Bryanna Clark Grogan

Anyway, the following is from my book "Nonna's Italian Kitchen" on making rolled pasta (you can use all wholewheat flour if you like the taste-- I prefer less wholewheat):

In the following recipe, I use soy flour or chickpea flour as part of the flour, and water as the liquid. The protein, fats and lecethin in the bean flours act as tenderizers in the dough, just like eggs do, coating the gluten in the wheat flour. The golden color of the bean flours also lend a pleasant golden color to the noodles.

It is possible to make noodles using only flour and water, but they don't hold up as well or have as much flavor as this version. (Commercial pasta makers who use only flour and water in fresh pasta use high protein durum semolina wheat flour, which is much tougher and requires special machines to make properly.) You can also use tofu as an egg substitute, but it's more expensive, messier (you have to blend the tofu first), and does not lend that golden color to the noodles.

PASTA MACHINES:

If you quiz experienced pasta makers about their favorite pasta machine, invariably they will choose the inexpensive roller-type, hand-cranked machine. There are electric roller-types, but they are more expensive and I don't really see the point-- it's not that hard to crank the hand-driven ones (kids love to help with this!).

Extruder pasta machines were all the rage in the 80's, and most of them languish in garages and bottom cupboards, for the simple reason that they produce inferior pasta. Leave extrusion pasta to the experts, the commercial dry pasta makers-- that's what Italians do! Only rolled pasta is served fresh.

NEVER wash your pasta machine or get it wet! I just shake it and brush it with a clean pastry brush, then store it in dry plastic bags. When breaking in a new machine, throw away the first piece of dough, after rolling it through the rollers several times.

BRYANNA’S VEGAN HOMEMADE PASTA (CAN BE SOY-FREE)

Makes slightly over 1 lb.

NOTE: The amount of salt in pasta dough is variable. Some Italians never add salt to the dough, but they generally salt the cooking water more heavily than North Americans do. Eggs also contain sodium, so eggless pasta can taste flat without a bit more salt added. This is a matter of personal taste, so I have made the salt optional-- however, I do add it myself.

1 and 2/3 cups unbleached white flour
OR 1 c. unbleached white flour and 2/3 c. wholewheat flour
1/2 cup chickpea flour OR full-fat soy flour
2/3 cup water
OPTIONAL: 1/2 to 3/4 tsp. salt
IF YOU ARE MAKING PASTA FOR RAVIOLI OR OTHER STUFFED PASTA: add 1 T. olive oil or neutral cooking oil to the dough, to make it more flexible.

NOTE: Humidity makes the dough harder to roll out.

To make the dough by hand,
mix the flour, chickpea or soy flour and salt, if using, in a medium-sized bowl. Pour in the water and stir with a fork until the dough comes together in a ball. Knead the dough on a lightly-floured surface for about 10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth. Place the dough in a plastic bag and let it rest for at least 10 minutes.

(You can also knead the dough, especially larger amounts, in a heavy-duty kitchen machine with a dough hook, instead of by hand.)

To make the dough in a food processor,
mix the flour, chickpea or soy flour and salt, if using, in a dry processor bowl, then add the water (or water and pureed vegetables, mixed together) through the top with the motor running. Process for about 30 seconds, or until a smooth ball forms. (The dough may seem a bit sticky, but you'll be flouring it as you work.) Place the dough in a plastic bag and let it rest for at least 10 minutes.

To make the dough in a bread machine,
place the wet and dry ingredients in the bread container according to the directions for your machine and turn it on for the dough cycle. Unplug the machine when it finishes kneading, oil it lightly, place in a plastic bag and refrigerate for at least half an hour.

To roll and cut the dough by hand,
divide the dough into eighths, keeping the portion you aren't working with in the plastic bag. Roll each piece out on a floured surface until it is about 1/16th of an inch thick, flouring as you go to prevent sticking. If you like, hang the rolled-out portions of dough over the backs of chairs or on a pasta rack to dry for 5 to 10 minutes before cutting (this makes the dough a bit easier to handle while cutting, but I don't always do it, I must admit!).

Flouring the pasta well, roll each portion up loosely like a little jelly roll (if the portions seem too long, you can cut them in half across, to make shorter noodles) and cut them into the desired widths (1/2" or 1/4") with a sharp knife. Shake the noodles out and either hang them up until ready to cook, or flour them lightly and swirl them into little pasta "nests" on floured cookie sheets.

To roll and cut with a hand-crank pasta machine or electric pasta-rolling machine,
divide the dough into eighths, keeping the portions you aren't working with in the plastic bag. Flour the dough well and run it through the first setting of the machine. Now, flour it lightly again, fold it into thirds, and run it through the first setting again. Do this until the dough looks smooth. Then flour the dough and run it through each successive setting twice, until it is the desired thickness.

I like the pasta best at the third-to-the-last setting, number 5, on my machine, and the second-to-the-last setting, number 6, for stuffed pasta. This is pretty standard for the inexpensive hand-roller machines. The very expensive ones are better-aligned, so you can more easily use the last, very thin, setting, if you wish.

If you like, hang the rolled-out dough to dry as instructed above. Flour each portion of dough well (if each portion seems too long to you, cut each across in half to make shorter noodles) and run it through the cutters with the desired width. Either hang the noodles as above until ready to cook, or flour them lightly and swirl them into little pasta "nests" on floured cookie sheets.

To cook fresh pasta, have your sauce ready and use 4 to 6 quarts of boiling salted water in a large pot over high heat. Drop in the pasta, shaking off any excess flour first (do not thaw, if frozen) and stir it gently with a fork or spaghetti rake. Cover the pot and remove the cover as soon as it comes to a boil again. Count from the second the water comes to a boil again. BE VIGILANT! Very fine noodles take only about 5 seconds, thicker noodles take about 15 seconds. Very soft noodles may need to be removed as soon as the water comes to a boil again. (Thoroughly dried pasta and frozen pasta may take somewhat longer, but test one minute after the second boil.)

(Some recipes for fresh pasta tell you to cook one to three minutes-- this amount of time is counted from the moment the pasta is dropped into the pot, not from the second boil. Otherwise, the pasta would be overcooked.)

Drain the pasta (some cooks drain the pasta over the serving bowl so that the hot water heats the bowl) and serve immediately with your favorite sauce. (You can serve the sauce ladled individually over each serving of pasta, or toss the whole recipe with the sauce in a hot serving bowl.)

MAKING PASTA FOR RAVIOLI AND OTHER STUFFED NOODLES: Do not allow the strips of rolled-out pasta dry out-- cover them with a clean, damp tea towel while you work. Do not allow any tears in the dough, or the filling will seep out. If you find a tear or hole, fold it up and pass it through the rollers again. Roll the dough out as thinly as your machine will allow (this means the second-to-the-last setting for most inexpensive machines).

VARIATIONS:

Buckwheat Pasta:
Use 1/2 c. buckwheat flour and 1 cup plus 3 T. unbleached white flour, as well as the chickpea or soy flour. Roll the dough as thinly as possible and cut into fettucine, then cut the noodles in half, on the diagonal, to make them shorter. (Traditionally served with cabbage or chard, leeks, potatoes and sage in a "butter" sauce in Northern Italy , but they can be served with any simple vegetable sauce.)

Wholewheat Pasta:
Use 1 c. wholewheat flour and 2/3 c. unbleached white flour, along with the chickpea or soy flour. Roll the dough as thinly as possible.

Colored Pastas:

For brown pasta,
add about 4 tsp. cocoa powder to the dough. (This pasta was traditionally served in Italy with sweet and sour sauces, containing nuts raisins and spices, but, for the modern palate, they are best served with mushroom sauces.)

For yellow pasta,
add 1/4 tsp. Spanish saffron threads to the water and let it soak for several minutes, until the color comes out, before you add it to the dough.

For green pasta,
use 1/3 cup pureed cooked spinach (this can be baby food spinach) and 1/3 c. water for the liquid.

For red-orange pasta,
use 1 T. tomato paste plus water to make 2/3 c. liquid.

For pink pasta,
use 1 T. pureed cooked beets (this can be baby food beets) and water to make 2/3 c. liquid.

STORING, FREEZING, AND DRYING HOMEMADE PASTA:

If you plan to refrigerate or freeze fresh noodles, spread them out on clean dry tea towels, or hang them on drying racks or the backs of chairs for 15-20 minutes. (You can buy folding pasta-drying racks, or improvise with dowels hung from hooks below your kitchen cupboards.)

Some cooks freeze pasta uncooked, but others recommend "blanching" the pasta in boiling salted water for 15 seconds, then immersing them in ice water immediately. The drained noodles are then frozen in plastic bags. (This blanching method is recommended for frozen ravioli and other stuffed pasta.)

Either way, the frozen pasta is dropped into boiling, salted water and cooked just until the pasta floats, then drained and served immediately.

Cook lasagne or cannelloni noodles before freezing or refrigerating (cannelloni are simply 4" squares of pasta that are rolled around a filling). Cook as directed in the recipe, then drain and immerse immediately in ice water. Drain and dry briefly on clean tea towels. Layer the noodles with waxed paper in rigid plastic containers and cover tightly. These will keep refrigerated for almost a week, or can be frozen a couple of months.

If you want to dry your homemade pasta, drying racks are the best way to insure even drying, which is an absolute necessity to prevent molding. You will have to dry them for at least 24 hours. When you are sure that the pasta is dry all the way through, you can store it in metal cookie tins or rigid plastic storage containers for about a month. Dried homemade pasta takes only a few seconds longer than fresh to cook.

Personally, I prefer freezing, because the pasta is more like the fresh product. But I usually make pasta fresh each time, because it's a treat and it really doesn't take very long to make, once you get the hang of it.

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