Fresh Spinach Pasta

Photo: Leah Rodrigues

Ingredients

10 ounce package frozen cut-leaf spinach, thawed

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons water, if needed

Preparation

Squeeze excess moisture from spinach. Using a kitchen towel may help. Pulse spinach, flour and salt in a food processor until well combined.

Beat eggs in a separate bowl with a fork until blended. With the food processor running, slowly pour eggs through the feed tube.

Pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 1 minute (when pinched, the dough should cling together). If the mixture seems too dry, add water, 1 teaspoon at a time; if it seems too wet, add flour, 1 teaspoon at a time, pulsing between additions.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead for 3 to 5 minutes until dough resembles a smooth ball. Wrap in plastic and let the dough rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Cut the pasta dough into 4 equal pieces; cover all but one piece with plastic wrap. Flatten the unwrapped dough with the palm of your hand and pass it through the roller of a pasta machine turned to its widest setting. Fold the dough in half and pass it through the machine again, repeating 6 to 8 times, until the edges are smooth.

Pass the dough through successively smaller settings until it is the thickness of a dime (usually setting 7 or 8). Place on a kitchen towel and let dry for 5 minutes. Pasta should be firm. If it seems sticky, dust with flour.

At this stage you can make ravioli, lasagna sheets, or use the pasta machine to cut the dough into strips for fettuccine, tagliatelle, or linguine. Note: You can cut the dough free hand but make the strips as close to the same size as possible.

Dough can be frozen for future use