Beet-Colored Fresh Pasta

Ingredients

• For the beet purée:
• 2 small beets, rinsed and trimmed
• For the dough:
• 10 ounces all purpose flour
• 5 yolks from 5 large eggs
• 1 whole large egg
• 4 tablespoons beet purée
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for salting water

Directions

1. Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. Drop in the rinsed, trimmed beets and simmer them until a fork goes through without resistance, about 40-45 minutes. Drain them, allow them to cool, then slip off the skins and blend the beets with a hand-blender or food processor until the purée is smooth.
2. To make the dough, tip the flour onto a clean, roomy work surface and gather it into a mound. Hollow out the middle into a well about 4 inches across. Add the whole egg, egg yolks, beet purée, and salt to the well, then beat everything thoroughly with a fork. As the mixture comes together, slowly draw flour into the eggs until you have a wet, sticky dough.
3. Use a bench knife to clear sticky dough from the fork and your fingers. With the bench knife, start folding more flour into the dough, giving it roughly a 45-degree turn after each fold, until it feels firm and dry enough to gather into a rough, craggy ball, 2 to 5 minutes.
4. Push the dough forward and down with the heel of your hand. Turn the dough 45 degrees and do it again. Keep kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic, with the feel of a firm ball of Play-Doh. If it is sticky or damp, work in flour in 1 teaspoon increments. If it seems too dry, mist in water gradually with a spray bottle.
5. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and leave it on the counter to rest for 30 minutes.
6. To roll the pasta, set a piece of parchment paper on a tray or cutting board and give it a light dusting of flour. Unwrap the rested dough and cut it into quarters. Put one quarter on the work surface and wrap the rest back up. Use a rolling pin to press that piece into an oblong sheet about 1/2 inch thick.
7. Set the pasta machine to its widest setting. Run the dough through the rollers 3 times at that same setting.
8. Lay the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Bring both ends toward the middle so they meet, then fold the dough in half at that meeting point, trying not to trap much air inside. Roll it back out to 1/2-inch thick, then send it through the machine 3 additional times.
9. Move the rollers in by 1 notch and repeat the same fold, flatten, and roll process. Do it once more, so the dough has gone through the third widest setting. After that, keep feeding the dough through the rollers, lowering the thickness by 1 setting each time, until it is as thin as you want it. The sheet should feel very delicate and elastic, with a faint translucence.
10. Move the rolled sheet to a lightly floured work surface or to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Fold it as needed so it fits, sprinkling flour or placing parchment between the folds to keep the layers from sticking.
11. Cover the pasta with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel so it does not dry out, then roll each remaining quarter the same way. If you are making noodles, cut the dough into 12- to 14-inch segments.
12. To cut noodles, switch the pasta machine to whichever noodle cutter you want to use. Working with one dough segment at a time, feed it through the cutter. Or, fold the dough and slice it by hand with a chef’s knife to make noodles as wide as you like.
13. Separate the cut noodles into individual portions, add a light dusting of flour, and twist each portion into a nest. Arrange the nests on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet and cover them gently with a kitchen towel until you are ready to cook. You may freeze the pasta on the baking sheet, then transfer it to a zipper-lock freezer bag and store it in the freezer for up to 3 weeks before cooking. Frozen pasta can go straight into the pot.
14. To cook the pasta, bring a large pot of salted water to a vigorous boil. Add the pasta, gently loosen it with a wooden spoon, chopsticks, or a cooking fork, and cook while tasting often, until the noodles are set but still pleasantly chewy, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Drain the pasta, toss it with sauce, and serve.