Homemade Mushroom Pasta
Mushroom Pasta
I love making my own pasta and am always playing around with flavors. I thought it would be fun to make mushroom pasta. I dehydrate mushrooms, and often powder them up- to use in sauces and soups. I figured I could do the same thing with pasta dough. I just added some of the mushroom powder to the dough. The result was really special. The mushroom powder added a great flavor to the pasta dough.
To serve it, after boiling it about 3 minutes, I drained it and tossed with butter and some parsley. I hadn’t planned to do anything special with the pasta- since this was just a trial run. I could see a lot of dishes and sauces I would use this pasta for. My Busha’s Polish mushroom soup comes to mind.
So here is the recipe. Keep in mind that fresh pasta cooks very quickly.
Mushroom Pasta
3 c. flour, more if using electric pasta machine. See note.
½ c. mushroom powder- made from dried mushrooms*
1½ t. salt
4 eggs
Water, as needed
Mix flour, mushroom powder and salt. Stir in eggs, kneading until dough is smooth and elastic. Dough will be very stiff. Add a little water, as needed, to hold dough together. You may wish to mix the dough in a mixer or food processor. Cover dough and let rest at least 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 a well-floured board or with a pasta machine 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.
Cooking fresh pasta happens quickly. For most noodles you are looking at 2-3 minutes at the most. Thicker cuts and ravioli would take a little longer. Watch it carefully. Drain after cooking, and toss with your favorite sauce.
Mushroom powder
*You might be tempted to powder up some store bought dried mushrooms. I would advise against that. Commercially dried mushrooms have not been washed before drying, so you might get dirt in your mushroom powder. I clean my mushrooms thoroughly before dehydrating.
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.
