With this week’s CSA goods, I made homemade dandelion pasta (with a recipe from Bee Heaven Farm’s newsletter) and dolled it up with prosciutto and cream. Without a machine to help me roll my pasta to a uniform thinness, I flattened my dough with a rolling pin, force and a prayer. Once it was 1/16th(ish) of an inch thin, I cut it into rather irregular strips with a pizza cutter.
It would be a lie to say this pasta was a labor of love. There was love involved and certainly more labor than a box of Barilla, but the time commitment and effort paled in comparison to the toothsome final product. The dandelion greens, though bitter when raw, mellowed to an intensely earthy flavor after they were incorporated into the pasta and cooked. The porky prosciutto was a natural complement to the greens.
This was a beautiful, rustic meal. And for me, it was a great icebreaker into making homemade pasta—it was much easier than I thought and not so time consuming that I have to save it for special occasions.
Dandelion Pasta with Prosciutto and Cream
3 cups dandelion greens, divided
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2/3 cup thinly sliced prosciutto, about 2 ounces
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
Salt and pepper
Instructions
Combine eggs and 2 cups dandelion greens in a blender, and puree. Pour into a large bowl, and stir in salt. Incorporate flour into the egg mixture gradually, until dough stiffens. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface, and knead for five minutes.
Roll dough as thin as desired (1/4 to 1/16 inch). And then leave dough uncovered for 1 hour. This will dry the dough and make it more manageable. Cut into thin strips with a knife or pizza cutter.
Bring salted water to a boil in a large pot.
Meanwhile, melt butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add prosciutto to pan, and lightly brown. Stir in cream, and reduce the liquid by one-third. Stir in remaining 1 cup dandelion greens, and remove pan from the heat.
Cook pasta 2 minutes. Drain and reserve a few tablespoons of cooking water. Toss the pasta with the cream sauce, adding pasta water if the mixture is dry. Sprinkle parmesan over the pasta, toss, and serve immediately.
Serves 3 to 4
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It was great to see you today at Bee Heaven. We really enjoyed this pasta, and I’m sure you can made it with almost any of the greens in your CSA box.
I’ve been on a pasta kick lately, especially now that I no longer have to use my hand cranked machine because I got an attachment for the mixer. I’d been wondering what to do with the dandelion greens and they just rotted in the process. I thought about using it for pasta but I was scared it would be too bitter. I will definitely try this next season, thanks!