You wouldn’t believe it, but this homemade green pasta dough is so easy to make. I love fresh pasta dough because it is so light and doesn’t sit heavy in your stomach, even if you overindulge a little. It’s the only way I want to eat pasta and you will be so happy you tried it! This vibrant green pasta is extra fun to make because it looks so beautiful on your plate when you are finished, you can’t help but take pictures of your creation to share with all your friends and family.
Ingredients you will need
- “00” flour would be best, but all-purpose will work too
- Eggs
- Fresh bunch of spinach
- Kosher salt
- Water
Tools you will need
- Kitchen Scale (affiliate)
- Standmixer (optional) with paddle and dough hook attachments
- Pasta roller/sheeter or extruder, depending on what shape pasta you are making
- Large pot
- Large Bowl
- High-speed blender or food processor (affiliate)
- Rolling pin
- Dough/Bench scraper (optional)
Details
Blanch the Spinach
Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat and season the water with salt. A good rule-of-thumb for salting the water where you will be boiling either pasta or vegetables is to add 11/2 tbsp of salt for every 4 quarts (3.8 L) of water.
While the water is coming to a boil, Use your kitchen scale (affiliate), measure out 250 grams (8 ¾ oz) of fresh spinach leaves. You can also prepare your ice bath by filling a large bowl with ice and then covering it with cold water.
When the water is boil add the spinach in and cook for about 40 seconds – 1 minute or until the stems are tender. Using tongs, immediately transfer the spinach into the ice bath, so that it stops the cooking process right away and your spinach cools down quickly.
When cool enough to handle, wrap the spinach in a clean towel or a paper towel and squeeze out all the excess water. You want the spinach to be as dry as possible.
Add the spinach into a food processor (affiliate) or blender and blend on high speed until smooth and bright green.
The Well Method
Green pasta dough can be a little tricky to get the right consistency right away, which is why I prefer the well method over using a machine. I also recommend starting with the well method if you have never made pasta dough before.
Start with a clean surface. Add the flour in a pile in the middle of your surface and use a fork to create a well in the middle of the pile, about 5-6 inches wide. The walls of the well should be tall enough to hold all your eggs.
In a separate bowl mix (don’t beat) your eggs. Add the blended spinach with the eggs and mix thoroughly. This will make it easier to incorporate them into the flour when you add them to the well.
Add about half the egg mixture to your flour well and use a fork to start mixing the inner edges of the flour into the eggs Continue to add the rest of the egg mixture, stirring in a continuous motion to incorporate the flour. If the eggs break through the wall just use the dough scraper to push them back into the middle.
Now roll up your sleeves and get to work! Knead the dough with your hands, removing the sticky dough that clings to your hands as you go. Fold the dough over on itself and use the heel of your dominant hand to push it down and away from your body. Do that a few times, then rotate the ball of dough 180 degrees and do it again.
It is common for the dough to need more water than the recipe indicates depending on the size of your eggs and how dry your flour is. Flour becomes dry over time, especially if you live in an arid climate or during the winter time. This is why it is recommended to keep your flour in an airtight container and not to buy more than what you would use in a 3-6 month period. It is best to work with the freshest possible flour. When flour is dry it will absorb more liquid than usual, so you may have to add more water to the dough.
If the dough seems dry and is not coming together, gradually add 1 tbsp of water to loosen it up.
As you are kneading, the dough will become firm and the gluten will start to develop. You will be kneading the dough for about 8-10 minutes. The dough should resemble the texture of Play-doh and should spring back to its original shape when poked.
When you are finished kneading the dough, wrap it in plastic wrap and set it aside for a minimum of 30 minutes. The flour will continue to absorb the water while it is resting and the dough will become easier to roll. You can leave it in the fridge for up to 24 hours. Allow the dough to warm up for 20 minutes after you’ve removed it from the fridge. Now you are ready to turn it into whatever shape you like!
Starting with the well method allows you to get a feel for what the texture of the dough should be like with your own hands. Once you have made the dough a few times using the well method and you have rolled it, shaped it and tasted it you will understand what the dough should feel like to get the best results. You are then ready to graduate to the stand mixer (affiliate) method if you prefer!
The Stand Mixer Method
The stand mixer (affiliate) method is a little easier because the machine will knead the dough for you, allowing you to take on some other tasks in your kitchen while your dough is developing. Who doesn’t love efficiency?
Set up your stand mixer with a large bowl and the paddle attachment. You will switch to the dough hook later once the eggs, spinach and flour have been sufficiently incorporated.
In a separate bowl, measure out the amount of eggs you need, discarding any extra. Add the blended spinach to the bowl and mix thoroughly.
Add the flour to the bowl, turn on your machine to a low setting and allow the paddle to create a well in the flour. Now you can gradually add the egg mixture slowly allowing it to incorporate.
Once it looks like dough is starting to form, turn the machine off, scrape off any dough bits on the paddle and switch it out for the dough hook. Now all you have to do is let the dough hook do its thing for 8 to 10 minutes. Keep an eye on the dough in case you need to add any additional water if it is not coming together. A dry dough will be difficult and crumby when you go to make it.
Once it is looking like a nice ball of dough, turn off the machine. I still like to place the dough on the counter and knead it for a minute or so. That way I can really make sure I like the way it feels.
Wrap the dough in plastic and let it rest for a minimum of 30 minutes and a maximum of 24 hours in the fridge.
And that’s it! Now you have a new addiction to freshly handmade green pasta! You’re welcome 🙂
FAQ
Can I use frozen spinach instead of fresh spinach in green pasta dough?
Yes, you can substitute the fresh spinach for frozen spinach in this recipe. You would need to defrost it and measure out 65g (2 ¼ oz) and put it straight into the blender. No need to blanch frozen spinach, as it is already cooked.
What pasta shapes work best with Green Spinach Pasta Dough?
Spinach dough works best with shapes that are made from sheets of pasta, such as lasagna, tortellini, fettuccine or this ravioli with white wine butter sauce. Although this vibrant green pasta dough looks beautiful, it does not work well with extruded pasta shapes like fusilli, spaghetti, linguine, and rigatoni.
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Pairing
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Homemade Green (Spinach) Past Dough
Equipment
- Kitchen scale
- Standmixer (optional) with paddle and dough hook attachments
- Pasta roller/sheeter or extruder, depending on what shape pasta you are making
- Large pot
- Large Bowl
- High-speed blender or food processor
- Rolling Pin
- Dough/Bench scraper (optional)
Ingredients
- Kosher salt
- 250 g (8 ¾ oz) fresh spinach
- 250 g (8 ¾ oz) eggs
- 454 g (1 lb) “00” flour or all-purpose flour or all-purpose flour
Instructions
Blanch the Spinach
- Bring a large pot to boil over medium-high heat. Season the water with the kosher salt.
- Prepare an ice bath by filling a large bowl with ice and water.
- Add the spinach to the boiling water and cook for 40 seconds – 1 minutes, or until the spinach stems are tender.
- Immediately transfer the cooked spinach to the ice bath and let cool.
- Place the spinach in a tea towel or paper towel and squeeze out any excess water.
- Add the spinach to the food processor or blender and blend until smooth, about 2 minutes. Set aside.
Well Method
- Start with a clean surface and place the flour in a pile in the middle of the surface.
- Use a fork to create a well in the middle of your flour pile, about 5-6 inches wide.
- In a bowl, mix the eggs and measure the amount required, discarding any extra egg. Add the spinach to the bowl and mix thoroughly.
- Add half the egg mixture into the flour well and use a fork to start stirring continuously to incorporate the flour into the eggs.
- Add the remainder of the egg mixture and continue stirring with the fork to form a pancake-like batter. Use the bench scraper to cut and fold the dough until it is thoroughly incorporated.
- Once the flour is all incorporated, start using your hands to knead the dough.
- Knead for about 8-10 minutes until the dough is smooth and bounces back it’s original shape when poked. If the dough seems dry and is not coming together into a nice ball, add 1 tbsp of water at a time until it starts to mix together.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for a minimum of 30 minutes. You can store the dough in the fridge for up to 24 hours, but remember to let it warm up for 20 minutes when you take it out of the fridge.
Stand Mixer Method
- Add the flour to the stand mixer bowl. Using the paddle attachment to create a well by turning the stand mixer on to the lowest setting.
- In a separate bowl measure out the correct amount of eggs. Add the spinach to the bowl and mix thoroughly, but do not beat.
- Slowly add the egg mixture to the stand mixer bowl, mixing on a low setting.
- Once the eggs are incorporated with the flour, turn the stand mixer off and switch out the paddle for the dough hook.
- Allow the dough hook to knead the dough for about 8-10 minutes. Check the dough every couple of minutes. If it seems dry and is not coming together add 1 tbsp of water at a time until the dough combines.
- Once the dough is in a smooth ball and it bounces back to its original shape when poked it is ready. You may have to remove from the stand mixer bowl and knead with your hands for a minute or two to make sure you have the right consistency.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and set aside for a minimum of 30 minutes. You can store it in the fridge for a maximum of 24 hours. Just remember that if you put it in the fridge you will need to let it warm up at room temperature for 20 minutes before using it.
- Now you are ready to make it into whatever shape you like!
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