Green Pasta
Coloured food is so fun! Especially when we coloured it with (leans in to whisper) spinach. That’s right - the healthiest food colouring you’ll ever come across!
Pasta from scratch!
It’s about time we did a recipe on pasta from scratch on this blog! Pasta is one of those things I am surprised is not more common to encourage people to make at home. It’s really easy, and lovely to have entirely fresh. A pasta maker is a huge help, but if you don’t have one, do not let it stop you - a rolling pin and some simple kitchen utensils will get you there too.
You can of course use this recipe without the spinach and get regular pasta, but if you’re up for some fun, colourful food, join us in chucking some spinach in there. Though this green pasta is fun both to look at and eat, you’ll probably want to have something else with it! So decide on what you’re having with your pasta and get that ready when it fits in with your cooking, my guess would be as the pasta dough is resting or right before you start cooking the pasta.
Green Pasta
Makes 2 generous servings
Prep time: 10 minutes | Rest time: 20 minutes | Cook time: 5 minutes
2 eggs
2 cups of plain or wholemeal flour (wholemeal is healthier, but plain flour will help the green colour come out brighter)
2 tbsp of olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt/coarse sea salt
A handful of spinach (about 80 grams or so) - omit for plain pasta
Instructions
In a bowl, put some ice cold water and some ice cubes if you have them.
Gently dry sauté the spinach in a pan over medium heat until it turns a brighter green colour (this will happen pretty fast!), and put it straight in the bowl with the ice cold water. When it has cooled down, squeeze out the excess water through a cloth or nut bag.
In a bowl, mix together the spinach, eggs, olive oil and salt. Then mix in the flour bit by bit. You can also do this in a food processor - which will give it a lovely light texture. Keep mixing/blending until the dough doesn’t stick anymore - keep adding flour until you get there.
Cover the dough with cling film and let it rest for about 20 minutes.
Take the dough and cut it into smaller pieces, about 4 sections should do it, and roll them out on a floured surface one by one. If you are using a pasta maker, dust the maker with flour and run it through the lasagne mould a few times, going thinner and thinner each time, and then run through your desired pasta shape. If you are doing this by hand, keep rolling the pasta as thinly as you can with the rolling pin (keep flipping the dough over so it doesn’t start sticking to the surface and keep dusting with flour). When it is thin enough for your liking, cut in to thin strips - tagliatelle shape is probably the easiest to make by hand!
For each pasta strip you make, make sure you have somewhere to hang it so it doesn’t start sticking to the worktop. Over the bowl you used to make it usually works fine.
Bring a pan of water to the boil and gently add the pasta in. The cooking time really depends on how thick your pasta is, but between 3-6 minutes is usually good. Take a couple of them out and test them, and when you think they are good, transfer all the pasta to a colander. Mix in a bit of olive oil and transfer to plates. Add whatever you are having with it and enjoy your colourful homemade pasta!
I would love to see your pasta! Did you add spinach? What shape did you go for? Share your result with me on Instagram and tag @TheFromScratchBody and hashtag #TheFromScratchBody so I don’t miss it!
