Fresh Spinach Pasta Dough Recipes

SPINACH PASTA DOUGH

Steps:

• Place spinach and water in a skillet over medium-low heat. Cover and simmer, stirring once, until spinach is wilted, about 10 minutes. Drain and let cool, about 10 minutes. Squeeze out as much water as possible, getting the spinach very dry. Chop spinach very finely.
• Place flour on a marble or wooden work surface. Make a well in the center and crack in the eggs; add the salt and finely chopped spinach. Gently beat eggs with a fork, incorporating the surrounding flour and spinach, until batter is runny. Bring remaining flour into the batter using a bench scraper until dough forms a ball. Mix in water, 1 tablespoon at a time, if dough feels too stiff.
• Knead dough with your hands by flattening the ball, stretching it and folding the top towards the center. Turn 45 degrees and repeat until dough is soft and smooth, about 10 minutes.
• Shape dough into a ball. Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Roll out the dough with pasta machine or with a rolling pin and turn into your favorite pasta shape.

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.

FRESH SPINACH PASTA DOUGH

Steps:

• Add 2 inches of water to a medium saucepan, and fit with a steamer insert. Bring to a simmer. Add 6 ounces spinach, cover, and steam until bright green and softened, about 2 minutes. Let cool slightly. Squeeze out liquid using a clean kitchen towel or paper towels. Puree spinach in a food processor (you should have about 1/2 cup puree).
• Add eggs and yolk to puree in food processor, and process until combined. Add flour and 1 heaping teaspoon salt, and process until dough just comes together, about 20 seconds.
• Transfer dough to a well-floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, 5 to 10 minutes, adding up to 2 tablespoons flour if dough is too sticky. Place on a piece of parchment, and cover with an inverted bowl, or wrap tightly in plastic; let rest for 1 to 2 hours.
• Cut dough into 8 pieces. Working with 1 piece at a time (keep the remaining pieces covered with the inverted bowl), flatten dough into an oblong shape slightly thinner than the pasta machine's widest setting (number 1). Dust dough very lightly with flour, and feed through machine. Fold lengthwise into thirds and rotate 90 degrees. Repeat twice on same setting to smooth dough and increase its elasticity.
• Turn the dial to next narrower setting. Pass dough through twice, gently supporting it with your palm. Continue to press dough, passing it through ever-finer settings, two passes on each setting, until sheet is almost translucent and very thin but still intact (number 5 of 8 on a KitchenAid pasta roller). The dough will stretch to about 16 inches long. If dough bubbles or tears, pass it through again, and dust with flour if the dough is sticking.
• For farfalle, lasagna squares, or ravioli: Place rolled sheet on a lightly floured surface, and cut out as directed in corresponding recipe, using a dry brush to dust flour off if needed. For ribbon pastas: Place dough on a drying rack until slightly tacky, 10 to 15 minutes, and then use a pasta machine or cutting attachment to cut into strands. Drape over rack until strands are semidry and won't stick together, about 20 minutes. Cook immediately, or lay flat on a baking sheet dusted with semolina, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.

BASIC FRESH PASTA DOUGH

Steps:

• Mound the flour in the center of a large, wide mixing bowl. Dig a well in the center of the mound and add eggs and yolks. Using a fork, beat together the eggs and begin to incorporate the flour, starting with the inner rim of the well. The dough will start to come together in a shaggy mass when about half of the flour is incorporated.
• Use your fingers to continue to mix the dough. Press any loose bits of flour into the mass of dough. If needed, add another egg yolk or a tablespoon of water to absorb all of the flour. Once the dough comes together into a cohesive mass, remove it from the bowl.
• Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for 4 to 5 more minutes until the dough is smooth, elastic and uniform in color. Wrap the dough in plastic and set aside for at least 30 minutes (and up to 4 hours) at room temperature.
• Line three baking sheets with parchment paper and lightly dust with semolina flour. Set aside.
• Cut off a quarter of the dough. Rewrap rest, and set aside. Use the heel of your hand to flatten the dough into an oval approximately the same width as your pasta machine, about six inches. Set the rollers to their widest setting and pass the dough through.
• Lay the dough out onto a lightly floured cutting board or countertop and neatly press together into halves, so it's again about the same width of the pasta machine. Feed the pasta through again at the widest setting. Think of these first rollings as an extended kneading. Continue to fold the dough in thirds and roll it until it is smooth, silky and even-textured. Do your best to make the sheet the full width of the machine.
• Once the dough is silky and smooth, you can begin to roll it out more thinly. Roll it once through each of the next two or three settings, adding flour as needed, until the dough is about 1/4-inch thick.
• Once the pasta is about 1/4-inch thick, begin rolling it twice through each setting. As you roll, lightly sprinkle all-purpose or 00 flour on both sides of the pasta to prevent it from sticking to itself.
• Roll out pasta until you can just see the outline of your hand when you hold it under a sheet, about 1/16-inch thick for noodles, or 1/32-inch thick for a filled pasta. (On most machines, you won't make it to the thinnest setting.)
• Cut pasta into sheets, about 12 to 14 inches long. Dust the sheets lightly with semolina flour and stack on one of the prepared baking sheets and cover with a clean, lightly dampened kitchen towel. Repeat with remaining dough.

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.

SPINACH PASTA DOUGH

Steps:

• In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, salt and blanched spinach. Process to mix well. With the machine running, add the eggs, egg yolks, and olive oil through the feed tube, and process until it resembles wet cornmeal, about 2 minutes.
• Take a handful of dough at a time and form into a firm ball. Repeat with the remaining dough. Roll out each dough ball into desired shape in a pasta machine according to the manufacturer's instructions.
• Bring a pot of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta until just al dente, about 2 minutes. Drain in a colander and serve with desired sauce.

SPINACH PASTA DOUGH

Steps:

• If you're using frozen spinach, start thawing it a day before making the pasta. Take the frozen block out of the box, put it in a colander over a bowl, and let it thaw completely and drain for a day in the refrigerator, or overnight at room temperature. Squeeze the thawed spinach by handfuls to press out as much liquid as possible.
• If you're using fresh spinach, try to start a day ahead. Wash it thoroughly in several changes of cold water, remove the stems, and cook it for 5 minutes or more in a large volume of boiling water. Remove the spinach from the pot, and let it drain and cool in a colander; then squeeze out as much water as possible. If possible, let it drain and dry in the colander overnight. Squeeze the spinach again the next day.
• With either kind of spinach, when you think you've squeezed it enough, squeeze it again, by handfuls, using all your might. The drier the spinach, the better the pasta.
• Crumble the spinach into the food-processor bowl and purée it thoroughly, scraping it off the sides. With the spinach and the blade in place, add the flour and pulse to blend with the spinach, scraping as necessary.
• Whisk together the whole eggs, yolks, and oil in a bowl or measuring cup with a spout. With the food processor running, pour in the liquid ingredients on top of the green flour. Process for about 30 seconds, scrape down the work-bowl, and scrape in all the egg residue too. Process another 20 to 30 seconds, until the dough has started to come together in a ball on the blade.
• Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly, until it's smooth. Wrap well in plastic wrap, and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes before rolling. Store for 2 days in the refrigerator, or for 3 months in the freezer.

FRESH SPINACH PASTA DOUGH

Steps:

• Put the spinach into a glass mixing bowl. Season with a tiny pinch of salt. Cover with plastic wrap. Cook in microwave, on high, for four or five minutes, or until well collapsed.
• Remove and chop very finely, or bring in a processor, do not wring dry.
• Put flour, salt and gluten into the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir. Add spinach and eggs.
• Work, with the dough hook attached, over speed 4 until a dough comes together, that pulls away from the sides.
• Reduce speed to 2, and allow mass to be kneaded for 7 or 8 minutes.
• Rest, covered, 30 minutes before use.