Cocoa Tagliatelle With Cream And Ham

Preparation:

Preparation: Mix the flour with the eggs and the cocoa, adding a little water if necessary, then roll out the dough into a not too thin sheet and cut it into tagliatelle. Bring plenty of salted water to the boil, add the tagliatelle with cocoa and boil them al dente. While the pasta is cooking, prepare the sauce: melt the butter gently in a saucepan, add the diced cooked ham and brown over moderate heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. At this point add the cream, season with the necessary salt and a grind of pepper and stir carefully to mix the ingredients well. Let the sauce cook for a few moments, so that the cream can heat up without boiling, then remove from the heat. Drain the tagliatelle, place them in a bowl and quickly season them with the prepared sauce. Divide the pasta into four individual bowls, garnish with a sprig of dill and serve. --- ADVICE. The colored pasta can be easily prepared at home by adding a ''colorant'' consisting of a particular aroma (such as the cocoa used in this recipe) to the basic dough of the traditional egg pasta, or a puree of vegetables or fruit. The important thing is to remember that, whatever the colorant chosen, out of a total 1000 g of pasta the wet components, such as eggs, colorant (fruit or vegetables) and water must never exceed 400g; the remaining 600 g are therefore always represented by flour. The dough obtained is not very elastic, so you have to roll it out into a sheet that is not too thin, if you want to prepare the tagliatelle. You can also make other pasta shapes if you have the appropriate machine. Finally, remember that if the dough doesn't hold, add more flour before rolling it out.