Semolina Egg Noodles with Smoked Ham, Asparagus, Onions and Garlic

We had to add a bit of parmesan to the finished dish…
This recipe is from one of Ruth Reichl’s autobiographical books (I can’t remember which one, but they’re all wonderful), but I can’t find a link to it anywhere, so I’m posting it here. This recipe was very yummy. The noodles were rich and chewy and velvety, but I think that I didn’t roll the dough out thinly enough, because they were pretty “beefy”, as far as pasta goes. I was afraid that the noodles would fall apart when cooked if I made them too thin, but the dough is VERY sturdy because of all of the egg yolks. If I make these again, I will probably use this recipe for the pasta, instead, just to cut down a bit on the richness (and cholesterol!) If you really wanted to simplify this, you could just use store-bought pasta, instead of making your own, although making your own is quite simple.
Charlene Rollins’ Semolina Egg Noodles with Smoked Ham, Asparagus, Onions and Garlic
For the pasta:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup semolina flour, plus additional for dusting
1/2 tsp salt
18 large egg yolks
3 Tbsp olive oil
For the sauce:
1 large red onion, chopped
salt and pepper
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
2 Tbsp finely chopped garlic
¼ cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
½ cup water
¾ pound sliced smoked ham, cut into 1- by 1/4-inch strips
1 pound medium asparagus spears, trimmed and cut diagonally into 1/2 -inch long pieces
To make the pasta:
Pulse the flours and salt together in a food processor. Add the egg yolks and oil and process just until mixture forms a ball of dough. Divide the dough into 6 pieces and form each into a disk. Wrap each disk of dough in plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.
Dust 3 baking sheets with some semolina flour.

Rolling out one of the six dough “disks”
Unwrap 1 piece of dough and roll it out on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin until paper thin, making a rectangle about 11 by 13 inches. Cut the dough crosswise with a pizza wheel or sharp knife into 11- by ½ inch wide strips.

Cutting the dough into noodle strips

If the “edge noodles” bother you, you can discard them.
Carefully transfer the pasta, overlapping strips slightly, to a sheet pan to dry at room temperature, gently turning occasionally, for about 2 hours.

Noodles, drying for 2 hours.
Repeat the rolling and cutting with the remaining dough.

While the noodles dry, feel free to paint some posterboards (on the other side of the kitchen, well away from the noodles) to test out a new kitchen wall color.
To make the sauce:
Cook the onion, with salt and pepper, in 4 Tbsp of butter in a heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until softened. Add the garlic and parsley and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Cover and keep warm.
Combine the water, ham, asparagus and remaining 4 Tbsp of butter in a large, heavy saucepan and simmer, covered, until the asparagus is crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Stir in the onion mixture and season with more salt and pepper. Keep sauce warm, covered.
To assemble the dish:
Cook the pasta in an 8-quart pot half full of boiling salted water until just tender, about 1 minute, and drain in a colander. Return the pasta to the pot, add the sauce, and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
Serves 4 to 6.