Homemade Spinach Pasta

Name: Homemade Spinach Pasta
Cook time: P0Y0M0DT1H0M0.000S
Total time: P0Y0M0DT1H30M0.000S
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: Kosher salt; 6 cups baby spinach (3 3/4 ounces); 3 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk; 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling; 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed

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Level: Intermediate

Total: 1 hr 30 min
Active: 1 hr

Yield: 4 servings

Incorporating spinach into fresh pasta dough is both colorful and delicious, and not as intimidating as it might seem. Cooked spinach is blended until smooth with eggs, yolks and olive oil, before being worked into flour to make a bright colorful dough.

Level: Intermediate

Total: 1 hr 30 min
Active: 1 hr

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

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Kosher salt

6 cups baby spinach (3 3/4 ounces)

3 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and fill a medium bowl with ice water. Add the spinach to the pot and cook until wilted, about 30 seconds; drain, then plunge into the ice water. Once chilled, remove the spinach to a kitchen towel and squeeze until dry.
Combine the blanched spinach, whole eggs and egg yolk, olive oil and a big pinch of salt in a blender and blend until smooth. Mound the flour on a work surface. Make a well in the center, 4 to 5 inches in diameter with high walls. Add the spinach mixture to the well and, using a fork, gradually mix flour from the inner edge of the well into the wet ingredients. Continue incorporating the flour until a rough sticky dough forms. Use a spatula or bench scraper to gather up any loose bits of flour and dough, then use your hands to gather and knead the whole thing together. (If the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time.) Knead until a smooth and slightly tacky bright green dough forms, about 6 minutes. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
Cut the dough into 4 equal pieces; press each into a rough rectangle. Cover 3 of the pieces and set aside. Lightly flour the remaining piece of dough and feed the dough through the widest setting on a pasta maker. Fold the strip in half and feed it through again. Move to the next setting and feed the dough through this setting twice without folding, lightly flouring as needed. Repeat until you are at the third-to-last setting. The dough will be thin but not transparent, about 1/8 inch thick. Lightly flour the pasta sheet, then transfer to a floured baking sheet; halve the sheet crosswise if it’s hanging off the baking sheet. Repeat the process with the remaining 3 pieces of dough.
Attach a long noodle cutter to the pasta maker. Feed each sheet of dough through the cutter, gathering the pasta on the other side. Lightly sprinkle with flour and shape into a loose nest. Return to the baking sheet.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta, gently separating the strands with tongs. Cook until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Reserve 1 cup cooking water, then drain. Toss with your sauce, adding the reserved cooking water as needed to loosen.

Cook’s Note

A simple combination of garlic and oil make a tasty topping for this pasta. To make it: heat 6 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet. Add 6 very thinly sliced garlic cloves and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and add 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes. Toss with pasta, 3/4 cup pasta-cooking water and 1/2 cup chopped parsley.