Rainbow Pasta- Beachwood Kid’s Cooking Camp
We made pasta in camp today. We had egg pasta plus pastas made from carrots, peas, broccoli and beets. A beautiful rainbow of pasta- that was turned into angel hair and cheese and veggie raviolis. The kids were great, as usual. Here are some of the pics. The recipes for the pastas also follow. We had a ravioli making gizmo which made the process easier. Also one for pierogi and tiny little triangle filled pastas.
Basic Homemade Pasta
3 c. flour, more if using electric pasta machine. See note.
1 1/2 t. salt
4 eggs
Water, if needed
Mix flour and salt and stir in eggs, kneading until dough is smooth and elastic. Dough will be very stiff. Add a little water if needed to hold dough together. You may wish to mix the dough in a mixer or food processor. Cover dough and let rest 15-20 minutes before rolling. Under kneading your dough will result in coarse, crumbly pasta. This batch makes about 1 pound. Serves 4-6.
Roll dough out on well floured board or in pasta machine (non-electric) until desired thickness in reached. Add flour as needed to prevent sticking. Cut into strips or whatever shapes are desired. You might want to let the noodles dry 1-hour or more before cooking, but this is not necessary. Pasta can be hung to dry or separated and allowed to dry flat on a table. When pasta is not hanging to dry it must be turned occasionally to dry evenly. Although you may hear otherwise, homemade pasta, even when dried, should be frozen for long term storage. Storing at room temperature can lead to spoilage. Fresh pasta can also be stored in the refrigerator for a day or two.
Note: All electric pasta machines vary slightly and you should use their recipes as much as possible. Still, for most models, adding 1/4 c. flour for each cup in a hand rolled recipe works the best. Also recipes that contain seeds and vegetables may clog an electric pasta maker. Follow your manufacturer’s instructions.
These are smaller batches which can be mixed in a processor or by hand. If you want to mix a vegetable based pasta by hand, puree the vegetables first.
Carrot Pasta
1 c. flour
1/2 t. dried dill
1/3 c. carrot puree
1-2 T. water, if needed
Beet Pasta
1 c. flour
1/2 t. dill
1/3 c. beet puree
1-2 T. water, if needed
Pea Pasta
1 c. flour
1/3 c. frozen peas, thawed
water
Process in food processor until peas are blended in- add water, A little at a time as needed until dough forms into a ball.
Broccoli Pasta
1 c. flour
1/2 c. broccoli puree
Ravioli Filling
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
2/3 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
2/3 c. ricotta or cream cheese
1/3 c. grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
Combine all ingredients well and chill until needed.
Roll a batch of dough into a rectangle, 18×12 inches and 1/16 inch thick. Arrange well rounded teaspoonfuls of the cheese filling two inches apart on the pasta sheet. Roll out additional dough into an 18×12 inch rectangle. With a pastry brush moisten bottom sheet of pasta around edges with water. Place second sheet of pasta on top, using fingers to seal the dough around the edges of the filling. With a pastry wheel or sharp knife, cut between the ravioli to separate them. You should have 24 ravioli.