Fresh Spinach Pasta

I am ashamed to say it, but I might as well get in out in the open; my kids don't eat vegetables. 

I have earnestly given it my best shot; When they were infants, I kept the applesauce to a minimum and dutifully fed them creamed broccoli or yams daily.  As toddlers, their snacks were carrot sticks and cucumber slices.  Maybe I wasn't creative enough, but oh, how I envy my friends whose children eat such things as butternut squash enchiladas, or curried cauliflower with gusto.

I console myself with this recipe.  It takes two full cups of beautiful nutrient-rich spinach, my children devour it in minutes and I lean back and sip my wine and enjoy the (rare) feeling of having nourished my children well.

We often serve this with pesto and fried zucchini slices (for the adults). mmm.

Spinach Pasta

2 cups spinach leaves, stems removed, loosely packed

2 eggs

2 - 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

Wash spinach well, and dry well, and pulse in a food processor a few times.  Add the eggs and mix well.  Add 2 cups of the flour and the salt and process until it starts to look like a dough - about 10 seconds.  If it is very moist, add as much flour as you need to make a nice dough.  Remove from processor and knead until very smooth.

Wrap the dough in plastic and let the dough rest for at least an hour on the counter.

Cut the dough into four equal parts and run them through your pasta machine, if you are lucky enough to have one.  If not, you can cut the ball of dough into thin slices and make pasta the old-fashioned way - with a rolling pin!   I suggest you roll it until it is only a millimeter thick, and then you can slice it into ribbons.  Use plenty of flour to prevent sticking.

Fresh pasta only takes moments to cook.  Use plenty of water - bring it to a boil, add a couple tablespoons of salt, shake off any excess flour, and through the pasta in all at once and stir with a fork to separate the noodles from one another.  Really thin pasta only takes one minute to cook!  It is done when they no longer have a floury taste and are still a tad bit firm.  Drain and toss with your favorite sauce.

Enjoy the bright green goodness.  If you have never had fresh pasta before, you are in for a real treat!

This recipe will serve four people.