decided to make a trofie style pasta, which can be made by hand using a knife.

Break off small balls of dough and roll into a thin strip about 2 inches long.

Holding the knife flat at an angle, pull it over the dough putting pressure down on to the dough so it makes a spiral. See video.

Place shaped pasta on a floured tray and allow to dry out a little.

To cook pasta, boil a pan salted water, then add the pasta and boil for about 5 to 7 minutes depending on their size.

This pasta works well with lots of sauces, most famously pesto.

However we love it with a simple tomato sauce

Other sauce ideas, lamb ragu (or a vegan ragu)

We often have it with this weeknight spicy sausage sauce

Recipe

I used half my normal recipe is it makes a large amount of dough