Homemade Sourdough Pasta & Tortellini
A fundamental tenet of cooking sustainably and feeding ourselves well is knowing how to coax the maximum nutritional potential out of the ingredients we’re working with. We want to make every ingredient count! Certain nutritional benefits become more bioavailable when certain foods are combined (like turmeric and black pepper!), other ingredients benefit from being eaten cooked as opposed to raw (the beta-carotenoids in carrots are more readily absorbed when cooked!), and others benefit from the enzymatic processes that occur during fermentation. Wheat falls into the latter category: the process of fermentation helps to neutralize the anti-nutrients present in whole grains, rendering the grain significantly more digestible and nutritionally bioavailable!
This pasta recipe is designed with this exact idea in mind, why shouldn’t we have our cake and eat it too? The dough is made with a blend of organic, stone-milled and heirloom varietals of wheat, pasture-raised eggs, high quality olive oil, and a touch of sourdough starter. It’s then fermented for 24 hours, before being rolled out into whichever pasta shape desired. It makes for great bowties, lasagna, linguine, and even tortellini (recipe follows)!
Sourdough Pasta Dough
Ingredients
2 cups (220 grams) all purpose flour or all-purpose gluten-free flour*
2 pasture raised eggs
2 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp sourdough starter, does not have to be refreshed
1 tsp fine salt
1-3 tsp lukewarm water
Semolina or gluten-free flour for rolling
*Note: this recipe was developed and tested only with all-purpose flour
Directions
Add flour and salt to a medium sized bowl. Mix to combine then set aside.
Whisk eggs, olive oil & sourdough starter in a small bowl until combined.
Gently turn out all of the flour onto a clean surface. Imagine you are making a miniature model volcano: pack your flour into a mound, then make a deep crater in the center.
Once you’ve made your crater, slowly begin adding the egg mixture. The egg mixture is your lava, and is going to want to escape the volcano to wreak havoc on the town below (or in this case, your counter, floor, and clothes). The best way to avoid this is to gently add the egg mixture to the crater in 3-4 increments, slowly incorporating it into the flour each time. Gently incorporate the egg mixture into the flour by making swift, circular motions with a fork (the motion should feel something like whisking eggs for a scramble). Once all of the egg mixture has been incorporated into the flour, start kneading with your hands. At first it will feel like the dough will never come together, but soon enough the flour will hydrate and the mixture will turn into a shaggy dough.
Add 1-3 tsp of lukewarm water, depending on how your dough feels. Keep working the dough till it forms a tight ball. Now, knead the dough for a solid 15 minutes. You might be rolling your eyes, but the long kneading time provides for an exceptionally textured pasta and is not a step to be skipped.
Once your pasta dough is smooth and silky, wrap it in plastic wrap and leave to ferment in the fridge for 12-24 hours (the longer you leave it, the tangier and more flavorful the dough will be.)
Bring the dough out to room temperature at least 30 minutes before you plan on rolling it out. A pasta maker makes this process easy, but with patience and elbow grease it can also be done with a rolling pin!
Roll out the pasta according to the directions on your pasta maker, dusting with semolina as needed, until you reach a thickness where you can just barely see your hand through the dough.
Now, the world is your oyster! Cut it into tiny rectangles and fold the dough accordion style and pinch it in the middle to make bow ties, cut it into big rectangular sheets for lasagna, or follow the instructions below to make tortellini.
Cook for 1-3 minutes in boiling, salted water.
Pumpkin, Sage, & Raw Cheddar Tortellini
Ingredients
1 recipe fermented pasta dough
½ cup ricotta
½ cup labneh
¼ cup roasted pumpkin puree
¼ cup finely grated raw milk cheddar, or any other aged hard cheese
1 shallot, minced
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp aleppo or urfa pepper
Small handful sage leaves, shredded
Juice and zest of one lemon
Pinch cinnamon
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 egg, whisked
Directions
In a small saucepan, saute minced shallot in 1 tsp olive until it begins to soften. Season with a pinch of salt, and add the sage and lemon zest. Cook for another minute, then set aside to cool.
Add all of the ingredients (aside from the pasta dough and egg) to a medium bowl and mix well. Taste and adjust seasoning. Pipe into a piping bag, or simply use a zip lock bag with the tip of a corner cut off.
Cut your dough into 4 evenly sized pieces, and start rolling them out in batches. Make sure to keep the reserved pieces covered as you work. Once the dough is thin enough for you to see the silhouette of your hand through the pasta sheet, it is ready to fill. Dust each side in semolina to prevent it from sticking to your work surface. Using a 3 inch ring mold or cookie cutter, cut as many circles as you can get out of each sheet.
Working quickly, pipe about a teaspoon’s worth of filling into each circle. The whisked egg is essential to seal the tortellini. Saturate the tip of your finger in the egg, then run it along the top half of each cut circle - essentially painting a half moon along the perimeter of the dough. Fold the bottom half to meet the top, and pinch along the edges to seal. You will now have a crescent dumpling shape; fold one end gently over the other end, dot with a touch of egg, and press to seal.
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Make sure it’s salty like the sea. Gently drop the tortellini in the boiling water and cook for approximately 2 minutes. Strain and enjoy en brodo like a true Italian, toss with your favorite sauce, or serve simply drizzled in olive oil with lemon zest and parmesan.
It’s also worth mentioning that these will not keep well in the fridge, as the dough will slowly continue fermenting. They freeze wonderfully, and can be cooked directly from frozen. Follow the above directions, but cook for 1-1.5 more minutes!
About the Author
Vilda Gonzalez is the Food Editor at The Thirlby, an avid home cook, and studying to become a holistic nutritionist. She is the founder and chef of Sol-Eir, an ongoing series of alchemized food and beverage experiences. Her mission is to rewire our collective relationship to what eating well truly means; with the highest regard of respect for our body, our community, and our earth. She believes that food should be delicious, flavorful, and indulgent, but it should also be deeply nourishing, regenerative, and inherently healthful. Vilda also works with individuals to strengthen their personal relationships with food through means of intuitive cooking and connection.
