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    Home » Leafy Greens » Milkweed

    Milkweed Leaf Pasta Dough

    Published: Dec 18, 2013 Modified: Nov 27, 2022 Author: Alan Bergo

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    As an edible, milkweed gives a lot of gifts: buds, shoots, immature inner silk and flowers, but one of the tricky ones to work with are it's leaves. Fresh, lightly cooked, the leaves have a papery, rough texture that resists water and dressings, and really absorbs fat. 

    Milkweed bud fettuccine

    Basically, a bowl of wilted milkweed leaves is going to be a hard sell on your friends and family. But, if you harvest milkweed shoots, you're going to have extra leaves, and, if you don't want to compost them, you can cook them, make them into a puree, and whip up some snazzy green milkweed leaf pasta dough.

    Edible Milkweed Buds
    When you harvest milkweed buds, you'll have plenty of leaves left over.

    Like most other colored doughs not made with intensely flavored herbs, you're not going to bite into a noodle and say "Oh milkweed!". Moreso, the leaves are just a coloring agent, made from a by-product of harvesting the shoots and buds. If you want to see a finished dish, I made one in this post here.

    Milkweed bud fettuccine
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    Milkweed Leaf Pasta Dough

    Makes about 1 lb, more than enough for 4 people
    Prep Time45 minutes mins
    Cook Time5 minutes mins
    Course: Appetizer, Main Course, Snack
    Cuisine: Italian
    Keyword: Fresh Pasta, Milkweed
    Author: Alan Bergo

    Ingredients

    • 3 egg yolks
    • 1 large egg
    • Fresh milkweed leaves about 2 ounces
    • 2 cups all purpose flour
    • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
    • Water as needed
    • Semolina flour to dust the work surface as needed

    Instructions

    • Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Blanch the milkweed leaves for 30 seconds, then refresh in an ice bath and drain. Chop the blanched milkweed leaves finely, then puree on high speed in a blender or food processor with the egg yolk until finely pureed.
    • In the bowl of a stand mixer or by hand, combine the flour, salt, and egg-milkweed puree. Mix the ingredients together with a dough hook attachment until a smooth dough is formed. Allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes before rolling out.
    • To roll out the milkweed pasta, cut off ¼ of the dough at a time and roll out thinly with a rolling pin. Roll out the pasta to the thinnest setting available on the pasta machine, then cut ½ inch fettuccine noodles with a knife by hand or with a fettuccine attachment.
    • Toss the cut fettuccine in semolina flour to prevent sticking. Freeze the pasta or store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, tossing occasionally with more semolina flour if needed to prevent sticking.

    More 

    Forager’s Guide to Milkweed

    « Rowanberries in Syrup
    Puffball Parisienne Gnocchi »

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    Chef Alan Bergo

    HI, I'm Alan: James Beard Award-winning Chef, Author, Show Host and Forager. I've been writing about cooking wild food here for over a decade. Let me show you why foraging is the most delicious thing you'll ever do.

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