Spinach Pasta From Scratch Food

HOMEMADE SPINACH PASTA DOUGH

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Squeeze as much water as possible from the chopped spinach with your hands or by pressing with a wooden spoon in a colander.
• In a blender or food processor , combine the spinach and eggs.
• Puree until the mixture is dark green and smooth, with few or no visible chunks of spinach showing.
• In a bowl, combine the flour and salt, stirring with a fork or a whisk to combine.
• On a large, lightly floured work surface (like a countertop covered with a silicone pastry mat), pour the flour mixture into a mound and make a well in the center.
• Pour the spinach-egg mixture into the well.
• Using a fork, stir the spinach mixture in a circular motion, gradually incorporating more and more flour.
• As the mixture turns chunky, begin to knead it, incorporating enough flour to make a stiff dough. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, adding more flour until the dough is smooth and slightly tacky but not sticky.
• Set aside, covered with plastic wrap, for about 20 minutes.
• Assemble your pasta maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.
• Divide the dough into 4 to 6 equal sections with a knife or a dough cutter.
• Cover all of the pieces-except the one you're working with-with a clean dishtowel or plastic wrap.
• Form the piece of dough into a flat rectangle with your hands or a rolling pin to prepare it to be fed into the pasta maker.
• Beginning with one of the shorter sides of the rectangle, feed the pasta through the pasta maker on the first (widest) setting.
• Then fold it in thirds (like a business letter).
• Feed it through the pasta rollers again.
• Repeat the folding and rolling steps several times on the widest setting, before rolling pasta at increasingly smaller settings until it reaches the desired thinness.
• Use the sheets of pasta as-is for lasagna, form into ravioli, or cut into noodles using a pasta machine attachment.

UNIQUE SPINACH NOODLES

Steps:

• Combine spinach and water in a saucepan. Cover, and cook till spinach is very tender. Cool slightly.
• Place spinach and liquid in blender container. Add egg and salt. Cover, and blend till smooth. Transfer to a bowl. Add enough flour to make a stiff dough.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for 1 minute. Roll very thin on a floured surface. Let rest 20 minutes. Roll up loosely. Slice 1/4 inch wide. Unroll. Cut into desired lengths. Spread out on a rack to dry for 2 hours.

SPINACH PASTA FROM SCRATCH

Steps:

• Start boiling a large pot of water.
• NOTES: a) If using frozen spinach, skip steps 3-5; b) if omitting the spinach, use 1 1/4 cups of flour.
• Heat a skillet to medium heat, and add spinach; don't use cooking spray or oil.
• Cook spinach for about 30 seconds, stirring continuously. Spinach should turn a bright green color.
• Plunge spinach immediately into an ice water bath to stop the cooking process.
• When spinach has cooled down to lukewarm temperature, squeeze out the excess moisture using a cheesecloth.
• Add spinach, olive oil, eggs, and salt to food processor and run until fully blended.
• Add flour to food processor and run until blended. If the mixture is still sticky, add flour.
• Remove dough from food processor. Roll dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Allow to rest at room temperature for 20 minutes.
• Transfer dough to a work surface that's generously dusted with flour. Cut dough into 4 pieces.
• If using a pasta maker, roll each piece out with a rolling pin until it's about 1/4" thick. If not using a pasta maker, roll until thin and hand-cut as desired.
• Shape dough into rectangles and run through pasta maker, starting with the widest setting. If the dough sticks in the rollers, dust the dough and the rollers with flour.
• Continue rolling dough through the rollers, gradually reducing the setting to flatten it as desired. NOTE: spinach pasta may need to be 1 setting wider than you normally want because of the stickiness of the dough.
• Cut pasta into shapes using the appropriate attachment.
• Lower pasta into water (don't drop it) and boil for a few minutes. Don't crowd the pot with pasta, as this can cause pasta to stick together.
• NOTE: Don't dump the whole pot of cooked pasta into a strainer the way you might with dry, boxed pasta. If transferring to a strainer, don't rinse with water.
• Using tongs or a spider skimmer, remove pasta from the water and transfer to a different container. Doing it this way will help the pasta keep its shape, and allow you to use hot water for the remainder of the boil.

HOMEMADE SPINACH PASTA

Steps:

• Combine water and ice in a bowl. Preheat a skillet over medium heat; add spinach. Cook, stirring continuously, until spinach turns bright green, about 30 seconds. Plunge into ice water bath; remove when spinach is lukewarm. Squeeze out excess moisture with cheese cloth.
• Combine spinach, eggs, olive oil, and salt in a food processor; blend until smooth. Add flour; blend until dough no longer sticks to the blades, adding flour as needed.
• Roll dough into a ball; wrap in plastic wrap. Rest at room temperature for 20 minutes.
• Remove plastic wrap from dough. Transfer to a work surface generously dusted with flour; cut dough into 4 pieces with a sharp knife. Roll out dough with a rolling pin to 1/4-inch thickness; shape into rectangles.
• Dust pasta maker rollers with flour. Run the dough rectangles through a pasta maker on the widest setting. Repeat rolling dough through rollers, gradually reducing the setting to desired thickness. Change pasta maker's attachment to preferred noodle shape; cut pasta with pasta maker.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Lower pasta gently into water; use a spoon to keep noodles from sticking together. Cook until pasta is firm but soft, 3 to 6 minutes. Remove from the water with tongs; transfer to a bowl.