It's easier than you think - and makes a great project for the whole fam!
For these striped pasta sheets, we used natural ingredients for the color - fresh spinach, roasted beets and roasted carrots. With a pasta maker, this project comes together in under an hour and can be used to make any kind of pasta.
The dough itself takes about 15 minutes to make and is easily done by hand. We loved this pasta maker from GEFU - along with the standard pasta roller, it also comes with attachments to cut fettuccini and spaghetti noodles - and a foldable rack to dry noodles for later use (or food gifts for the holidays!).
To make the striped pasta in this post, we simply rolled out the basic dough into a flat sheet, and then rolled & cut the colored doughs with the fettuccini attachment to get even stripes. These are "glued" on with a little brush of water and then rerolled together to create one, flat, striped sheet. You could use some ravioli cutters, like these, to make some gorgeous striped ravioli - or fold into bow tie shapes, agnolotti, or simply cut into strips.
Striped Pasta from Scratch
Rest Time: 30 Minutes
Prep & Cook: 1 Hour
For the White Milk Dough
2 1/4 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Salt
1 1/2 tablespoons Olive Oil
3/4 cup Milk
For the Veggie Dough
2 1/4 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Salt
1 1/2 tablespoons Olive Oil
3/4 cup Veggie Liquid (recipes Below)
> For the Spinach Liquid
1 cup loosely packed Spinach
1 cup Water
> For the Roasted Beet Liquid
1 small Beet, peeled
2 teaspoon Olive Oil
1 cup Water
> For the Roasted Carrot Liquid
1 medium carrot, peeled & chopped
1 teaspoon Olive Oil
1 cup Water
To make the pasta dough, any flavor:
1. Place flour in a mound on a clean work surface. Make a well in the center. Add salt, olive oil and 3/4 cup milk or veggie liquid depending on flavor - whisk with a fork until combined.
2. Gradually take flour from the edges and begin incorporating into the liquid mixture until a shaggy dough forms. You may not need all the flour from the edges. In humid environments, you may need a little extra flour if the dough is too wet or sticky.
3. Continue to knead the dough until smooth, about 10-15 minutes. If the dough becomes sticky, add flour 1 teaspoon at a time as needed. Cover with plastic and let rest 30 minutes.
To assemble the striped dough:
1. Using the pasta roller, roll out a quarter of the white dough until you reach a size 6 thickness, making sure to flour liberally so it doesn't stick. Set aside. Roll a quarter of one of the colored veggie doughs until it reaches a size 5 thickness. Run this veggie sheet through a fettuccini attachment to get long strips (or you can cut them with a pizza wheel and a clean ruler to get straight edges). Liberally dust these strips with flour to avoid sticking.
2. Brush the entire surface of the white dough with a little bit of water (too much and it will get soggy and fall apart). Working quickly, place the strips of veggie pasta evenly spaced across the surface. Dust liberally with flour and run through the pasta roller again, starting a thickness of size 3 and rolling gradually until you reach a thickness of size 6. Dust off extra flour with a dry brush and use for ravioli, bow-tie pasta, etc.!
To make the veggie liquid:
For the Spinach Liquid: in a blender or food processor, blend together the spinach and water. Strain through a fine mesh sieve. Discard pulp or save for a smoothie, sauce, etc.
For the Roasted Beet Liquid: preheat the oven to 450F. Rub olive oil all over the beet and wrap in foil. Roast about 30-40 minutes or until fork tender. Chop and measure out 1/2 cup fo the beet. Blend with 1 cup water and then strain through a fine mesh sieve. Discard pulp or save for a smoothie, sauce, etc.
For the Roasted Carrot Liquid: preheat the oven to 450F. Toss carrot with olive oil and roast 20-30 minutes or until fork tender. Measure out 1/2 cup of the chopped & roasted carrot (if it's a little less, no worries). Blend with 1 cup water and strain through a fine mesh sieve. Discard pulp or save for a smoothie, sauce, etc.