Homemade Spinach Pasta
Homemade Spinach Pasta
I do enjoy making homemade pasta. This spinach pasta is one of my favorites. The flavor and color is so fresh. I normally use frozen spinach, but since I had a big bag of fresh spinach, I used it for my pasta.I just cooked the spinach, drained it and chopped it up.
Any time you are making fresh pasta with vegetables in the dough, you have to allow for that added moisture. Be patient when kneading the dough. You will likely have to knead the dough longer than an egg based pasta dough. It is worth the effort.
Spinach Pasta
2 c. flour, plus extra for rolling
1 (10 oz.) package frozen spinach, cooked, drained, reserving some of the liquid, or 12 oz. fresh spinach, cooked and chopped
Combine flour and spinach, kneading until dough is smooth and elastic. Mix this dough as for other pastas, but don’t be too quick to add reserved liquid. While kneading you’ll get water out of the spinach. May require more kneading and rolling than other pasta dough. Be patient, it’s worth the work. The finer the spinach is chopped, the better the dough will come together.
Add a little spinach liquid, if needed, to hold dough together. You may wish to mix the dough in a mixer or food processor. Cover dough and let rest 15-20 minutes before rolling. Under kneading your dough will result in coarse, crumbly pasta. This batch makes just under a pound of fresh pasta. Serves 3-4.
Roll dough out on well floured board or with a pasta machine until desired thickness in reached. Add flour as needed to prevent sticking. Cut into strips or whatever shapes are desired. You might want to let the noodles dry 1-hour or more before cooking, but this is not necessary. Pasta can be hung to dry or separated and allowed to dry flat on a table. When pasta is not hanging to dry it must be turned occasionally to dry evenly.
Cooking time varies with which pasta shape you make and how thick you cut your pasta. Most fresh pasta is cooked very quickly- a couple of minutes at most.
Although you may hear otherwise, homemade pasta, even when dried, should be frozen for long term storage. Storing at room temperature can lead to spoilage. Fresh pasta can also be stored in the refrigerator for a day or two.
