Serves 4.
- Prep time: 45min + pasta resting time
- Cook time: 1h
- Total time: 1h 45min
- Difficulty: Intermediate
It’s really simple to make egg pasta from scratch, especially if you have a pasta machine. It can be cooked fresh, but you can also let it dry and store it for several months. It cooks faster than store bought, and tastes so much better. Try serving it with roasted beetroot pesto. Besides being healthy, it’s really easy to make and has a wonderful punchy and earthy flavor.
For the pasta dough.
Ingredients:
- 300g flour
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Directions:
Sift flour onto a clean work surface and make a well in the center. Break eggs into the well and add oil and salt. Gradually mix egg mixture into the flour using fingers of one hand, bringing the ingredients together into a firm dough. If the dough feels too dry, add a few drops of water; if it’s too wet, add a little more flour.
Knead the pasta until smooth, 5-10 minutes. Wrap in a plastic wrap, and allow to rest about 30 minutes.
Remove dough from plastic wrap and cut into 4 equal pieces. Working with one piece at a time and keeping the others covered, lightly flour the dough and roll it out using a pasta machine. Use the pasta cutter attachment to cut the sheets into tagliatelle or cut the pasta by hand on the counter top with a chef’s knife. Flour the cut pasta and hang it on a wooden spoon placed across the top of a wide pot or on a clean clothing rack to dry a bit. Then shape them into small nests and leave them to dry another 10 minutes before cooking. If you’re not cooking all the tagliatelle now, let the nests dry at room temperature overnight and then store into zip-top bags or other airtight container and stored for several months.
Boil a large pot of water. Add a generous pinch of salt and cook tagliatelle for 2-3 minutes. Drain the pasta and reserve some cooking water.
For the beetroot pesto.
Ingredients:
- 4 medium unpeeled beetrots
- 4 unpeeled garlic cloves
- 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- generous pinch of salt
- some freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
- juice of one lemon
- 4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
- 50g toasted walnuts
- some pasta cooking water
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Drizzle the beetroots and garlic cloves with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Wrap each beetroot with one garlic clove in foil and seal. Roast for 45-60 minutes, depending on the size. A knife or a fork should easily be inserted into the flesh.. Allow to cool a little so it’s still warm, but safe to handle. Unwrap the beetroot and gently pull the skin away.
Meanwhile, boil plenty of water in a large pot. Add a generous amount of salt and cook the pasta for 2-3minutes. Drain the cooked pasta and reserve some of the cooking water.
Cut the beetroot into chunks and and transfer into the bowl of your food processor. Peel the garlic and add it to the food processor. Add olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon zest and juice, Parmesan, and walnuts. Blitz until smooth and creamy. Try the pesto and add more salt or lemon juice to taste. Add pasta cooking water to thin the sauce out a little bit. The sauce should be the consistency of a thick yogurt.
Mix the tagliatelle with beetroot pesto and serve immediately sprinkled with some walnuts, grated Parmesan and chopped parsley.
Commentary:
Category: Pasta, rice & grains, Vegetarian, Sauces, marinades & relishes
Making pasta from scratch is such a rewarding experience. Making pasta when home alone with a five-month-old baby, on the other hand, is quite a challenging one. However, the sense of accomplishment you feel when you’re finally done cannot be put into words. You feel like a superhero. A deity, even.
You might ask yourselves why I would even ponder making pasta in those conditions.
Well… I did it for myself.
Kneading pasta dough and then taking time to laminate and roll it into thin strips is a beautiful and almost therapeutic process. I haven’t made pasta for ages and, to be honest, I really felt I needed to take time for myself. Now, don’t get me wrong. Spending time with the little one is precious, but I have to do something for myself from time to time, or else I might go crazy.
And so I made pasta. And I was very happy indeed. And then I made roasted beetroot pesto. And I was delighted.
The pesto is just so creamy and delectable, with a hint of sweetness and that lovely earthiness beetroot is famous for. It’s vibrant and punchy, but dark and moody at the same time. I know it makes no sense, but words fall short for this one. You’ll just have to try it yourself.