Vegan Homemade Cracked Pepper Fetuccini w/ Simple Tomato Basil Sauce
Difficulty: 4/5 (5 being hardest)
Spice Level: 1/3 (3 being spiciest)
Prep & Cook Time: 75-80 minutes
Servings: ~4
The Challenge: Homemade Pasta + Tomato Basil Sauce
Please note this is a preview of an upcoming recipe from my cookbook, Vegan Food That Doesn’t Suck. The cookbook is currently in the works. This recipe will be available until the cookbook releases at which time the recipe will be only a shortened preview. Pre-order here!
Ever had fresh vegan pasta? Nope! It has eggs in it almost always. Well, we want to change that. Fresh pasta is so delicious. This particular dish is a fresh-made cracked pepper fettucini that we’ve paired with tomato basil spaghetti sauce (also made from scratch). What you get with fresh pasta + sauce is a richness of flavor, much healthier pasta, and finger lickin’ good flavorful textures. YUM!
This dish is incredibly easier if you have a mixer or food processor but it can be done by hand if you have neither. Additionally, for the pasta rolling, we use a pasta attachment to the Kitchenaid mixer. Again, this can be done by hand but is more challenging. I have made pasta completely from hand and it added another 10-15 minutes to the time.
If you have a mixer, a lot of the time is just waiting for the dough to rest and sauce to cook down, so I would say this is a low intensity recipe.
Why cracked pepper? I believe this adds a nice spice and flavor to the pasta and balances out the dish extremely well. You can add other flavors/spices as you see fit.
The sauce is made completely from scratch and is super easy to make with tomatoes on the vine or roma tomatoes, fresh basil, and tons of spices! The sauce is really fresh and delighful.
No cheese or cheese replacement. This dish just needs two things - pasta + sauce (gravy for some). Yum!
Ingredients:
Cracked Pepper Fetuccini
2 cups semolina flour (can sub with AP flour)
1/2 cup AP flour
1 tsp sea salt
1 tbl nutritional yeast
3/4 tsp fresh cracked pepper
2 tbl olive oil
3/4 cup warm water
Simple Tomato Basil Sauce
2 medium shallots, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbl tomato paste
8-10 medium tomatoes on the vine, roughly chopped
1 tsp coconut sugar (sub regular sugar)
Spices: 1/2 tsp dried oregano, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1/4 tsp rosemary, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, 1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 cup packed basil, diced
The Rest
fresh basil (for topping)
cracked pepper (for topping)
chili flakes (for topping)
Equipment You'll Need:
Cutting Board . Sharp Cutting Knife . Measuring Cups . Measuring Spoons . Mixing Bowls . Kitchenaid Mixer or Food Processor . Rolling Pin . Pasta Attachment or Pasta Roller . Pasta Cutter or Sharp Knife . Large Frying Pan . Mixing Spoon . Large Boiling Pot
Before You Cook:
Chop + wash fresh ingredients
1. To start, add all dry ingredients to mixing bowl. Using Kitchenaid mixer (or similar) with dough hook, turn on medium-low speed. While running, slowly pour in oil and water. Keep running for about 6-8 minutes until dough has formed a ball. Scrape down the sides about every 60 seconds for the first few minutes. If not using a mixer, place dry ingredients in a bowl, mix with liquid and then remove from bowl once formed and knead dough for 6-8 minutes.
2. Add shallots + garlic to a large frying pan with 1-2 tbl of olive oil over medium heat. Cook for 4-5 minutes then add in tomato paste and mix well with wooden spoon and cook another 60 seconds.
3. Next, add in diced tomatoes (do not deseed or lose excess tomato water). Mix well then add sugar and spices (not basil yet). Reduce heat to low simmer and simmer for 20-25 minutes. Add basil and simmer for another 5 minutes.
4. To start making the pasta, divide the dough into 5-6 small portions. Take the dough and flatten it slightly into a small pancake. If you are hand rolling, ignore the next few steps, flour a large surface and roll out the dough until very thin.
5. Next, feed it through the pasta roller. I start at the 0 position and go all the way to 4.
6. Fold the dough in half.
7. Run the folded dough through at 0 two more times.
8. Then, run the dough through two more times on each slot up to 4.
9. Place onto a well floured surface and repeat steps 5-8 till dough is all rolled.
10. Next, add a pot of water to stove and bring to boil. While warming, cut the pasta dough into long strips. You can make the pasta as thick as you’d like. I aim for about 1/4 inch strips like fettucini.
11. Once water is boiling, add to water, boil for 2 minutes and remove.
12. Serve the pasta with sauce and top with fresh basil, chili flakes, and cracked pepper. Enjoy!
