After reading the book "Food Matters" by Mark Bittman, I have made a concerted effort to try and eat more vegetables and a little less meat than usual...One of the results of this decision is that we have a refrigerator full of veggies and I have to be a bit creative in order to use them all up before they turn over to the "dark side"...Homemade spinach pasta sounded as springy and fresh as could be! We have a hand powered pasta machine that clamps onto the countertop and takes two people to operate most efficiently, but it really is a lot of fun to make your own pasta every now and then!
Ingredients:
About 10 oz fresh baby spinach, washed
2 eggs plus one egg yolk
2 1/2 cups flour (1 1/2 all purpose and 1 cup semolina flour)
kosher salt
Place a steamer basket in a saucepan and bring about 2 inches of water to a boil; place spinach in basket and steam for about 2-3 minutes until wilted and bright green. Drain water, and allow to cool for a few minutes. Wring out the excess liquid from spinach in a dishtowel (use a dark color or it will stain). Place spinach into food processor and puree.
Add eggs and process until combined with spinach. Add flour and one heaping teaspoon salt and process until dough comes together. If too dry, slowly add several drops of water until dough reaches proper consistency - should be slightly sticky.
Break dough into several small portions, and roll lightly in flour. Feed through machine on widest setting several times, folding dough over on itself in between passes, until it begins to become elastic (about 5 runs). Then run through each setting once (getting sequentially higher) until reaching the desired thinness. Then run through preferred pasta cutter - I used a fettucine size blade.
Place each batch of cut pasta onto a wooden drying rack until all batches are done so that it does not stick together. When ready to cook, boil enough water for pasta to freely float, and cook for 3-5 minutes to desired doneness. Toss with your favorite pasta sauce, vegetables, and cheese.
