Chef Evan Mallett of Black Trumpet Bistro in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, prepared this colorful red and green pasta for Kathy Gunst’s class when he visited as a guest chef last December. He recommends serving the pasta with a mixture of seasonal farm vegetables, or with Kathy Gunst’s Spinach Topping.
Adapted from Chef Evan Mallett.
1 large red beet, scrubbed, ends trimmed
Water as needed
½ pound fresh spinach, rinsed
6 cups all-purpose flour
2 eggs
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1. Quarter the beet. Place in a medium saucepan and cover with water. Stir in a pinch of salt. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat slightly to maintain a simmer, and cook until beet is fork-tender, 30 to 40 minutes.
2. Remove beet, reserving 1 cup of the water. When the beet is cool enough to handle, peel off the skin and place the beet in a blender or food processor. Pour the reserved water over the beet and blend until smooth. Transfer the beet puree to a container and wash the blender thoroughly.
3. In a large saute pan with a lid, add spinach and ½ cup water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, cover, and reduce to a simmer for 2 minutes, stirring spinach carefully once. Transfer spinach to a blender or food processor and puree.
4. On a large cutting board, make a “volcano” with 3 cups of the flour. In the crater of the volcano, crack 1 of the eggs. While stirring briskly with a fork inside the well, add 1 teaspoon of the salt, then 1 tablespoon olive oil, and then the beet puree gradually until the dough forms a cohesive ball. On a floured surface, work the dough ball vigorously, working in more flour if the ball is sticky and more water if it is dry. Alternately, knead the pasta dough using a standing mixer or a food processor. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 3 days.
5. Repeat the “volcano” procedure on a clean surface using the remaining 3 cups flour, egg, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon olive oil,
and the spinach puree. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 3 days.
6. When ready to cook the pasta, use a pasta roller to roll out sheets of pasta until dough is very thin, then cut into fettuccine noodles.
7. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. When water boils, add a heaping teaspoon of salt. Drop the noodles into the boiling water, reduce heat
to simmer and cook noodles, stirring occasionally to keep them separated until they float to the surface. They will cook in a matter of minutes, so watch carefully.
8. Drain pasta and serve immediately with the topping of your choice.
Makes 8 to 12 servings
