Colored Layered Laminated Pasta
Ingredients: 1 egg, salt to taste, flour as needed, half an eggshell filled with water up to halfway, 1 carrot (or 2 for a stronger color), 1 beet (or two for a stronger color)
A few days ago, I made a noodle dough for soup and decided to experiment with potato-filled ravioli since I haven't had them in a long time. I was inspired by a cookbook I have, but unfortunately, I didn't have cuttlefish ink to reproduce the recipe exactly as it was. So I decided to color the pasta with natural colors, opting for a healthier approach.
To achieve the desired colors, I started by boiling carrots and beets. If you don't have fresh beets, canned or jarred versions work well. It's important for the vegetables to be well-cooked so that a fork can easily pierce them. After boiling, I removed them from the water and let them cool. The beetroot peels off easily once cooled, and the carrot is mashed using an immersion blender, followed by the beetroot, which also needs to be brought to a fine consistency. I placed the two purees in separate bowls and prepared to make the dough.
In a bowl, I beat an egg with a pinch of salt (about a quarter teaspoon) and added a tablespoon of water. I started mixing with a fork, gradually adding flour. At some point, when the dough became hard to mix, I turned it out onto the work surface and began kneading, adding the necessary flour to achieve the right consistency. It is essential to obtain a slightly firmer dough than usual, as the added vegetables will soften the dough.
After kneading the dough well, I divided it into three portions and shaped them into balls. I placed the balls in bags and let them rest for 30 minutes. Now, it's time to ensure that the carrot and beet are well-drained of juice, using the back of a spoon to press them.
After resting, I took one ball out of the bag, flattened it, and added the carrot puree on top. I began to incorporate the puree into the dough, adding the necessary flour to achieve a soft, non-sticky, and easy-to-shape dough. The procedure was similar for the second ball, where I used the beet puree. In the end, I obtained three balls of dough: one orange, one burgundy, and one cream-colored.
After another 30-minute resting period, I set up the pasta sheet machine. I started with the widest setting and, as I rolled out the sheets, gradually reduced the distance. After all the sheets were rolled out to the desired thickness, I stacked them on top of each other, trimming the edges to even them out. From the leftover scraps, I made another dough for wide noodles or colored tagliatelle.
I arranged the sheets of dough by alternating colors and moistened them with water to ensure good adhesion. Then, I cut them into 1 cm wide strips, which I twisted to stretch them to the necessary thickness. I obtained colored strips in layers, which I cut as desired: wide noodles, thinner ones, or ravioli.
For the filling, I chose potatoes, which I boiled and mashed, adding salt and pepper to taste. I filled the ravioli with this mixture, ensuring that I sealed the edges well so that the filling wouldn't leak during cooking. I boiled the ravioli in salted water until they floated to the surface, then served them with a garlic butter sauce and pieces of fried bacon, sprinkling a little grated parmesan on top. It was a true explosion of flavors and colors!
