Pasta!

When I truly have the time to spend in the kitchen without worrying about work, vet bills, speeding tickets, etc., I like to take on the time-consuming, yet rewarding, type of cooking I can't do on a weeknight when I'm working. Pasta is one of those things that, although it is available anywhere one shops, (hell, I think you can buy it at TJ Maxx...) it is fun getting lost in the process and making things that might be more difficult to come by.

A couple of years ago I needed to be at home all day while a guy came to lay carpet, and I took advantage of the time to make ravioli. I made two different fillings: beet with goat cheese and butternut squash with carmelized onions. With the fillings made and chilling in the fridge, I set out to make the pasta. Once it was made and the ravioli filled and cut, I laid them out in single layers and stuck them in the freezer. When they were frozen, I dumped them into ziplock bags and left them in the freezer. I could take them out and toss them into cooking water, a few servings at a time. They were better tasting than frozen ravioli you can buy at the store, but just as easy to cook and I knew every ingredient in them!

Occasionally I break down and buy pasta made with spinach or tomato. The color always draws me in, but I am usually left wondering how much of the vegetable was actually used. I can't taste it. Was there enough spinach used to make the pasta any healthier? Unless you make it yourself, you can't know.

So I looked through a bunch of different recipes and combined a couple to make a truly good-for-you, spinach loaded, pasta. I'm not going to lie--I still couldn't taste the spinach. But I know there is a boat load in there, and the color is gorgeous.

Spinach-enriched Pasta

2 c loosely packed spinach

1 egg

Dash of salt

3/4 c flour

Place spinach, egg, and salt into a blender and purée until smooth. Mound flour on work surface and make a well in the center. A marble board or granite countertop is great for this as the cool stone helps prevent sticking without using a lot of extra flour. But don't worry, a wooden cutting board does just fine too.

Using raw spinach gives the pasta an intense color.

Use a fork and mix, slowly incorporating flour from the inside of the mound of flour, until all flour is mixed in. Eventually I use my hands and knead until all flour is used since it gets too stiff to work with a fork. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and let rest on the counter for 30 minutes.

Remove dough from plastic wrap and divide into quarters, putting three of them back into the plastic. Working one quarter at a time, put through a pasta machine according to manufacturer's directions. I start on the largest setting and run my dough through 4 times, then through two times on each of the other settings.

This is one reason to work with small pieces of dough.

When I got through the last setting, I spun my machine rollers around and made one quarter angel hair, and three quarters fettuccine. As I got done cutting each section, I hung the pasta to dry.

Having a rack is handy to help with the drying--cooling racks for cookies will work also.

If the pasta is used within the first day or two, it takes about three minutes to cook--it's super fast.

For the above dish, I cut two tomatoes into small wedges and quickly sautéed them in olive oil with two finely chopped garlic cloves and shredded fresh basil. When tomatoes were warm, garlic softened, and basil wilted, I tossed the pasta in and warmed it all through. Using tongs, I pulled the pasta out and put it in dishes, then piled the other ingredients on top with shredded Parmesan and fresh basil.

This was the perfect fresh-flavored way to enjoy fresh homemade pasta. Once the garden has come in this summer, I will try beet pasta and tomato pasta.

 

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