This recipe for simple, homemade pappardelle floral pasta served with a basil pesto has a special floral, herby twist that not only looks gorgeous but also adds a delicious, delicate flavour to a dish.
I’m fairly new to pasta making in general, having purchased my pasta machine last summer but I am now officially in love with homemade pasta. Rather than being the tricky, laborious task that I was convinced it would be – making this homemade pappardelle is actually remarkably simple AND fun! Plus you don’t NEED a pasta machine, although for this particular floral pasta pappardelle recipe I would say that it is definitely super handy to have one for best results! And the whole process takes just around 30 minutes.
It’s worth noting that in general, this pasta dough recipe is 100 g flour (7/8 Cup) and 1 egg per person, using a ’00’ grade pasta flour. This means this recipe can be easily adjusted for however many servings are needed.
Moving on to the star of the show – Edible flowers & Herbs!
I already discuss the flavours of various edible flowers on my recent Rainbow Goats Cheese rolls recipe.
For this pasta recipe, I would say it doesn’t matter too much which flowers you choose. Through the cooking process and with the pesto, it’s very easy to overpower the delicate flavours. I chose bigger flowers and only used the petals, for instance. However, if you want to serve the pasta simply with some butter and let the herbs and flowers shine then check out that blog post!
Combining these flowers with some delicious herbs is when we start to see the magic happening. While you could choose any fresh, leafy herb to include – I chose Thyme and Sage leaves for this specific recipe as I love the delicate flavour combination. And, if you’re feeling extra sinful then you can swap the pesto for a sage butter. Delicious!
Using fresh, leafy herbs in the pasta really does add a delicious flavour boost!
Some of my favourite herby homemade pasta flavour combinations:
- Spinach & Basil – Creates a delicious green pasta.
- Garlic & Basil – An absolute favourite of mine served in butter.
- Nettle – Interesting one that can be tricky to deal with but an interesting flavour and lovely with a simple ravioli.
The key to this dish is the pasta ‘lamination’: The layer of herbs/ flowers sandwiched between two, thin layers of pasta. The options for herbs and flowers are then endless. Alongside this pappardelle recipe, you can use the same technique to make gorgeous floral and herb filled ravioli, lasagne sheets and various other pasta shapes (like bows!). Let your imagination roam free!
Homemade Pappardelle Floral Pasta Recipe
For the homemade pappardelle pasta:
- ’00’ grade pasta flour
- Clarence Court Leghorn White eggs
For the edible flower & herb lamination:
- A selection of your favourite fresh herbs (I used fresh Thyme and Sage)
- A selection of edible flowers (optional)
- More herbs and flowers to garnish!
For the basil pesto:
- garlic cloves
- pine nuts
- olive oil
- Greek basil
- a pinch of salt
- a pinch of black pepper
Here is the method for this homemade herbs and flowers pasta
To begin making the homemade pappardelle, start by placing the flour on a board or in a bowl.
Make a well in the middle and add the eggs. It’s best the the eggs were kept at room temperature for a couple of hours.
Beat the eggs with a fork and then start incorporating the flour until you obtain a thoroughly combined mixture.
Knead the dough with you hands, shaping, pulling, stretching (alternatively you can use a stand mixer with a dough hook).
Knead the dough on a lightly floured work surface until it becomes smooth and elastic. If it sticks to your hand when touched then add a little more flour and knead till smooth. You can also help yourself with a rolling pin, rolling and folding and rolling again the dough.
The process takes a while so be patient! It’s a necessary step so that the pasta becomes smooth and silky, not lumpy and dry.
Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough till it is flat enough to feed into a pasta machine on level ‘0’ (widest setting).
Continue feeding it through ‘0’, folding it in half then feeding it through repeatedly until a regular shape. Make sure to sprinkle lightly with flour to stop it from sticking. Then you can make it thinner with the machine.
OR If you use a rolling pin for the whole process, make sure to roll it out and stretch it into thin sheets. Make sure to have 2 (or an even number of) sheets with a relatively similar size. Or you can cut a long one into 2, as you will need to layer one on top of the other.
When you have a thin long sheet of pasta dough, stretch it on your work plane and arrange your fresh herbs and flowers on it.
Then carefully lay another sheet on top. This is how you make the flower and herb laminated pasta dough.
With the help of a rolling pin, carefully roll over so that the two sheets of dough get stuck together. OR If you are using a pasta machine, you can pass the dough through it and you will really begin to see the edible flowers and herbs showing through the pasta dough.
Cut the pasta. I chose to cut it into long strips, like Tagliatelle or Pappardelle, but you can cut it in different shapes/sizes.
To cut it into long strips, you just need to fold the pasta a couple of times and then just cut with a knife.
To prepare the basil pesto, just mix/blend together all the pesto ingredients. It’s as simple as that!
To cook the pasta, put it in boiling water (or boiling salted water) and cook for 3 minutes, combine with the basil pesto and serve immediately.
Similar Recipes
If you are interested in other homemade pasta recipes, then you might like these: All-Natural Homemade Rainbow Pasta and Fresh home-made spinach green pasta salad.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments. You can also tag me in your recreations on Instagram @Alphafoodie.
Homemade Pappardelle Floral Pasta and Basil Pesto
Ingredients
For the homemade pappardelle pasta:
- 2.5 cups '00' grade pasta flour
- 3 Clarence Court Leghorn White eggs
For the edible flower & herb lamination:
- a handful of fresh herbs I used fresh thyme and sage
- a handful of edible flowers optional
For the basil pesto:
- 1-2 garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoon pine nuts
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- a couple Greek basil leaves
- a pinch of salt
- a pinch of black pepper
Suggested Equipment
Instructions
- Start by placing the flour on a board or in a bowl. Make a well in the middle and add the eggs.
- Beat the eggs with a fork and then start incorporating the flour until you obtain a thoroughly combined mixture.
- Knead the dough with you hands, shaping, pulling, stretching (alternatively you can use a mixer with a dough hook).
- Knead it until the dough is smooth and elastic. If it sticks to your hand when touched then add a little more flour and knead till smooth. You can also help yourself with a rolling pin, rolling and folding and rolling again the dough. The process takes a while so be patient! It's a necessary step so that the pasta becomes smooth and silky, not lumpy and dry.
- Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough till it is flat enough to feed into a pasta machine on level ‘0’
- Continue feeding it through ‘0’, folding it in half then feeding it through repeatedly until a regular shape. Make sure to sprinkle lightly with flour to stop it from sticking. Then you can make it thinner with the machine.
OR If you use a rolling pin for the whole process, make sure to roll it out and stretch it into thin sheets. Make sure to have 2 (or an even number of) sheets with a relatively similar size. Or you can cut a long one into 2, as you will need to layer one on top of the other. - When you have a thin long sheet of pasta dough, stretch it on your work plane and arrange your fresh herbs and flowers on it. Then carefully lay another sheet ontop.
- With the help of a rolling pin, carefully roll over so that the two sheets of dough get stuck together.
OR If you are using a pasta machine, you can pass the dough through it and you will really begin to see the edible flowers and herbs showing through the pasta dough. - Cut the pasta. I chose to cut it into long strips, like Tagliatelle or Pappardelle, but you can cut it in different shapes/sizes.
To cut it into long strips, you just need to fold the pasta a couple of times and then just cut with a knife. - To prepare the basil pesto, just mix/blend together all the pesto ingredients. It's as simple as that!
- To cook the pasta, put it in boiling water and cook for 3 minutes, combine with the basil pesto and serve immediately.
Video
Nutrition
Ramya Anand
I tried it today and am awed by the outcome. Thank you so much for sharing such delightful recipes. I follow many of yours and am so happy I found your blog
Support @ Alphafoodie
Thank you so much for your comment, Ramya. So glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
Mona
Hi Alphafoodie! Thank you for the beautiful recipe, looks amazing! I am vegan though and was wondering if you had any suggestions on how to make it without eggs? Could I use oil or water instead to bind the flour? Does the egg add to the texture and flavour? Any advice would be very helpful :] also, I am a Londoner and was wondering where you source your edible flowers from and which flowers added a better flavour? Thank you!
Support @ Alphafoodie
Hi Mona,
You can use a bit of water and olive oil. The detailed instructions for how to make vegan pasta are here: https://www.alphafoodie.com/how-to-make-vegan-pasta-at-home/
I usually buy the edible flowers from Maddocks Farm – I sometimes find them in the supermarket.
Gina
This is incredible and so fun! How long does the pasta uncooked last? I would love to gift it for the holidays
Support @ Alphafoodie
Hi Gina,
Thank you so much for your comment. The uncooked pasta can be kept in the freezer for about a month or so. I hope this helps. 🙂