Kamut Pasta Recipe

Pasta making can be such a rewarding activity. There is something so soothing and connecting about the process. This Kamut Pasta Recipe is a favorite as it uses Kamut flour, and ancient grain making a comeback in a big way!

Why Does This Recipe Work?

Not only is this homemade pasta really good, but it is also a much healthier option. It is made with 100% Kamut flour. I will explain more about the health benefits of Kamut in a section below.

If you have never made pasta before, you might be surprised at just how simple it is. Yes, it takes time, but none of it is overly complicated.

Not only does the Kamut flour add healthy nutrients to the pasta, but it also adds a really great nutty flavor that is perfect for so many sauces you can use with this pasta.

Ingredients

• Kamut Flour- You can buy the Kamut flour. If you want to get a littel more involved, I love to grind my own grains in my Nutrimill grain mill. I purchased the Kamut grains from Azure Standard.
• Eggs- This is considered an egg-rich pasta. Make sure to use large eggs.
• Salt- Kosher salt is always my go-to salt.
• Olive oil- you won't need much, but I love the pasta with it.

How To Make

Start with your flour on the work surface. Mix in your flour and form a mound with the flour mixture. Next, create a well in the middle of the flour, large enough to hold the eggs and olive oil.

Pour in the eggs and olive oil. Then mix the eggs in the middle, slowly working out towards the side, pulling in the flour around the edges as you work. Once the eggs are mostly worked in, it is time to knead.

Here is where you will need to use touch to determine how to proceed. I like to need the dough for about a minute. Then check to see what the dough feels like. It should feel just BARELY sticky. So sprinkle on a touch more flour if needed, or add more water if you need it.

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Continue to knead for another 5-7 minutes until the dough is smooth and supple. Cover this and let it rest at room temperature for about a minute

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Once the dough has rested and the gluten is relaxed, it is time to start rolling. I have the Bosch mixer pasta attachment which is what I used to roll mine, but you can also roll it by hand or with a hand crank roller.

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When you are rolling the dough, make sure and brush it gently with more flour if you need to. I rolled mine into fettuccini, but this pasta will work well for other rolled shapes and filled shapes.

You can either use the pasta right away or hand it as I did to let it dry and use it later. If you are using it right away, add it to your boiling salted water and cook it for 3-4 minutes. Drain and use however you like!

Notes

• Start with the smallest amount of flour- in this case 1 ¾ cups Kamut. Only add the flour in as you need it. Remember the dough needs to be slightly "tacky" (sticky).
• Spelt, white wheat, or red wheat can be exchanged for the Kamut in this recipe.
• While it is not my preferred method, you can sift your whole grain flour. This will give you a smoother pasta. The reason I don't recommend it is you will sift out the bran and the germ a lot of times, and that is where so much nutrition is stored.
• If you are not going to use this pasta right away, make sure you store this pasta properly. As this is an egg pasta, I prefer to store it in the fridge after drying for about an hour at room temp. Make sure to dust the pasta generously with flour before doing this.
• When you are rolling the pasta, if you need to, sprinkle with flour. You don't want to add too much, just enough to keep it from sticking.
• Whole grain pasta will absorb a lot more sauce than you might be used to, so plan on making extra. I have learned this from making different whole grain pastas many times, they just absorb so much more!
• There are so many great sauce to serve this pasta with. I made mine with a vegetable loaded marinara, but let me share another recipe I love.
• It is a simple roasted red pepper sauce. To make this, you can roast your red pepper like I did, or buy the canned peppers. Combine about ¾ cup roasted red peppers with 1 cup chicken stock and ½ cup heavy cream. Bring it to a boil, then add in ½ cup grated parmesan. Season with salt and pepper as needed.
• You do not need a pasta roller for this recipe! You can just as easily use roll this by hand with a rolling pin. It will take a little muscle, but you can do it!

What Is Kamut?

Kamut is an ancient grain. It is a much larger grain (almost triple the size) than you might be used to seeing in wheat. It also has distinctly lighter color. The grain is called Kamut Khorasan.

No one is exactly sure where Kamut came from, but most people guess it was the fertile crescent. It is named after the Khorasan region in this region of Northern Iran.

Kamut started gaining in popularity in the late 2000s in the United States. It was first cultivated modern by a farmer in Montana in 1949.

It is great high-protein wheat that I use in many baked goods. I have also sprouted Kamut and cooked it as well. It is delicious to use as a breakfast porridge or in place of rice. If you are not using it yet, you need to be!