How to make naturally colored pasta at home.
User Reviews
5
-
Prep Time
1 hr
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Cook Time
5 mins
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Servings
4
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Calories
296 kcal
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Course
Main Course
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Cuisine
Italian
How to make naturally colored pasta at home.
Description
The recipe provides instructions for making green pasta dough by wilting and pureeing spinach before mixing it into '00' flour with eggs, olive oil, and salt. The dough is kneaded until soft and pliable, rested, then rolled through a pasta machine for shaping. Red pasta dough is made similarly, substituting pureed cooked beetroot for spinach to impart natural color. Plain egg pasta dough uses the same process without vegetable puree. Finally, durum wheat semolina flour is recommended for dusting during rolling and cutting. These naturally colored pasta doughs offer options to add subtle vegetable flavors and attractive colors to fresh homemade pasta.
Green pasta made with spinach puree works well paired with ragu or creamy sauces, while red pasta with beetroot pairs nicely with white sauces. The dough requires proper kneading and resting to achieve good elasticity and texture, making it suitable for traditional shapes like tagliatelle or pappardelle. The process emphasizes squeezing excess moisture from the vegetables to avoid a wet dough. The recipe also notes storage and drying techniques for the colored pasta ribbons.
Ingredients
For green pasta dough.
- 8.8 oz Italian '00' flour or all purpose flour, soft wheat
- 1.6 oz spinach made from fresh spinach, puree
- 2 large egg
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
For red pasta dough.
- 1.6 oz beetroot instead of spinach above, pureed cooked
For plain egg pasta dough.
- 7 oz Italian '00' flour or all purpose flour, soft wheat
- 2 large egg
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Extras
- water if dough to dry
- 00 flour if dough to wet, Italian
- durum wheat semolina flour for dusting.
Instructions
How to make green pasta dough.
- Wilt the spinach in a pan. Then drain it well and chop it. I usually squeeze the cooked spinach in a tea towel to get as much liquid out of it as possible.
- Once the spinach is chopped, then purée it in a food processor until smooth.
- Next, sieve the flour into a bowl, add the eggs and the spinach, a pinch of salt and a tablespoon of olive oil. Beat the eggs with a fork and then mix the flour, eggs and spinach together until you have the beginnings of a dough.
- Next, use your hands to knead the dough in the bowl until it no longer sticks to the side of the bowl.
- Turn the pasta dough out onto a well-floured work top and knead for 10 minutes until the dough is soft and pliable. Then roll the dough into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap (clingfilm).
- After 30 minutes, cut off about a quarter of the dough, flatten it slightly with your hands or a rolling pin, then pass it through your pasta machine 3-4 times through the widest setting.
- I fold the dough sheet into thirds the first 3 times I pass it through the widest setting. Then pass it through the next settings until the sheet is thin enough to make noodles with.
- Finally, transfer the dough sheet to a floured work top. You can cut the noodles 2 ways, either roll the sheet up and then cut it into strips starting at one end. The width will depend on what type of noodles you want to make. We also used a pasta cutting rolling pin which are available in Italy for different types of pasta ribbons.
- Place the ready pasta ribbons in nests on a well-floured tray. Semolina flour is the best for this. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
For the red pasta.
- If using ready cooked beetroot, cut it into small pieces and purée in a food processor. Add a little water if necessary. If your beetroot is fresh, you will need to boil it first in salted water for 20-40 minutes and then peel.
- Make the red pasta dough in the same way as the green pasta dough, substituting the beets for the spinach.
For plain uncolored pasta dough.
- Sieve the flour into a bowl, add the eggs, a pinch of salt and a small tablespoon of olive oil. Beat the eggs with a fork and then mix the flour and eggs together until you have the beginnings of a dough. Next, use your hands to knead the dough in the bowl until it no longer sticks to the side ofthe bowl.
- Continue as above for the green pasta dough.
Notes
- Remove excess moisture from spinach by wilting and squeezing tightly before pureeing to keep dough consistency balanced.
- Use '00' flour for best texture and knead dough until soft and elastic for easier rolling and shaping.
- Colored pastas pair well with complementary sauces: green spinach pasta suits ragu or creamy sauces; red beetroot pasta matches white sauces without tomatoes.
- Dust with durum wheat semolina flour when rolling and cutting to prevent sticking.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 4Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 296 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 296kcal | 15% |
| Carbohydrates | 48g | 16% |
| Protein | 10g | 20% |
| Fat | 7g | 11% |
| Saturated Fat | 1g | 5% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 1g | 6% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 4g | 20% |
| Trans Fat | 0.01g | 1% |
| Cholesterol | 93mg | 31% |
| Sodium | 55mg | 2% |
| Potassium | 165mg | 4% |
| Fiber | 2g | 8% |
| Sugar | 0.3g | 1% |
| Vitamin A | 1198IU | 24% |
| Vitamin C | 3mg | 3% |
| Calcium | 35mg | 4% |
| Iron | 4mg | 22% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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