Dandelion Green Fettuccini

This fettuccini gets its color and earthy, slightly bitter flavor from fresh dandelion greens blended right into the pasta dough. No food coloring, no spinach stand-in. Just dandelion leaves, eggs, flour, and salt pureed into a vibrant green dough that you roll and cut by hand.

The greens go into the blender with the eggs first, creating a smooth green slurry that becomes the liquid base for the dough. From there, it’s classic pasta-making: add flour until stiff, knead until smooth, roll thin, dry, and cut into strips.

That one-hour drying time after rolling is key. It firms up the surface so the strips hold their shape when cut and don’t stick together in the boiling water. Fresh pasta like this cooks fast, just 1 to 2 minutes.

Chef Tips

• Harvest young dandelion leaves before the plant flowers. Older leaves are much more bitter and can overpower the pasta.
• Add flour gradually. The moisture content of the greens varies, so the exact amount of flour will change batch to batch. Stop when the dough pulls away from the bowl cleanly.
• Roll the dough to ⅛ inch thickness. Thicker than that and the pasta will be gummy; thinner and it tears.
• Toss finished noodles with a little flour to prevent sticking while they dry.

Variations

• Garlic butter finish: Toss the cooked pasta in browned butter with garlic and a squeeze of lemon to complement the greens’ bitterness.
• Other greens: Swap dandelion for nettle leaves (blanched first) or arugula for a peppery version.
• Stuffed pasta: Use this dough for ravioli filled with ricotta and lemon zest.