Ackee Pasta
Ackee pasta uses only two ingredients and is super easy to put together. It uses the same ratio as a basic fresh pasta recipe but contains no eggs so it's vegan! Because ackees are a good source of natural fat we don't even need to add oil.
Ingredients
- 6 oz Parboiled Ackee mashed or passed through a sieve
- 10.5 oz All purpose flour
Instructions
- Combine ackee and flour in a food processor. Pulse until the dough starts coming together
- Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 to 10 minutes (this is to develop the gluten structure, personally, I tend to go more for 5 minutes because as much as I love touching dough, sometimes I'd simply rather be off somewhere with my feet up and a book)
- Wrap in plastic and set aside at room temperature for about an hour, but 20 minutes is okay if you can't or don't want to wait. If you don't have the time to work the dough right away, you can put it in your fridge overnight and come back to it the next day.
- Divide the dough into four equal portions. Working one portion at a time, press or roll the dough out then pass it through the widest setting on your pasta machine.
- Fold the dough in thirds, press or roll it down and pass it through the widest setting once more. Move on to the next piece then repeat the whole process until each piece of dough has been given four three-folds (this also is to develop the gluten, I've gotten away with folding it into thirds only twice).
- Roll out the dough to the desired thinness then cut into desired shape depending on what you are making.
- Enjoy!
Notes
If you don't have a food processor or pasta machine:
All the steps can be done by hand but then requires a fair bit of work. If kneading the dough by hand you'll want to pass your ackee through a sieve so its already smooth and easy to work with. Knead well till it comes together in a firm ball. After resting the dough, follow the instructions for rolling the dough into thirds using a rolling pin and your awesome arm strength
Fresh pasta cooks fast! Be ready:
When cooking the pasta it is crucial to remember that fresh pasta cooks a lot faster than dry/store bought pasta. This ackee pasta was done in about a minute! Be sure to have everything you need already laid out so as soon as they float in the boiling water you're ready to go. That is from the colander you need to drain it and the sauce or oil you plan to toss it in, if you're making lasagna it's not necessary to cook the pasta beforehand, but I personally prefer to do it this way as I find it easier to handle.
Cooking pasta noodles for lasagna:
When cooking the noodles for lasagna, have a large bowl with ice and water ready to cool down the pieces. Drop a couple sheets in salted boiling water a few sheets at a time, the moment they float use a pair of tongs to gently remove them from the water and put it in the bowl with the ice, continue till you have all your sheets cooked. If you have a couple clean kitchen towels, for the next step, lay it out on your counter then place the cooked lasagna noodles on top and cover with the other kitchen towel to dry the excess water off the noodles. I do this with paper towel: lay down a layer of paper towel then a layer of pasta then another layer of paper towel and another layer of pasta if need be so on and so forth gently pressing the paper towel down. I then gently pull the paper towel off and proceed with the assembling of the lasagna.