Rainbow Vegetable Pasta
I love the taste of homemade pasta and I particularly like the colors and tastes of veggie pastas. Veggie pastas are sometimes a little softer than egg pasta and benefit from being mixed with some egg based pasta, for strength and ease of rolling. You can also use herbs and spices to flavor and color the dough.
I take pieces of several different doughs and roll them together. As you roll the dough out the colors blend together and create rainbow pasta. You can use sheets of the dough to make rainbow ravioli or just cut into noodles.
I often use a food processor to make pasta dough, especially the vegetable pastas because I am using vegetables that need to be pureed, pretty much. I have a small one which is perfect for small batches, no more than 1 cup of flour. I like to use my stand mixer for larger batches and for egg pasta dough. Always best to make pasta dough at least 30 minutes ahead and let it rest before rolling. You can even make it the day before and chill until ready to use.
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. 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.
Curry Pasta
1 c. flour
1 t. curry powder
1 egg
1-2 T. water, if needed
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
Spinach Pasta
2 c. flour
1 10 oz. package frozen spinach, cooked, drained, reserving some of the liquid
Mix this dough as for other pastas, but don’t be too quick to add reserved liquid. While kneading you’ll get water out of the spinach. May require more kneading and rolling than other pasta doughs. Be patient, it’s worth the work.
Broccoli Pasta
1 c. flour
1/2 c. broccoli puree
Cheese Ravioli Filling
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
2/3 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
2/3 c. ricotta 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.
Cooking Fresh Pasta
Fresh pasta cooks a lot faster than dry pasta. Fine pasta, like angle hair, is cooked almost as soon as it gets into boiling water. It cooks for just a minute. Larger noodles, like linguine, will take 3 minutes or so to cook. Fresh ravioli cook until they float- about 4 minutes. Watch carefully, so you don’t overcook your fresh pasta.
Storing Pasta Dough
You can keep fresh pasta dough in the fridge for a couple of days. For longer storage, pasta dough can be frozen. That way, you can thaw out dough whenever you are in the mood for fresh pasta.
Easter/ Spring Pierogi
Easter/Spring Pierogi
I already enjoy making pasta with veggie- based dough. The colors are so pretty, and I love the way they taste. So, since it is almost Easter, I went a step further and used my veggie-based dough to make pierogi.
They remind me a little of Easter eggs. They came out so nice, I will be making them on Easter.
I used a potato and cheese filling, so that part is pretty traditional. The pierogi are also a nice choice for a meat-free dinner.
I served them with sauteed onions and sour cream. Here is the recipe for all.
Easter/ Spring Pierogi
All of the vegetable doughs were mixed using a food processor. If you want to mix them by hand- puree the veggies first. Once the doughs are made allow them to rest at least 30 minutes. Since veggie pasta dough tends to be a little softer than traditional pasta- I actually prefer to make them a day ahead and chill. Chilling the dough, even for an hour, will help. The traditional pierogi dough was mixed in a stand mixer.
To make the pierogi a little sturdier, you can also make regular pierogi dough and mix a little of that dough in with the veggie-based doughs.
When ready to roll out your dough, grab a hunk of each dough and press them together. If the the dough is a little sticky that will help. Then on a floured surface roll out to the desired thickness. Folding and rolling a couple of times helps to mix up the color pasta better. I use a template to make my pierogi- but you can cut them out with any round cutter or even a glass or jar. Spoon filling of your choice on center of dough circle. Fold dough in half over filling and press edge with fork to seal. Wetting the edge of the dough will help the dough to stick. Don’t overfill or pierogi will split. Test a couple first to get the hang of it. Place a few at a time into salted boiling water and cook until they float. You can eat them as is, or brown cooked pierogi in butter in a skillet. Serve with grilled onions and/or sour cream. We would often make a larger batch and then freeze them, uncooked, on wax paper-lined baking sheets. When frozen they would be transferred to a freezer bag or container. Place right from the freezer into boiling water when ready to use.
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
Spinach Pasta
2 c. flour
1 10 oz. package frozen spinach, cooked, drained, reserving some of the liquid
Mix this dough as for other pastas, but don’t be too quick to add reserved liquid. While kneading you’ll get water out of the spinach. May require more kneading and rolling than other pasta doughs. Be patient, it’s worth the work.
Classic Pierogi Dough
2 c. flour
1 t. salt
½ c. water (you can also use half milk and half water)
1 egg
Mix all ingredients together and knead on floured surface until smooth. Cover and let rest at least 15 minutes. Roll out thin and cut into circles. Re-roll scraps. You should get between 20-30.
Pierogi Filling
1 lb. Potatoes, peeled and boiled
4 oz. cream cheese – normally I would use farmer’s cheese or cottage cheese, but cream cheese was what I had
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese, optional
salt and pepper to taste
Mash potatoes with other ingredients and season to taste.
I usually add some chopped sweet onion to my filling, but one of my guests isn’t crazy about onions, so I am leaving them out. Feel free to add some, if you like.
