Monday, May 2, 2011

A relatively easy Italian dinner . . .

Found this recipe in the Food Network Magazine. It was one used by Iron Chef Mario Batali for an Iron Chef competition. I feel rather 'special' that I actually made an Iron Chef dish!

Kosher salt
6 ounces or about 8 cups baby spinach
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus more for rolling the pasta
3 large eggs
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Bring three quarts of water to a boil and add one teaspoon salt. (I didn't have kosher so used regular salt) Set up a bowl with lots of ice and water right next to the stove. Blanch the spinach in the boiling water for about two minutes. Remove with tongs or a slotted spoon and put immediately into the ice water. Drain the spinach and squeeze dry. I used several sheets of paper towel and repeated it twice more to insure I got a good amount of water out. Set aside.

Combine the flour and spinach in a food processor and process until evenly green. With the motor running, add the eggs and cheese and process until smooth and forms a ball.

Dust a large board with flour, turn out the dough and knead a few times. Wrap in plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Roll dough out and cut into thin strips. A pizza cutter works great on this. Dust well with flour and lay them on a baking sheet covered with waxed paper or parchment paper. Keep the strips lightly dusted to prevent sticking.

To cook, put pasta in pot of boiling water and cook about three or four minutes. Fresh pasta cooks fairly quickly. Drain, and serve. It goes well with regular pasta sauce or Alfredo sauce.

It's a good way to get lots of vegetables into the family, too!

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