Homemade Spinach Pasta: mother-daughter bonding

As I’ve said before, using the pasta machine takes way more than a few rolling-pin rolls and definitely requires some help. In fact, it’s been the perfect bonding experience for my mom and me when I’m home over break.

My dad does this thing where he takes all the leftover vegetables and makes awesome pasta sauces with them. So, it turned out to be a family cooking affair that for once didn’t result in too many cooks in the kitchen. I actually got this recipe from an old pasta cookbook we’ve had since I was little, but you can really find homemade pasta recipes anywhere!

Starts with some drained, thawed spinach (you could also use fresh!) Here, it’s important to squeeze as much of the excess water out as possible

This food processor has been a great resource for making doughs. Here’s our main components: food processor, pasta machine, eggs, and the flour is somewhere over there.

Combine your flour, eggs, a bit of salt, and spinach in the food processor, pulse until it forms a sticky ball. At this point you can refrigerate for a few hours if you want before you prepare the pasta.

Once you are ready for greeny goodness, break up your dough ball into 3-4 pieces to work with. LIBERALLY dust your surface with flour, and by that I mean create a flour beach on your countertop. Keep rolling out your dough, folding it in thirds over and over again, until its ready to go through the machine. If you don’t have a pasta machine, no worries, you’ll be getting the rockstar arms after your rolling pin workout!

You’re going to keep rolling the strips through the pasta machine, narrowing the settings after about 2-3 times through each. After your roll is as thin as you want it, go ahead and slice it through the cutting section of the machine. While the strands are waiting to go in the water, place them on a lightly floured baking sheet. Then, when your salted water is boiling, drop in the pasta and cook for a mere 2-3 minutes.