Pasta Chef Handcrafts Rainbow-Colored Noodles Using All-Natural Ingredients

Colorful Rainbow Pasta by Linda Nicholson

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Pasta powerhouse Linda Miller Nicholson reimagines the likes of bowtie, ravioli, and tortellini in the most colorful of ways. She handcrafts the variety of mouth-watering rainbow pasta from scratch and uses plant-based ingredients to transform the dough into a full spectrum of unconventional hues. The result, coupled with Nicholson’s penchant for patterns, is a fresh order of pasta that looks almost too good to eat. They are beautifully arranged and so vibrant that they double as works of art.

How does Nicholson make her pasta so colorful? It’s thanks to the hues found in nature; butterfly pea flowers give the dough a blue hue while beets turn it purple. Tumeric and parsley make the pasta appear yellow and green, respectively. To create her collection of complex patterns, she uses special tools—some which she developed herself— and layers colors and textures. Eventually, they are flattened and then rolled, twisted, or filled into her desired shapes.

Because Nicholson is a one-woman show, she does not sell her pasta commercially. And although it’s much sought after, she doesn’t take dinner guests, either. “It probably goes without saying at this point,” she writes, “but I get asked at least once a day… I’m very sorry but I don’t take dinner reservations.”

If you’re itching to try making this type of pasta for yourself, Nicholson has a forthcoming cookbook, Pasta, Pretty Please, that will be released in October 2018. It will include 25 dough recipes, 33 traditional and modern shaping techniques, and more. Pasta, Pretty Please is now available for pre-order on Amazon.

Linda Miller Nicholson creates rainbow pasta using natural, plant-based ingredients.

Colorful Rainbow Pasta by Linda Nicholson

Often, they include whimsical patterning and stripes.

Colorful Rainbow Pasta by Linda Nicholson

Color Pasta Noodles

Colorful Rainbow Pasta by Linda Nicholson

Colorful Rainbow Pasta by Linda Nicholson

Colorful Rainbow Pasta by Linda Nicholson

Color Pasta Noodles

Color Pasta Noodles

Color Pasta Noodles

Color Pasta Noodles

Color Pasta Noodles

Colorful Rainbow Pasta by Linda Nicholson

Color Pasta Noodles

Colorful Rainbow Pasta by Linda Nicholson

Colorful Rainbow Pasta by Linda Nicholson

Colorful Rainbow Pasta by Linda Nicholson

Color Pasta Noodles

Color Pasta Noodles

To get an idea how Nicholson works her pasta-making magic, watch the video below:

Linda Miller Nicholson: Website | Instagram | YouTube

My Modern Met granted permission to use photos by Linda Miller Nicholson.

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Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled "Embroidered Life" that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
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