Homemade Chestnut Pasta with Pork and Cabbage.

5 from 17 votes

Homemade Chestnut Pasta with Pork and Cabbage.

This hearty and filling rustic homemade chestnut pasta recipe from the Italian mountains is pretty easy to make and perfect for family meals in the autumn and winter.

Prep Time1

Cook Time1 30

Course: Homemade Pasta, Main Course

Cuisine: Italian, Northern Italy

Keyword: Aosta Valley, Chestnut flour, Chestnut pasta, homemade pasta, pork ribs,, Savoy cabbage

Servings:

Calories: 711kcal

Author: Jacqui

Ingredients

For the pasta

150 g chestnut flour (5.3oz)
100 g Italian '00' flour (3.5oz) or all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
1 pinch salt
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil.

For the pork and cabbage

700 g pork ribs (1.5lbs) cut into pieces
1 onion peeled and finely chopped
2 carrots washed and finely chopped
2 celery stalks washed and finely chopped
1 small Savoy cabbage washed and cut into large pieces
½ glass white wine
1.5 cups vegetable broth
salt to taste and for cooking pasta
freshly ground black pepper. to taste

Instructions

Make the pasta

Mix the flours and salt in a bowl until combined thoroughly. Then pour into your stand mixer bowl or mound onto a pastry/pasta board.

Making pasta dough by hand

Create a well in the middle of the flour and add the 2 eggs, 1 egg yolk, and the olive oil. Whisk the eggs and oil together, then slowly start mixing in the flour from the outside to the inside using a fork. Once everything is well mixed use your hands to knead the dough for about 10 minutes until it’s supple and elastic.

Making pasta dough with a stand mixer

If using a stand mixer add the eggs and olive oil to the flour already in the bowl and mix everything together for a minute using the flat beater. Add a little water if the dough seems dry, but it shouldn’t be. then with the dough hook knead for 2-3 minutes. Finally turn the dough out onto a pastry/pasta board and finish kneading by hand. (I often make pasta this way!)

Continue making the pasta

Roll the dough into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap ora tea towel and let it rest for 20-30 minutes. (you can start on the pork and cabbage while the pasta dough is resting)
Divide the pasta dough into 3-4 pieces. Make thin sheets of pasta by feeding each piece of dough through a pasta roller on progressively thinner settings until you reach the desired thickness. You can also just roll the dough pieces out by hand on your pastry board.
Once you have pasta sheets like lasagne. Roll each one up and then start from one end and cut ‘ribbons’ that are 5mm (fettuccine) to10mm (tagliatelle) in width. Place your homemade chestnut pasta ribbons on a tray lined with a floured tea towel or baking paper until ready to cook them. Cooking times will depend on the size of your homemade chestnut pasta.

Making the pork and cabbage

Peel the onion and chop finely. Wash the carrots ancelery and chop finely. Dissolve stock cube/granules in 1.5 cups of hot water (if not using homemade vegetable stock).
Place the pork ribs, onions, carrots and celery in an oven proof dish. Add the wine and vegetable stock, plus salt and pepper to taste and cover. Cook in a preheated oven at 180°c for about 1.5 hours or until the meat is falling off the bone. Check occasionally to make sure it's not drying out. Add more stock or a little water if necessary.
Cut the cabbage into large pieces and blanch in boiling salted water. Drain and chop into smaller pieces. (You can save the water to cook the pasta in)
When the pork is ready, remove the meat from the bones and mix in the blanched cabbage. (I kept some pork ribs intact).

Finish and serve

Put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta (You can also use the water you blanched the cabbage in). Add salt and bring to the boil again. Cook the pasta until it is al dente. This won’t take long as fresh pasta cooks quickly. Drain the pasta and add it to the pork and cabbage. Mix well and serve immediately.

Notes

Traditionally, chestnut pasta isn’t gluten free because it’s made with a mix of chestnut and wheat flours. However, you can make this homemade chestnut pasta with any gluten free pasta flour instead of the wheat flour, such as rice flour, or just with chestnut flour, which is gluten free.

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