Beet Pasta

2 medium red beets, stems removed
olive oil
3-4 cups all purpose flour
3 large eggs
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
3-piece pasta roller and cutter set from KitchenAid

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. To prep the beets use a knife and poke holes throughout the beets. Rub them with olive oil and sprinkle them with ¼ teaspoon of the salt and all the pepper. Wrap them in foil and cook until tender. This should take between 45 mins to an hour depending on the actual size of the beet. Use a fork and try to prick the beets to make sure they are tender to touch. Once tender, remove from heat and let cool. Once cooled, remove foil and peel the skin off. Roughly chop and place in a food processor. Process until the beets become like a paste or puree. Place ½ cup of the puree in a bowl and mix it with the eggs and the other ¼ teaspoon of salt. Once completely combined set aside and prepare a cleaned surface with a mound of the flour, starting with 3 cups initially. Make a well in the center so that it looks like a volcano and add the beet mixture into the center of the mound. Slowly pull the flour into the eggs pulling from the outside inward. Do this until the dough starts to come together. Then using your hands begin to incorporate the remaining flour until the dough comes together. Additional flour can be added as you go along if the dough is too sticky. Kneed the dough for about 2-3 minutes then wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.

Now that the dough is rested unwrap it from the plastic and divide it into 6 equal pieces. Using one piece gently flour it so it doesn’t stick to the pasta rollers, then pat it into the shape of a rectangle. Attach your pasta roller attachment to your KitchenAid mixer and turn the mixer speed to 2. Pass the pasta through the attachment at setting 1. Then fold the pasta into thirds (like a letter) then lightly dust it with flour. Do the same thing again on setting 1. Do this process of folding and lightly flouring then putting through the roller a total of 5-6 times or until the dough is smooth. Now change the setting to 2 and again lightly flour the pasta. Now pass the pasta through the rollers. No need to fold the pasta anymore. Change the setting to three and again lightly flour. Pass through rollers again. Do the same thing on setting 4. Separately have a lightly floured baking sheet read to lay out the floured and rolled out pasta sheet. Now do this same process with the remaining dough.

Once all dough is rolled to flat turn off mixture and remove the roller attachment. Now attach the KitchenAid Fettuccine Cutter attachment. Turn the mixer back to Speed 2 and pass each sheet of pasta through the Fettuccine Cutter to form the noodles. With the floured baking sheet nearby place the noodles in a nest form on the baking sheet. Repeat this process with the remaining sheets of dough.

To prepare the pasta bring a salted large pot with boiling water to a boil. Place the nests of fettuccine in the boiling water one at a time and cook until al dente (about 2-4 minutes). Remove from heat and drain. Serve with desired pasta sauce.