Ruby Pasta

Four ingredients turn into the most gorgeous pasta you’ll ever make. Fresh beet puree mixed into flour creates a dough with a deep ruby-red color that holds through cooking and looks absolutely stunning on the plate.

This is a vegan pasta dough with no eggs at all. The beet puree provides the moisture and binding that eggs normally handle, plus it adds a subtle earthy sweetness that pairs naturally with butter, goat cheese, or cream sauces.

Boil the beets until completely tender before pureeing. Undercooked beets leave grainy bits in the dough that won’t smooth out no matter how long you knead. The puree should be silky.

Resting the dough for at least 30 minutes is not optional. The gluten needs time to relax, otherwise the dough springs back and fights you every time you try to roll it thin.

Pro Tips

• Use exactly one cup of beet puree. Too much makes the dough sticky and impossible to work with; too little leaves it dry and crumbly.
• Add flour gradually during kneading. The beet puree’s moisture content varies, so adjust by feel until the dough is smooth and pliable.
• Roll the dough thin. Beet pasta is denser than egg pasta and needs to be thinner to cook through evenly.
• Cook in well-salted boiling water. Fresh pasta only needs 2 to 3 minutes, so taste early.

Variations

• Beet ravioli: Roll thin and fill with ricotta and goat cheese for a classic pairing.
• Spinach and beet: Make half the batch with spinach puree for a two-tone red and green pasta.
• Garlic butter finish: Toss cooked pasta in browned butter with garlic and a squeeze of lemon to let the color shine.