Rainbow Pappardelle

This is my favourite and can really say that I can't imagine ever buying dried tagliatelle/pappardelle/linguini etc ever again :D

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   Combine eggs and flour to make pasta base, this works just fine on its own, and I make several batches, one for each colour.
   
   To make special pasta add any combinations of the other ingredients, and I really like to experiment here. If using spinach or beetroot you may need extra flour or just take away one of the whites from the eggs. Combine ingredients, for example, the yellow pasta in the photo has turmeric, lemon juice and zest and blue poppy seeds (it had a satisfying crunch)and then divide into manageable balls - about the size of a tennis ball.
   
   This ball can then be rolled into sheets, this can be used for lasagne. Then just cover each strip in a dusting of flour, fold down the middle and repeat until you have what looks like a spiral at the end. Slice this into rounds about the same width as a thumb or about 1.5cm. Unfold and you can dry on a rack or cook straight away.
   
   If cooking fresh the pasta takes about 3 mins in a big pan of boiling salted water. I think this pasta's environmentally friendly and economical as you can buy flour very cheaply and you don't need many eggs so you can get them from happy hens, it uses little fuel as it cooks so quickly. It's fresh and I find rolling the pasta very therapeutic.
   
   There's no end to the colour combinations and I plan on getting some black squid ink. Beetroot gives you bright hot-pink, and if cooking just beetroot pasta you can use a bit of puréed beetroot in the water to retain the brilliance of colour. The green looks really stunning too and I can't wait to see what kids think of it... You should also have a look for 'pasta' in wiki and you'll see how many types of pasta you can make just by changing the thickness a little. Good Eating! xXx