Red Pasta — Second Attempt

Just a hint of tomato

When I decided that I wanted to make another color of pasta, I hit the web looking for some recipes, since my cookbook listed spinach pasta but no other sorts. Over at About.com, Kyle Phillips said that you couldn't use tomato paste for red pasta since it would make the pasta too acidic for anything but a cream sauce. After finding the carrot pasta recipe there such a trial, I decided to test out the claim about tomato pasta.

I made a standard two-egg recipe, beating a tablespoon of tomato paste into the eggs before adding them to the flour. This made a slightly red, very workable dough. I let it rest for a few minutes, then I kneaded it, then I went off to run some errands.

When we got back, the dough was thoroughly rested and I was ravenous. I think I would have eaten it no matter what. I do have to wait for this to cook? It rolled out as I would expect dough to even without the addition of a tablespoon of tomato paste. I cut into into fettuccine and let it rest while I prepped everything else.

I chopped an onion. I minced some garlic. I grabbed some basil leaves (no need to chop those yet). Then the pasta went up. I always gather it in a kitchen towel to more easily dump it into the salted water. In it went.

While it cooked, I quickly chopped up the basil, tossing that into the pan to cook just a little bit. The pasta was ready, and that went into the skillet to mix with everything else. Then we ate it.

The verdict? I'm using two tablespoons of tomato paste for two eggs next time. It made a very lightly orange pasta that might have had a discernible difference of taste if it were served side-by-side with regular egg pasta. Did this need a cream sauce to moderate acidity? This did not have acidity to moderate.

It's back to the drawing board to amp up the flavors of the pasta.

Tomato Pasta — Draft Recipe
2 eggs
200 grams flour
1 tablespoon tomato paste

And I have another red pasta recipe planned.

{Note: According to his biography at About.com, Mr. Phillips is a food writer, living in Tuscany, who has translated an Italian cookbook into English. I just report what happens in my kitchen.}