Kula Waena culinary students mix and then roll their dough using a pasta press to create their ʻulu flour noodles.
Making pasta sust'āinably
Feb. 10, 2021
Contributed by Shaundor Chillingworth
The reality of food scarity was never more evident than through the early stages of this pandemic. As we walked through empty shelves in stores, it hit home what could happen if the ships don’t come. One of the staples frequently out was pasta noodles.
So last week, Kula Waena culinary kumu DJ High, with some help from Hawaiʻi ʻUlu Co-Op and Puna Chicks Farm, engaged his haumāna in finding a recipe to make pasta noodles out of ʻulu flour.
Through lots of experimentation and trial and error, they were able to come up with the right ratios to make a dough that works for pasta noodles. And the end result was a very good alternative!
Two of Kumu DJ’s students, Reese and Zoe, turned into HOW-māna, and put together a video showcasing the recipe and process. We shared it below, or you can find it and a lot of other pics from throughout the week on the @ks_aina2opu instagram account.
ʻUlu has the potential to be that easy to grow staple in Hawaiʻi. And it’s convertible to flour, which unlocks all kinds of possibilities. Mahalo to kumu DJ and these haumāna for demonstrating and making real one of those options.
INGREDIENTS:
2/3 cup ʻulu flour
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt
2 whole eggs
Combine. Cut the dough ball in half. Carefull roll and cut sheet of dough on a pasta machine.
After three days of experimenting, they nailed a recipe that worked really well.
Students then boiled their noodles to give them a try.
After boiling the noodles, students could dress them with olive oil, spices, cheese or marinara sauce.
8th grader Manu Brown enjoys the fruits of his labor.
