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homemade spinach pasta rolled out and a zigzag-edged square lying on a cutting board with a mound of ricotto, Parmigiano-reggiano, and spicy salami filling in the center.

Homemade Spinach Pasta Dough (Using Semolina Flour)


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  • Author: Kelly
  • Total Time: 2 hours 34 minutes
  • Yield: 1 pound Spinach Pasta 1x

Description

If you’ve ever wondered how to make green pasta this is the recipe for you! Homemade spinach pasta is easy to make and uses just 3 ingredients –twice-milled semolina flour (semolina rimacinata), eggs, and a bit of extra virgin olive oil. This pasta dough recipe makes the best,  chewy spinach fettuccine, pappardelle, tortellini, or even “lasagna verde” for classic Lasagna alla Bolognese — even really cute super easy spinach bow tie pasta if you want! Step-by-step recipe photos can be found in the main post. 


Ingredients

Scale
  • 4 ounces frozen or fresh spinach (115g)
  • 11 ounces twice-milled semolina flour (Italian Semola Rimacinata) (300g) (sub 00 flour or regular semolina)
  • 2 large eggs (pasta gialla eggs or other richly-colored eggs preferred) (50g) (*see photos below)
  • 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil (10g)


Instructions

  1. Blanch the spinach. Add the spinach (frozen or fresh) to a pot of boiling water and cook it (blanch it) for about 3 minutes. Strain it reserving the liquid being sure to squeeze out all of the excess liquid. Use a blender, immersion blender, or food processor to purée the spinach to a fine paste and set aside.
  2. Make the dough. Add the flour to a countertop or large bread bowl and make a “well” in the middle. Add the cracked eggs, olive oil, and puréed spinach to the center and begin agitating the mixture to combine it with the flour being sure to keep everything in the center of the “well”. Work in a circular motion incorporating more flour into the center until the mixture is combined and forms a shaggy, stiff dough. Rest the dough covered for 30 minutes.  *Alternatively, you may place all of the ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer and knead them on medium speed for 5 minutes using the dough hook or into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the dough blade and pulse until the mixture is combined. 
  3. Knead the dough.  Remove the dough to a work surface and knead it by turning it clockwise a quarter turn and repeating until the dough becomes softer and more pliable, or about 15 to 20 minutes. It should be much smoother and more elastic at this point.  *Alternatively, you may knead the dough using a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment for 10 to 12 minutes on medium-low speed (speed #2 on a KitchenAid). 
  4. Rest the dough. Cover and rest the dough for 2 hours. 
  5. Roll out the dough. Cut the dough into 4 equal pieces and work with one piece at a time covering the other pieces so they don’t dry out.  Press down to form a disc just thin enough to be fed through the pasta machine’s widest setting (0 or 1 depending on your pasta machine). Feed the dough through the rollers while turning the crank. If needed, lightly dust both sides of the pasta sheet with flour and fold it like a letter (bringing in the two ends to the middle) to form a more even rectangle. Feed the pasta sheet back through the rollers on (0 or 1) until it is long and rectangular in shape. Set the adjustment knob to 1 and pass the pasta sheet through one time. Set the adjustment knob to 2 and pass the pasta sheet through one time. Set the adjustment knob to 3, pass the pasta sheet through one time, and continue adjusting the knob setting and passing the dough through until you’ve reached the desired thickness (the recommended thickness setting is typically number 6 for fettuccine, tagliatelle, ravioli, lasagna, etc.
  6. Cut the desired pasta shapes. Attach the pasta shape cutter attachment and run the sheets of pasta through them, sprinkle them with semolina (or other flour) and shape them into a bird’s nest, or hang them on a pasta drying rack. *Alternatively, you may roll up the sheets of pasta and cut them into the desired thickness for fettuccine or pappardelle, etc. If making lasagna, leave the sheets just as they are or trim them to the desired length. If using immediately, allow the noodles to dry for at least 10 minutes before boiling (or layering into uncooked into lasagna) and, Enjoy!

Notes

  • I’ve used frozen spinach for this recipe (as do all of my Italian family here in Italy) because it’s less work, quicker, and more convenient. And as you can see, it makes a super bright green beautifully colored cooked pasta. 
  • Do not use cold eggs straight out of the refrigerator. Let them warm up to room temperature first. You can speed up this process by covering cold eggs in hot tap water until warmed to the proper temperature. 
  • If the pasta dough seems too dry, add 1 to 2 teaspoons or more of the reserved spinach water as needed.
  • Do not add salt to the dough.
  • You can store fully dried homemade dried pasta for up to 1 month in an airtight sealed container. You may also freeze fresh pasta (my preferred method as taught to me by my family here in Italy. Try to use it within 1 month. 
  • Cook homemade fresh pasta in a good amount of water. I typically cook store-bought pasta in small amounts of water because it really doesn’t need that much water to cook properly. But when I cook pasta fresca or freshly made pasta, I use a bit more water so the fresh noodles have room to cook without sticking together. If you have thoroughly dried homemade pasta first before cooking, you can use less water. 
  • Never wash your pasta machine with water because the water and flour will act like glue and can clog up the rollers. 
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Rest Time: 2 hours
  • Cook Time: 4 minutes
  • Category: Pasta
  • Method: Mix & Knead
  • Cuisine: Italian

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 4 ounce serving
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