Crown Daisy Pasta in Spicy Almond Sauce
Long ago, in 2018, my sister (the family’s resident pastaterian) was in town so I knew noodles would be on the menu at least a few times that week. I decided to use the occasion to play with my pasta maker. I knew I wanted to add some flavor to the pasta, so I decided to use crown daisy (also known as chrysanthemum greens) because they have a mild but very pervasive flavor. The somewhat floral taste of the crown daisy pairs well with an earthy or nutty flavor, so I made a simple and spicy almond sauce. The power of the crown daisy is so strong, that its gentle, floral tones pervade through the noodles and sauce and greatly compliment the spicy almond topping. And from there was the birth of crown daisy pasta in spicy almond sauce, and now, three years later, I’ve refined the recipe and photos to peak crown daisy amazingness. Pastaterians, dig in!
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What is Crown Daisy?
Crown daisy, or chrysanthemum greens, is a vegetable I have so far only seen in Asian grocery stores. And it’s a seriously delicious one! They are light green, have thick stems, and feathery, lace-like leaves. They have a delicate, floral flavor that works surprisingly well in savory applications. I am also always impressed with how strongly the flavor of the crown daisy comes through in dishes, especially as it’s such a delicate one. Crown daisy over cooks really quickly, especially the leaves, so make sure to only ever steam or blanch them for a few seconds. In this dish I blend up the leaves, so it doesn’t matter as much, but when I’m not I usually cook the leaves and the stems separately to avoid overcooking the leaves. Store them in your crisper drawer, and try to eat them fairly quickly as they don’t have the longest shelf life. Nutritionally, crown daisy has high levels of chlorogenic acid, flavonoids, carotene, potassium, along with other minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants.
Tools Needed for Homemade Pasta
There are two main pieces of machinery you will need for this dish- a food processor and a pasta maker (you could substitute them for a blender and a rolling pin, but it will be a good amount more work). If you would like to use a blender, blend the blanched crown daisy and transfer to a bowl to mix in the flour, oil and water (if you use a food processor, you can form the dough in the food processor). The pasta machine doesn’t do anything that a rolling pin can’t, but it is much quicker and results in more even noodles. If you plan on making pasta more than a few times, it is definitely well worth investing in a pasta maker- if you’re never going to make pasta again a rolling pin will do the trick.
Looking for Vegan Homemade Pasta Recipes? Try one of these!
- Savory Chocolate Pasta with Hazelnut Chili Cream Sauce
- Garlic Mustard Recipe: Laminated Wild Ravioli
- White Bean Gnocchi, AKA Vegan Protein Pasta
- Simple Homemade Vegan Pumpkin Ravioli
- Purple Sweet Potato Vegan Gnocchi with Coconut Cream Sauce
How to Make Crown Daisy Pasta
Start your pasta by blanching the crown daisy, before shocking it under cold water to stop it cooking more. Use your hands to wring out the greens, so that there isn’t excessive water in the greens. From there, move the chrysanthemum greens over to your food processor. Process the greens so they’re all very finely chopped, stopping and scraping down the sides frequently so it all gets chopped up together. Add a little sesame oil and the flour, and let the food processor run. At first it will seem really dry, but if you just let it go and occasionally scrape down the sides, a dough will form. You may even need a little more flour, as you want a pretty dry dough to make pasta. Before you roll your noodles, give it a few kneads and let the dough rest. While the dough is resting, you can make your sauce- it’s just almond butter, soy sauce, sesame oil, and garlic chili sauce (to taste). Mix it all together- I like to put mine in a jar and just shake to combine, but a bowl and a whisk works too. We also garnished with almonds, scallions, and sesame seeds- you can include some, all, or none of these, but if you’re using scallions or almonds you can chop them now too.
To roll out the pasta, I used a pasta machine like this one. Divide your dough into parts, and roll it out. I started at the “0” setting on my pasta maker, and brought it down to a 4-5 in thinness (pasta machine settings are different, so your numbers might not be the same). I then ran my dough through the fettuccini attachment, but you can always cut them by hand if you don’t have a noodle attachment. The final trick to making your own crown daisy pasta is to individually place each noodle in the boiling water so they do not stick together while they cook. Cooking them in small batches will also help your noodles not to stick together. They don’t take long to cook before they float gently to the top- at that point they’re finished and you can cook the next batch. Once all the noodles are cooked, toss them in the almond sauce and use crushed or finely chopped almonds, chopped scallions, and/or sesame seeds as a garnish, and to give the dish a little crunch.
Crown Daisy Pasta in Spicy Almond Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 bunch of crown daisy (around 8 oz.)
- 2 ½ cups of all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp. sesame oil
- A pinch of salt
- ½ cup of almond butter
- 2 tbsp. soy sauce
- 1 tbsp. sesame oil
- 1-2 tbsp. garlic chili sauce
- Optional: ¼ cup chopped almonds
- Optional: 1 tsp. sesame seeds
- Optional: ¼ cup chopped scallions
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and wash the crown daisy while you’re waiting. Once it has reached a boil, add the crown daisy, stems, leaves, and all, and blanch for around 45 seconds. Then drain and shock under cold water. Use your hands to firmly squeeze out as much of the water as possible before transferring to a food processor. Blend for a couple minutes, scraping down the sides once or twice, before adding the flour and sesame oil and pulsing until they are fully incorporated. Allow the dough to form. Stop and scrape down the sides if it gets stuck, but just let the dough process until it goes from a sandy texture to a dough. If the mixture is sticky, a tablespoon or so more flour. Remove from the food processor, kneed a couple times before setting aside to rest in a covered bowl for 10 minutes.
- While it is resting, mix the almond butter, garlic chili sauce, sesame oil and soy sauce along with a quarter cup of water. Set aside. Finely chop the almonds and scallions to use as a garnish and set aside. Put a pot of water on the stove to boil, salt generously, and return to your pasta dough.
- Separate the dough into four pieces. One piece at a time, use a rolling pin or pasta maker to flatten the dough. If you have a fettuccini attachment run the dough through it, if not use a knife to chop into strips. Once rolled, place the noodles individually into the boiling water to avoid sticking, and cook for a couple minutes until the noodles float. Remove and place in a colander. Once all the noodles are cooked, use the pot or a large bowl to combine the noodles and sauce, tossing well. Serve warm with the finely chopped almonds, scallions, and/or sesame seeds on top.
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Let’s hear from you…
- Have you ever tried crown daisy? What’s your favorite way to eat it?
- Which do you prefer- almond butter or peanut butter?
- Do you have any pasta-terians in your life? Are you the pasta-terian?
Share your answers in the comments below!
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