Nutritious Noodles

Love pasta, but wish it could be a bit better for you? Here you can create your own protein rich pasta with added nutrients from the comfort of your own home.

Nutritious Noodles

I recently treated myself to a pasta roller add-on for my stand mixer, having rarely made pasta due to the not-so-fond memories of arduous hand rolling sheets of dough years ago. I've been using this for the past few weeks as it's a great opportunity to test out different flavours and fillers for a variety of pasta dishes. I've been primarily testing different types of ravioli, but wanted to share this nifty trick to pack protein and other nutrients into pasta without anyone knowing! The key ingredient here is spirulina- often found as an ingredient in luscious green smoothies, this powder is claimed to be the most nutrient dense food in the world (a bold claim, but one which does seem to ring true!). Here, to ensure this dish packs a protein heavy punch, I've also added pea protein powder to the mix. Enjoy with a hearty tomato sauce, or as part of a veggie heavy carbonara or alfredo.  This dish is so packed with goodness, you can even sneak a hunk of garlic bread on the side and not feel too guilty! These can be kept in the fridge to use within 5 days, or freeze for use even later making a quick and easy mid-week meal that's vegan and can be made gluten free.

Ingredients
2 cups 00 flour- I used Caputo 00 flour, however if 00 is not available in your area, a good quality wheat flour or GF alternative will do here, ensure you add the water slowly as it may hold moisture differently than the flour I used
1 tbsp spirulina powder
1 tbsp unflavoured protein powder (I used Anthony's unflavored Premium Pea Protein)
2 tsp salt
around 1/2 cup water, but this will vary depending on the weather/flour etc so you may find you need a little more or a little less.

Method
I'd recommend using a stand mixer for this if you can, the manual method will take a lot longer, but is definitely possible.
Add the dry ingredients to a bowl, make a well in the middle and add half the water. Begin to mix until the dough starts to come together, adding a little more water to combine as needed. The dough should be fairly stiff, and hold together.
Knead the dough, or use a stand mixer with the dough hook on low for around 10 minutes.
Cover the dough and leave to one side to rest for at least 30 minutes.
Once ready, add the pasta roller attachment to your stand mixer, or, if using a manual roller attachment, then secure to your work surface. If you are using a rolling pin, ensure your work surface is well floured to prevent the mixture sticking.
Roll out the mixture until it is around 1-2mm thick then, if using a pasta roller, change the roller out for a linguini cutter, if using a knife then cut the rolled dough into strips around 4mm wide.
To prevent the strands sticking, dust with a little flour and arrange in small piles for each portion.
When you are ready, add the pasta to boiling water, it will cook in around 3 minutes. Serve with a meaty ragu, or your favourite pasta sauce and a few freshly torn basil leaves.