This rustic homemade eggless (vegan) tagliatelle recipe comes from Basilicata in Southern Italy. Known locally as tagliatelle del compare, this recipe combines rustic vegan pasta ribbons with a simple sauce of fresh tomatoes, sweet peppers, onion and fresh basil.
This traditional pasta dish is a delicious example of the simple cuisine of Italy’s rural population who have long made use of foods they produce or cultivate themselves to make their meals.
Eggless tagliatelle.
The flour
Most traditional Southern Italian pasta contains just flour, water and a pinch of salt. The type of flour is usually fine double-milled hard wheat semolina called ‘semola rimacinata’ flour in Italy. This is also the durum wheat flour used to make most of Italy’s dried pasta.
Although Northern Italian tagliatelle and other pasta ribbons are egg rich, in the South eggs were once a luxury for most rural families. Traditional Southern pasta like orecchiette or cavatelli or this rustic eggless tagliatelle contain just hard wheat flour and water.
Eggs were too precious or unavailable for routine pasta making. In addition, eggs served as a form of currency for barter. Families would exchange them at local markets for staples like salt, oil, or flour.
Another reason most traditional Southern Italian pasta is eggless is that the regions have a hot dry climate where durum wheat thrives. When mixed with water, the high protein semolina flour that is produced from this wheat creates a strong, elastic dough that needs no eggs for structure, dries exceptionally well, and keeps for a long time.
How to make the eggless vegan tagliatelle.
Flour and water pasta is very easy to make. The only caveat to that is that the dough requires more kneading than soft wheat flour doughs. Hard wheat flour (durum) has more protein and coarser particles than soft wheat, meaning it takes more mechanical action to bond it with water. Eggless hard wheat flour doughs tend to start out very shaggy and require a little elbow grease to smooth out.
Cook’s tip: When you first mix hard wheat flour with water it will be crumbly and feel dry. You may be tempted to add more water. But, usually if you follow the quantities in the recipe, vigorous kneading will bring the flour and water together into a softer more pliable dough.
Step by step instructions for eggless vegan tagliatelle.
1) Sift the flour into a large bowl, add a pinch of salt and slowly pour in the water while using a fork to incorporate the water into the flour.
2) Use your hands to knead the dough in the bowl until you can make a rough dough ball that doesn’t stick to the edges of the bowl.
3) Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and continue kneading until it starts to feel smooth and pliable. It may not be as soft as egg pasta dough but that’s fine as long as it’s not dry and crumbly. Roll the dough into a ball and wrap it in plastic wrap (clingfilm) and let it rest for about 30 minutes.
4) Once your eggless pasta dough has rested, cut off about a quarter, rewrap the remaining dough so it doesn’t dry out. Then roll out the piece of dough with a rolling pin either until it’s flat enough to go through your pasta machine or until you have a rectangle pasta sheet.
5) Your sheets need to be roughly 2-3mm (1/16 – 3/32”) in thickness (you can make it thinner) and 30-35 cm (12-14”) in length.
6) Then roll the pasta sheet up on itself and with a sharp knife cut ribbons of about 6-8mm (¼ to 5/16”) wide.
7) Unroll the pasta ribbons quickly to prevent them sticking and transfer to a tray covered with a floured baking sheet. Sprinkle plenty of semolina flour over them, also to stop them sticking.
Cook’s tip
This is a rustic pasta, so your measurements don’t need to be exact. The pasta ribbons can be a little thicker, shorter and wider if you prefer. The important thing is that they are all more or less the same for even cooking!
How to cook your eggless vegan tagliatelle
You can leave your tagliatelle to dry for a couple of hours at room temperature or cook the pasta ribbons straight away. If the pasta is slightly dry it will take longer to cook but absorb less sauce. As with other pasta, cook the tagliatelle in boiling salted water until al dente.
This fresh vegan pasta cooks very quickly (1-2 minutes) but cooking time can also depend on the thickness of the ribbons. Test taste before draining.
How to store your eggless vegan tagliatelle.
You can dry these fresh homemade pasta ribbons in a cool dry place. Once dried, you can store them in sealed bags in the pantry or freeze them in freezer bags.
The sauce for this tagliatelle del compare.
In Basilicata, this eggless rustic tagliatelle is served with a simple sauce of fresh tomatoes, sweet peppers, onion and fresh basil. These ingredients are typical summer produce, so this recipe would be mostly served in summer. However, you can make it all year round if the ingredients are available where you live.
Sauce ingredients and tips.
Tomatoes: I used a mixture of fresh tomatoes from my garden, including datterini and vine tomatoes. You can use just one type of tomato. Small datterini or cherry tomatoes need to be cut in half, larger tomatoes should be cut into quarters. I wouldn’t recommend larger plum or sauce tomatoes as they have thick skins and are better peeled.
Sweet peppers: I used red peppers, but you can also use yellow or orange ones. Green peppers tend to be more bitter, so I wouldn’t recommend them. Remember to remove the white pith and seeds from the peppers when you cut them into pieces for the sauce.
Fresh basil: fresh basil leaves add a lovely fresh herby flavor to this tagliatelle del compare. If you don’t have fresh herbs, Dried oregano is better than dried basil.
Onion: I used two small yellow onions. White onions are also good because they are sweet.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil: As with most simple Italian sauce recipes, I use EVOO for this one. You don’t need a lot of oil but extra virgin olive oil is healthier than other olive oil and adds a aromatic and slightly fruity flavor to dishes.
Step by Step instructions for tomato and sweet pepper sauce.
Prepare the ingredients, wash and cut the tomatoes in half, wash and cut the peppers into small cubes of slices, peel and chop the onion, and wash the basil leaves.
Step 1 Sauté the onions and peppers together in olive oil over a low- medium heat until the peppers start to soften. Be careful not to burn the onions.
Step 2 Add the tomatoes and simmer until the tomatoes soften. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Step 3 Add torn basil leaves. Lower the heat while you cook the pasta.
Finish the dish
Cook the homemade eggless tagliatelle pasta until al dente in salted boiling water. Fresh pasta cooks very quickly. Save some of the pasta cooking water and drain the pasta.
Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and mix carefully together over a low heat. If the sauce seems dry you can add some of the pasta cooking water. Serve immediately with more fresh basil and grated cheese if required (see note below).
Cheese for non vegans.
Traditionally this rustic eggless tagliatelle del compare is served with a local cheese called casieddo (or casieddu). This is a typical fresh goat cheese from Basilicata, produced mostly in Moliterno and neighboring towns in the mountains of Potenza province. This cheese is made between June and September using raw milk from goats grazing on summer pastures. The name casieddo means ‘little cheese’.
Instead of casieddo, you can enjoy this pasta dish with Pecorino. However, neither cheese is vegan or vegetarian. Vegetarians can use a hard cheese made without animal rennet such as a vegetarian parmesan.
What to do with leftovers.
As mentioned above, leftover uncooked eggless tagliatelle can be dried and stored for later. Leftover sauce del compare can stay in the fridge in an airtight container for about 3 days. Or you can freeze the sauce for up to 3 months.
Leftover cooked pasta mixed with sauce can be kept in the fridge for 1-2 days. It is best reheated in the oven with some cheese or breadcrumbs sprinkled on top.
Different ways to serve this recipe
You can use del compare sauce with other types of pasta, long or short, gluten free or fresh egg pasta (for non-vegans). Use your favorite pasta shape!
You can use the homemade eggless tagliatelle with different sauces, from a simple tomato sauce to a ragu (for non-vegetarians).
Let me know what you think.
If you do try this eggless tagliatelle del compare recipe, I’d love to hear what you think. Please write a comment here on the blog or post a comment on the Pasta Project Facebook page.
Your feedback means a lot to me!
Buon Appetito!
Italian homemade eggless (vegan) tagliatelle del compare recipe.
Equipment
- 1 large bowl to start dough
- 1 Rolling Pin
- 1 wood pastry board.
- 1 pasta machine (optional)
- 1 sharp knife
- 1 chopping board
- 1 large pot to cook pasta
- 1 tray to keep and dry tagliatelle
Ingredients
For the eggless tagliatelle
- 9 ounces hard wheat semolina flour semola rimacinata
- 5 fluid ounces warm water you may need a little more but add with caution.
- 1 pinch salt
For the del compare sauce
- 14 ounces datterini or cherry tomatoes cut in half
- 2 red bell peppers or yellow or orange cut into small pieces.
- 1 medium onion or 2 small onions. Peeled and chopped.
- 3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil.
- 10 leaves fresh basil
- salt to taste
- freshly ground black pepper. to taste
Optional ingredients for non-vegans and non-vegetarians
- 1.75 ounces pecorino cheese grated
Instructions
Make the eggless tagliatelle
- Sift the flour into a large bowl, add a pinch of salt and slowly pour in the water while using a fork to incorporate the water into the flour.
- Use your hands to knead the dough in the bowl until you can make a rough dough ball that doesn’t stick to the edges of the bowl.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and continue kneading until it starts to feel smooth and pliable. It may not be as soft as egg pasta dough but that’s fine as long as it’s not dry and crumbly. Roll the dough into a ball and wrap it in plastic wrap (clingfilm) and let it rest for about 30 minutes.
- Once your eggless pasta dough has rested, cut off about a quarter, rewrap the remaining dough so it doesn’t dry out. Then roll out the piece of dough with a rolling pin either until it’s flat enough to go through your pasta machine or until you have a rectangular pasta sheet that’s roughly 2-3mm (1/16 – 3/32”) inthickness (you can make it thinner) and 30-35 cm (12-14”) in length.
- Then roll the sheet up on itself and with a sharp knife cut ribbons of about 6-8mm (¼to 5/16”) wide. Unroll the pasta ribbons quickly to prevent them sticking and transfer to a tray covered with a floured baking sheet. Sprinkle plenty of semolina flour over them, also to stop them sticking.
How to make the tomato and sweet pepper sauce.
- Prepare the ingredients, wash and cut the tomatoes in half, wash and cut the peppers into small cubes of slices, peel and chop the onion, wash the basil. Don't forget to remove the pith and seeds from the peppers when you prepare them.
- Sauté the onions and peppers together in olive oil over a low- medium heat until the peppers start to soften. Be careful not to burn the onions.
- Add the tomatoes and simmer until the they soften. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. If you want a more liquid sauce, you can add a little passata.
- Add torn basil leaves to the sauce. Lower the heat while you cook the pasta.
Finish and serve
- Cook the pasta until al dente in salted boiling water. Fresh pasta cooks very quickly. Save some of the pasta cooking water and drain the pasta.
- Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and mix carefully together over a low heat. If the sauce seems dry you can add some of the pasta cooking water. Serve immediately with more fresh basil and grated cheese (if required).
Notes
Nutrition
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Other recipes from Basilicata worth trying.
- Pork involtini with pasta alla lucana
- Vegan spaghetti alla maratea
- Tagliolini in milk- Ascension Day recipe
- Pasta frittata
- Pasta with breadcrumbs
- Orecchiette with lamb
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