I love pasta, but I'm not so great and making it from scratch. In fact, I wrote a pasta-based cookbook where only one recipe expected you to make homemade pasta. The reason is that pasta making takes patience and practice to really get the feel for it, and certainly a learned teacher who can go through the basics with you.

Mark Vetri and David Joachim are just the teachers to come to for lessons in pasta making. If the name Vetri sounds familiar it's because he's the head of the Vetri Family of Restaurants in Philadelphia, including Vetri and the acclaimed Alla Spina. He's also got a few recognitions and awards under his belt; and has been recognized by numerous institutions such as GQ, Food & Wine, and the James Beard Foundation.

David Joachim is a seasoned cookbook writer whose racked up a World Gourmand Award, a Cordon d'Or Award, and a James Beard Award nomination. (You may remember seeing his now legendary tome, The Food Substitutions Bible.)

They recently teamed up to craft one of the most epic pasta cookbooks out there: Mastering Pasta: The Art and Practice of Handmade Pasta, Gnocchi, and Risotto.

The recipes do get a bit expensive as dropping a dozen eggs into a pound of pasta is just ludicrous for any budget eater. However, these recipes for pasta were crafted for an upscale restaurant so you should expect extravagance. In addition, some of the recipes are terribly esoteric requiring ingredients like homemade mint pasta, buckets of morels, scallops, squid ink, and chestnuts. In addition, you may need special pasta equipment. In essence, none of these recipes are a weeknight project.

Don't let this deter you. The plus side is that the recipes are certainly unique and it's doubtful you'll find them in any other cookbook. Flavors are spot on and the instructions for the recipes are easy to follow if not verging on TL;DR due to their overwhelming amounts of detail. I spent a weekend making an asparagus rotolo that was - hands down - some of the best food I have ever made at home. Consider me a convert to the Chruch of Vetri.

The book is incredibly photo heavy and provides plenty of step-by-step images. For the newbie pasta maker this is a nice bit of hand holding. The photography done by Ed Anderson isn't just stunning, but also evocative of the care that must be put into each luxurious recipe.

If you're an eager cook looking to hone your skills and become a renowned pasta maker in your social circle, then Mastering Pasta is certainly a fantastic way to begin.

Parsley Dough, from Mastering Pasta: The Art and Practice of Handmade Pasta, Gnocchi, and Risotto

This recipe is similar to the basic Egg Yolk Dough (page 26) but with a little more flour and egg to bind up the herbs. Like that dough, it makes enough for 4 sheets of pasta that are 5 to 6 inches (13 to 15 cm) wide, each 4 to 5 feet (1.3 to 1.5 m) long if rolled to 1/32-inch (0.8-mm) thickness; 3 to 4 feet (1 to 1.3 m) long if rolled to 1/16-inch (1.5-mm) thickness; and 2 to 3 feet (61 cm to 1 m) long if rolled to 1/8-inch (3-mm) thickness. That’s enough to make about 80 four-inch (10-cm) squares for cannelloni or lasagna, 95 two-inch (5-cm) squares for ravioli, or 150 one-inch (2.5-cm) squares for ravioli. The total weight of the mixture is more than a pound, but the recipe yields about 1 pound (454 g) of usable dough.

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Ingredients

• ½ cup (40 g) packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml)extra-virgin olive oil
• 1¼ cups (188 g) tipo 00 flour, or 1½ cups (188 g) all-purpose flour, plus some for dusting
• ½ cup (62.5 g) durum flour
• 10 egg yolks

• Prep Time: 60 minutes
• Cook Time: 10 minutes

• Total Time: 70 minutes
• Yield: Makes about 1 pound (454 G)

Preparation

Have ready a bowl of ice water. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the parsley and blanch it until it is bright green, about 15 seconds. Using a spider strainer or slotted spoon, immediately transfer the parsley to the ice water to stop the cooking. For a dough with a deep green color, reserve about ¼ cup (60 ml) of the blanching water and let it cool.

When the parsley is cooled, remove it from the ice water and shake off the excess water.

Transfer the parsley to a blender, small food processor, or mortar and pestle, add the oil and 1 tablespoon (15 ml) fresh water—or 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of the blanching water—and puree the mixture until smooth. The finer you  puree the parsley, the fewer specks you’ll have in the pasta.

Transfer the parsley puree to a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and add both flours and the egg yolks. Or, mix the flours on a work surface, make a well in the center, then add the egg yolks and parsley puree, mixing with your  fingers. Mix on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes, adding fresh water or the cooled blanching water, 1 table- spoon (15 ml) at a time, until  the dough comes together. You should only  need 1 to 3 tablespoons of water.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead it until  it feels silky and smooth, about 5 minutes, kneading in a little flour  if necessary to keep the dough from sticking. The dough is ready if when you  stretch it with your hands, it gently pulls back into place.

Shape the dough into a ball, then flatten the ball into a disk. Cover and set aside for at least 30 minutes or wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for up to 3 days.  You can also freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw the dough overnight in the refrigerator before using it. Alternatively, thaw it in a microwave oven on 50 percent power in 5-second incre- ments, just  until  cool to the touch.

To roll out the dough, cut it into 4 equal pieces. If you  have a very long work surface, you  can cut the dough into fewer pieces. Let the pieces sit, covered, at room temperature for 10 minutes if chilled. The dough should be cool but not cold. Shape each piece into an oval wide enough to fit the width of your  pasta roller. Lightly flour your work surface and set the pasta roller to its widest setting. Lightly flour 1 piece of dough, pass it through the roller, and then lightly dust the rolled dough with flour, brushing off the excess with your  hands. Pass the dusted dough through the widest setting again. Set the roller to the next narrowest setting and pass the dough through, dusting again with flour and brushing off the excess. Pass once again through the roller.

Reprinted with permission.