Veggie Flavored Pasta - No Egg
Submitted by cherryandmarc
Vegan vegetable pasta dough kneads semolina flour with pureed carrots, beets, spinach, or tomato juice for natural color. No eggs needed, made by hand, food processor, or bread machine.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
5 minREADY
35 minHomemade pasta without eggs is its own kind of art, and this version proves it. Durum semolina flour and water alone can make a perfectly chewy noodle, but pureed vegetables turn the dough into a rainbow: spinach for forest green, beet for crimson, carrot for sunset orange, tomato juice for brick red.
The vegetable puree replaces some of the water and adds the color in one move. About 1⁄3 cup of puree per cup of flour is the working ratio. More and the dough goes too wet and sticky. Less and the color doesn’t develop.
Semolina is the flour that makes this work. Its higher protein content gives eggless pasta the bite and structure that all-purpose flour simply can’t. If you only have AP flour, the dough still works, but expect softer noodles.
Kneading until the dough turns smooth and elastic, around 5 to 10 minutes by hand, is what builds the gluten. Skipping this step leaves you with crumbly pasta that breaks in the boiling water.
Dry the cut pasta at least 10 minutes before cooking. This sets the shape and stops the strands from sticking together when they hit the pot.
Pro Tips
- Squeeze pureed spinach or beet through cheesecloth to remove excess water before adding. Wet purees throw off the dough hydration.
- Cook fresh pasta only 2 to 3 minutes. It cooks fast and overcooked fresh pasta turns gummy.
- Toss boiled pasta with a splash of olive oil if not serving immediately. Otherwise the strands clump.
- Freeze extra pasta on a sheet tray, then transfer to a bag. This prevents one giant frozen lump.
Variations
- Roasted red bell pepper puree gives a deeper, slightly smoky red.
- Pumpkin or sweet potato puree turns the dough golden orange with a faint sweetness.
- Add a teaspoon of dried herbs (basil, oregano) directly to the dry flour for flecks of green and herbal notes.
Ingredients
Directions
To make by hand, use a floured pastry cloth, put dry ingredients on cloth, and make a well in the center of flour mixture.
Add liquid ingredients in the well, and knead the dough, working the flour to the center as you knead.
After it forms a ball, knead by hand for several minutes.
To make with a food processor, put all ingredients in the bowl.
Process for 1 minute until dough begins to form.
Adjust liquid or flour if necessary, continue to knead in the machine for 1½ to 2½ minutes.
To make with bread machine, place ingredients into baking pan.
Use the dough cycle, knead for ½ min.
Adjust flour and liquid to form a round ball of dough.
Knead for another 5 minutes, then press stop button.
If you have a pasta machine, continue according to instructions.
To complete the pasta by hand, roll the dough into sheets, as thin as it is possible to roll it on a floured pastry cloth with a rolling pin.
Then shape into long thin spaghetti like strips, or wider for noodles.
Cut with a pie crimper for a fancy edge and twist into bowknots.
Use your imagination.
Allow to dry a minimum of 10 to 20 minutes, or longer, if necessary.
It may be dried for several hours, put into a ziploc bag and refrigerated or frozen.
To cook, drop into boiling water (with a little salt, optional), and cook just until al dente.
Do not overcook. Serve with your favorite sauce.
You can make a white pasta, leaving out the vegetables, or you can use your imagination, be creative, and use any number of other veggies.
Try green, yellow, red, purple, orange pepper puree; yellow summer squash or zucchini; winter squash, pumpkin or sweet potato; broccoli, green beans, vegetarian refried beans.
The list is endless. Just use approximately one-third cup of the one you choose.
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