Fresh Carrot Pasta
on Mar 12, 2018, Updated Mar 10, 2022
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Keep it simple with this fresh carrot pasta and toss the from-scratch noodles in herby pesto or garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper.
I could not have been more excited to tackle the chore of changing all the clocks for Daylight Savings. It’s the little things.
Even though I am a morning person, I will put up with the darker earlier hours for a day that feels lighter later.
The time change has an amazing effect on everyone’s mood. There is hope in the air.
It kind of felt like the first day of spring, even though we’re not quite there yet. Now I’m anxiously awaiting the first green leaves on the trees.
Of course I’m still not finished with cozy foods like soup, but I’ve been reaching for shoulder ingredients that speak to both winter and spring.
Transitional periods can be tough, but this one is by far my favorite with all the anticipation of container gardens and farmers markets.
To find space in my crowded fridge, I took a bunch of knotty carrots and transformed them into fresh carrot pasta.
Fresh Carrot Pasta: Sneak In Veggies!
Over the last few months I’ve been hooked on fresh pasta. It’s one way I can get my son to eat more veggies because he gets so excited about the color.
And he’s a great sous chef and helper cranking out those noodles.
On an ambitious afternoon at home I even made 4 different kinds of pasta from scratch. He absolutely loved the rainbow! I couldn’t blame him.
The only downside was that he started to request rainbow pasta on weeknights. That can be a challenge.
It was a big problem when I was out and my husband was taking care of dinner on his own. Our little guy wanted colorful pasta.
With any veggie pastas, the flavor is subtle. The bright colors can be kind of misleading about the intensity of the vegetable.
The fresh carrot pasta, with its lovely orange color, does give hints at the vegetable’s sweetness.
I love it tossing it with garlic and olive oil. Or you can be a serious over achiever and make carrot top pesto!
How To Make Fresh Carrot Pasta
First, I peel the carrots and dice them. Then I simmer the carrots in salted water until they are cooked and tender.
After that, the food processor does most of the work. The carrots easily puree. You only need a half cup of the smooth carrots, so you can save the rest for something else.
Next, mix the carrot puree with 3 eggs. Add the flour and let the food processor run until the dough forms. You might need to add more flour a little at a time, so the dough isn’t sticky.
Then pat the dough into a disk and let it rest at room temperature covered. If it’s going to be longer, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge.
When you’re ready to roll out the dough, you can use a pasta machine or a rolling pin.
Let the pasta sheets sit out and dry for about 10 minutes before cutting them into noodles.
Fresh pasta cooks very quickly. It just takes 2 minutes.
Finally, just sauté the noodles with garlic and olive oil. Sprinkle them with plenty of salt, pepper and chopped fresh herbs.
Try One Of These Fresh Pasta Recipes
Fresh Carrot Pasta
Ingredients
- 4-5 large carrots peeled and trimmed
- 3 large eggs
- 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus more for work surface
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan, add the carrots, reduce the heat and simmer until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
- Drain the carrots and puree them in a food processor. Measure 1/2 cup carrot puree and discard the rest. Mix the eggs and carrot puree in the food processor until fully combined. Add the flour and remaining salt and pulse until a dough forms.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for a couple minutes until the dough is smooth. Form the dough into a round disk and cover with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes or refrigerate overnight. (If the dough is refrigerated, make sure to let it come to room temperature before rolling out the pasta.)
- Divide the pasta dough into 4 pieces keeping them covered. Working with one piece of dough at a time, flatten slightly and feed through the smooth rollers of a pasta machine starting at the widest setting. Fold the pasta sheet in half each time it is fed through at a narrower setting until the pasta sheet is very thin but does not tear. Place the pasta sheets on a floured work surface to dry for 10 minutes. (Note: If you do not have a pasta machine, you can roll out the sheets of pasta with a rolling pin on a floured work surface.)
- Cut the pasta sheets into 12-inch lengths. Sprinkle the sheets with flour and roll them up loosely. Using a knife or pizza cutter, trim the rough edges and cut into 1/4-inch wide strips. Unroll and place the strips on a floured sheet pan. Repeat with the remaining dough.
- Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta for 2 minutes until al denté and then toss with desired sauce.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Thanks for posting the recipe. I’ve adapted it to make a carrot ravioli with sage brown butter. I used five carrots and used half for the dough and half for the filling, which also included ricotta and Parmesan and a grating of nutmeg.
Carrot ravioli sounds incredible!!!
Bravo, perfect
Hi
Can I veganize your recipe using flax or chia egg
Thank you
Anita
Hi Anita. I haven’t tried to make fresh pasta with a flax or chia egg, so I’m not sure how it will turn out.