Italian homemade eggless (vegan) tagliatelle del compare recipe.
This rustic homemade eggless 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.
Servings: 4
Calories: 367kcal
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
Pasta making, storing and cooking tips.
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!
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.
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.
Cooking times include making your own eggless tagliatelle
Nutrition values don't include cheese which is optional for non-vegans and non-vegetarians.
Nutrition
Calories: 367kcal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Sodium: 27mg | Potassium: 504mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 2415IU | Vitamin C: 101mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 4mg