chocolate pasta

My life has been wild trying to get ready for Christmas.  This not unusual for me but when my instigating friend sends me pictures of chocolate pasta, life gets even more crazy.  It is not like I am reading pasta cookbooks anyhow.  Getting a few ideas but mostly looking up "new" cool tools.  Okay, so I like the hand tools best.  Call me crazy.  I have a list!

I found a recipe for chocolate pasta on line.  Basically, it was switch out some of the flour for a good unsweetened cocoa.  Not rocket science.  Or rock science either for that matter.

It was not bad.  There is no sweetness to the pasta.  There is a bit more depth and a bit of a bitter bite so you have to chose the sauce wisely.  I made a gorgonzola cream sauce garnished with toasted walnuts.  The strong flavours worked.  

Would I make the pasta again?  Maybe.  It was not that much better then my other handmade pasta.  I may need to find a better sauce.  But I am writing down what I did for next time.

chocolate pasta

2 1/4 cups flour

3/4 cup flour

3 eggs

water

I am lazy and do not wish to clean up too hard, so I do pasta dough in a bowl to start.  

Put the flour and cocoa in a bowl.  Mix together and make a well.  Crack in three eggs to the well.  Start beating them in from the center and start incorporating the flour mixture until you can stir in as much as you can.  It will probably be crumbly.

Turn out a clean surface and start kneading.  I needed to add a few tablespoons of water to make a stiff dough.  I need it until it is silky with as little added water as possible.  Wrap it and place it in the refrigerator over night.

Before dinner, take the dough out of the refrigerator.  On a clean surface that has a light coating of flour, start rolling it out.  Roll the dough out as thin as you can.  It is work.

Once the dough has been rolled out, roll it up so it can be sliced into noodles.  

As the noodles are cut, put on a baking sheet with flour.  Dust them well so they do not stick to each other.  Let them dry while you continue cutting and make your sauce.

When ready cook, bring a large pot of salted water to boil.  Add the pasta.  Bring back to a boil and boil for a few minutes.

Drain and serve with the sauce of your choice.

I like making pasta so this was fun.  I have a few more pasta doughs I wish to try.  I should not be allowed to shop for new and interesting ingredients alone.  Too much temptation!