Name: Homemade Chestnut Pasta
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 2 min
Total time: 47 min
Ingredients: 5 large egg yolks; ¼ teaspoon kosher salt; ½ lb Italian chestnut flour (see note ); ½ lb all purpose or high gluten flour; 3 tablespoons cold water (as needed)

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Delicately sweet with a flavor only chestnuts can bring, homemade chestnut pasta is a great way to use chestnut flour. Sweet pasta might sound odd, but as it's mixed with all-purpose flour it's not overpowering. The finished noodles are a perfect pairing with game, mushrooms, and other fall ingredients. If you like to make pasta at home with interesting ingredients this is one you have to try.

Homemade chestnut flour pasta on a baking tray surrounded by fresh chestnuts. — Homemade chestnut flour pasta.

To make the pasta you'll need chestnut flour. Although it can be made at home by grinding dried chestnuts, it's basically impossible to get the flour as fine as the Italian chestnut flour you can buy online.

With some recipes you can get away with coarse, homemade chestnut flour, but for pasta you need the finest flour possible. Otherwise the noodles will be brittle and difficult to roll out.

Two spoons filled with chestnut flour side by side showing the comparison between the texture of homemade chestnut flour and commercial chestnut flour. — Store bought flour is much smoother than homemade flour, and sweeter too.

Tips

You'll notice only egg yolks are used in this pasta. Using whole eggs will give you an inferior dough that may be more difficult to roll out and will discolor, oxidizing after a day or two if made ahead of time.
Only extremely fine commercial chestnut flour should be used in this recipe. If you make your own flour from chestnuts at home, try using it to make polenta or pancakes.
Chestnut flour pasta is unique in that unlike other non-glutinous flours, it can be substituted for up to 50% of the total weight of wheat flour in the recipe. Typically you would never add more than 30% of a non-glutinous flour, but chestnut flour is rich in starch and, for whatever reason, will form a soft, pliable pasta dough.

How to Make Chestnut Flour Pasta

Just like other pasta doughs you'll mix flour, salt, and egg yolks together with water until they form a pliable dough. I use a stand mixer with the hook attachment, removing the dough when it comes together.

Adding egg yolks to mixed chestnut flour and all purpose flour in a stand mixer. — Adding egg yolks to all purpose flour and chestnut flour.

Mixing chestnut flour pasta dough with the paddle attachment of a stand mixer. — Mixing the dough with the paddle attachment.

Removing chestnut pasta dough from a stand mixer. — The dough will come together in a cohesive mass.

After kneading by hand for a moment it's ready. It doesn't take nearly as long to make as most other pasta doughs. Once the dough is rolled out, flatten it into a thin disc shape as you would a pie crust, wrap it cling film and allow it to rest for at least 30 minutes before rolling out.

Kneading chestnut flour pasta dough. — Gently kneading the dough for a minute.

A hand holding a finished disk of chestnut flour pasta dough. — The finished dough should be smooth and uniform.

Wrapping chestnut pasta dough in cling film. — Wrap the finished dough in cling film.

Next cut the dough into strips, flatten with a rolling pin and rolling through a pasta maker. If you don't have a pasta maker you can also use a rolling pin as the dough is reasonably pliable and soft.

Rolling out chestnut pasta dough. — The dough rolls out easily into a smooth sheet.

Put the strips of dough through the pasta maker attachment folding it into thirds so that the width matches that of the pasta roller. Roll the dough out, stopping at the third to last setting. If you attempt to make the noodles extremely thin they can break apart while cooking.

Folding pasta dough over itself in thirds. — Fold the dough into thirds so it matches the width of the pasta maker.

Rolling out folded chestnut pasta dough. — Rolling out the dough for the final time.

Trim each sheet of pasta dough to remove any rough edges, then lightly flour, roll them up and slice into noodles.

Trimming rough edges from brown pasta dough made from chestnut flour. — Trimming the rough edges from the sheet of pasta dough.

Rolling a sheet of pasta dough before slicing into noodles. — Roll up the sheet of dough.

Dust the noodles with flour and mound them into small nests. Wrapped with cling film they'll keep for a few days without drying out in the refrigerator.

Cutting a sheet of rolled chestnut pasta dough into noodles with a knife. — Slice the rolled sheet of pasta into noodles.

Unraveling rolled noodles of chestnut flour pasta dough. — Unraveling the chestnut pasta dough.

To cook the pasta, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the noodles until just tender. This will take 1-2 minutes. Fresh pasta cooks in a fraction of the time as dried pasta.

A finished bowl of chestnut flour pasta served with brown butter, chives and parmesan cheese. — Chestnut pasta with brown butter, white wine, sage and parmesan.

It's great served with game meat and rich sauces made from venison, wild board, pheasant, duck or goose. It's also good with wild mushrooms, or just brown butter, sage and a sprinkle of parmesan.

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Homemade Chestnut Pasta

Homemade pasta dough made with Italian chestnut flour perfect for fall pasta sauces and other ingredients. Makes enough to serve 6 people as a modest entrée or lunch

Prep Time15

Cook Time2

Resting Time30

Total Time47

Course: Lunch, Main Course, Pasta

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: chestnut flour pasta recipe, pasta with chestnuts

Servings: servings

Calories: 489kcal

Author: Alan Bergo

Cost: 5

Equipment

Pasta maker
Rolling Pin
Stand Mixer with paddle attachment
baking sheet

Ingredients

5 large egg yolks
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
½ lb Italian chestnut flour see note
½ lb all purpose or high gluten flour
3 tablespoons cold water as needed

Instructions

Combine the salt and flours in a stand mixer or mixing bowl.
Add the egg yolks and water to the flours and mix using the paddle attachment until the mixture starts to come together, this should take less than a minute.
Remove the dough from the mixer and knead for 30 seconds until it’s smooth and uniform, then wrap in cling film and refrigerate.
Remove the dough, cut into ⅙ths and roll through the pasta machine.
Roll out a piece of dough through the widest setting on the pasta machine.
Fold the dough over itself in thirds so it matches the width of the pasta roller.
Roll out the dough to the 3rd thinnest setting on the pasta roller.
Roll the sheet of dough up, cut into slices, unravel, toss lightly in flour and reserve until needed.
To cook the pasta, bring a pot of salted water to a boil, add the noodles and cook for 1-2 minutes or until just tender. Fresh pasta cooks very quick so be careful not to overcook them.
Remove the noodles to a pan and toss with a simple sauce like mushrooms and spinach, wild boar ragu, or just butter, parmesan and a handful of chives.

Notes

For the pasta to work correctly you must use commercially made Italian chestnut flour. Homemade chestnut flour is much coarser than the commercial product and will produce a crumbly, brittle dough.

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