Handmade Pappardelle Pasta With Cheesy Beet Sauce

When you are a kid, there's something in us that makes pink an easy choice. Choosing the pink rainbow sprinkle donut at Dunkin, Hubba Bubba gum, or Strawberry Good Humor bars was a no-brainer. Maybe it's the fact that it's a color that is rare in nature, making it stand out. When you bite into this handmade pink pappardelle pasta, you might find yourself mourning the loss of the beauty of the dish itself while being surprised that it doesn't taste like bubblegum or strawberries! The subtle earthiness of the beets is a match made in heaven with the cheese and amazing texture of the artisanal pasta.

Recipe

Ingredients

Before you prep the pasta and the sauce, you can preemptively roast and blend the beets into a puree that can be distributed into the pasta and the sauce.

Beet Pappardelle Pasta

8 oz peeled and roasted beets, blended well

4 cups 00 Italian Flour

3 large eggs

Cheese Pasta Sauce

8 ounces peeled and roasted beets, blended well

1 cup cream cheese or Mascarpone

2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

3 cloves garlic pressed or grated

Olive oil

Directions

Pasta

1. Start with a clean counter top. Put all your flour on top of the counter, and create a well in the center. Add the beet mixture and the eggs to the center and combine everything. Knead the dough until it forms into a ball. The dough should be fairly dry. It could take up to ten minutes to achieve that consistency. After kneading, wrap the ball in plastic wrap and rest for half an hour.

2. After resting, divide the dough into four pieces. Get ready to work with your pasta maker attachment or machine. The goal is to flatten the dough into long strips as wide as the pasta maker. Before using the pasta maker, roll each piece of dough into a rectangular shape, focusing on length, rather than width since the pasta maker will widen it. Cover each flattened strip with extra flour. Then work each flattened strip of dough through your pasta maker, decreasing the width after reach run through. Aim to get the pasta as thin as you can without it breaking. It will depending on the setting of your pasta maker, but for me I kept going until the second to last number on my machine.

3. Dust the dough strips with more flour. Then cut them into smaller strips with a sharp knife, to make the pappardelle. Create nests of pappardelle on parchment on directly on the counter and allow the nests to dry until a large pot of salted water is boiling and ready for the pasta.

4. Cook the pasta in the pot for two minutes. Strain the pasta, but reserve some pasta water for the sauce.

Pasta Sauce

1. Fry grated or pressed garlic in a non-stick pan until fragrant. Then add the beet puree and the cream cheese of choice. Whisk until well combined. Loosen the sauce with a little bit of leftover pasta water, and whisk to combine. Keep cooking until the sauce gets to a simmer, and then add the parmesan cheese and seasonings. Reduce until the sauce is thick and reaches your desired consistency.

2. Add the freshly cooked pasta to the sauce and toss gently to distribute the sauce. Serve with more parmesan cheese. You can plate with camomile flowers and shaved parmesan if desired. Enjoy!