How green is my pasta!

Finally, I made my own pasta!! I’m not the kind of person who makes stuff. I’m the kind who makes all sorts of excuses to spend less time in the kitchen..But then my work friend, Pia, brought pasta for lunch the other day and she said she makes it fresh all the time.. try it, she said, and you will never buy it again :-). I did and liked it very much. So here’s my first attempt at fresh home-made pesto pasta salad:

For the  fresh pasta:
2 eggs
1 cup flour (220 grams)
1/2 cup blanched spinach

On the worktop, make a heap of flour with a hole in the middle (just like a volcano). Pour the eggs and add blanched spinach in the hole. Gently stir and mix with your finger. Use one hand to mix the dough and the other hand to keep the eggs from breaking through and running all over the table.

Now knead the dough with both hands for at least ten minutes. Fold, knead and twist the dough until you get a supple, slightly elastic ball. Pack the dough in plastic foil and let it rest for thirty minutes. I don’t have a pasta machine so I rolled out pasta by hand on the marble counter, with a large rolling pin. Roll out pasta as thin as you can manage (think fettucine). Allow to dry for approximately 1/2 hour. cut the pasta with a sharp knife to the width you want.

Fresh pasta only needs a few seconds in boiling water! Bring plenty of water to the boil, add some salt. Add the pasta. As soon as the water is boiling again, count till ten, then drain the pasta immediately and viola!

For the pesto:
1 tablespoon walnuts
1 tablespoon pine nuts
1/2 cups fresh basil leaves
1-2 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
2-4 tablespoons olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper

Toast the nuts in a small skillet over low heat until fragrant and golden, 5 minutes, taking care not to burn. In a food processor, combine the toasted nuts with the basil, garlic, parmesan cheese, olive oil, salt and pepper. Blend until smooth.

For the salad:
In a large bowl, stir the cooled pasta with the pesto. Toss gently until everything is combined. Top it with  some more finely grated parmesan cheese. It is ready to serve!!

One baby step at a time 🙂  Next, I plan to buy a pasta machine and make some stuffed pasta like tortellini. Do you have any tips to share!!

90 thoughts on “How green is my pasta!”

  3. This looks seriously good! I love homemade pasta. I have a manual pasta machine that I am supposed to hand crank. Now that I have a Kitchen Aid mixer, I think I’ll try to see if I can get the pasta machine for that. Another easy, handmade pasta is gnocchi. Yummy little dumplings.

  6. Well done! The closest I have been to making my own pasta was potato gnocchi. Your pasta looks wonderful and pesto is a great, simple way to let it shine. I never thought about rolling it out with a rolling pin. Great idea!

    1. thanks a lot ! Gnocchi is also in my list of things to try next 🙂 do let me know if you have some good tips that i should keep in mind. thanks for stopping by my post.

  8. Looks good I’m going to try it, although I’m not much of a cook. I’m a hit or miss cook-sometimes I get rave reviews and other times…well, its pizza night.

    1. thanks a lot. it’s the spinach that brings out that vibrant green ! wow, i’ve never made noodles at home. that must be great experience. you should share how you do that.

  12. Your post is really inspiring. I used to have a pasta maker, and gave it away many moves ago. Must get another one. On the topic of cool things you can make – I used to make ravioli. You make the pasta dough and roll it out, and then you use a ravioli mold to put your raviolis together, and can make all kinds of fillings. It’s super easy and really good.

    1. wow, i should get a mold and make raviolis. Thanks for the lovely suggestion, Mona. looks like you have some good pasta knowledge. Do keep it up, it’s a good thing 🙂

  15. I live in Thailand so pesto is hard to come by… I’ve had my mom send me pine nuts and have fallen in love with homemade pesto, but I can’t wait to try it with walnuts! As for the homemade pasta… I’ve only tried that once and it didn’t go so well (I tried memorizing the recipe and ended up inverting the flour:egg ratio. Whoops…) but you may have inspired me to try again!

    1. walnuts gives it a nice nutty, smooth dressing. i have a simple mantra for flour:egg ratio – one egg for every 110 grms flour (this is good for 2 people..for more, just multiply) good luck for your next try 🙂 and thanks so much for reading my post.

  16. That sounds and looks really tasty! Do you think it would work if I tried to mix the dough into a ball in a food processor and the knead it? (I’m really quite lazy).

    I might try it with wholemeal flour. You make it sound easy.

    Fresh pasta tastes SO much nicer than dried pasta! Thanks for sharing. X

    1. sure, you can use the food processor but make sure the ball is elastic enough. if it’s not, twist it after you’ve processed… nothing like using your hands…i find this rather therapeutic 🙂 wholewheat pasta is a much healthier option . thanks for stopping by. really appreciate your comment.

  18. That looks awesome, although I won’t be trying it, due to eating strictly Paleo. I know many non-Paleo eaters would kill for some of that.

    For me: I perfer my food sources to be from animal products, just like long ago Nomads would have eaten.

    1. very interesting!! you’re the first person i’ve come across who follows Paleo. maybe you should share how you can modify/ work around recipes to suit your dietary needs.

      1. I’m sort of new to the whole thing myself but I can tell you one thing: It’s so much fun and suits me very well. I do feel much better than I did before. Although I’m not following it perfectly and still am learning what my body can and can’t handle.

        I normally have meat and eggs for breakfast such as this morning I had 2 eggs with 2 burger patties and homemade tomato sauce consisting of 3 medium tomatoes, 1/2 large onion, plus garlic.

        Lunch always consists of 1 huge tomato, 1 cucumber, lots of lettuce 1/2 Avocado, and 1 tin of sardines in olive oil (not drained)

        Supper is always meat with veggies for me. Chicken, beef, or tuna if the first 2 options are not available.

        I’m only 18 and living with my non-paleo family so options are very limited for me, but I make do.

      3. You too! I see different ways work for different people, take the Inuit, Middle Esteems and Chinese for example. Only meat with little berries in the summer with frozen kale, lots of bread oils dairy fruit veggies nuts and meat for the middle east, and the Chinese are mostly rice and veggies I assume.

        Intresting to note differences, the main thing: avoid processed and GM foods and eat what works for you

  19. Hi! I too have been planning to make my own pasta for quite sometime..want to try out this Ravioli dish that I ate some where…but I always get put-off by the fact that I need a machine to roll out the nice thin sheets..now that I read you post, I think I would try too coz your spinach pasta looks awesome..besides, am not a big fan of white flour pasta…but maybe I can try this spinach one or do the same with whole wheat flour. Have tried to make wholewheat pasta?

    1. i’m so glad you’re inspired to roll out your own pasta 🙂 i haven’t made wholewheat myself but i’m assuming it should work the same way only it may be a little dry or brittle when you cut it.

    1. can’t say if this is an original recipe.. it’s more of an amalgamation of trial and error and various inspirations 🙂 it’s like your regular pasta but for spinach and pesto to add the dash of green. thanks for taking the time to read the post.

  29. That sounds great! I shall defiantly try it. Just a little question : should you mix the pesto with the dough before putting in boiling water?

    1. No, you should not mix the pesto with the dough at all. The pasta dough only has flour, spinach and salt. After you’ve boiled and cooled the pasta, then mix it with pesto and toss. Good luck for whenever you try it 🙂

      1. Oh, ok, because in the pictures it looks like the two of them are mixed and then boiled. Thanks for the quick answer. I know what I am having for dinner tonight (:

      2. You’re right, the second picture should go way down after the pesto recipe. The current order may be confusing. My bad! will fix this soon. Have a good dinner tonight 🙂

  35. This looks amazing but first thought was “How do I blanch spinach?” for the novice cook and then second thought “Do I want to spend more time in the kitchen?” Third thought..YES I do, because I have been craving pesto sauce and this looks amazing! Thank you! Kimberly

    1. For blanching, put the spinach leaves in the boiling water for 30 seconds. Then put the spinach in the ice water for a minute. Squeeze the spinach with your hands to remove all excess water. You’ll have to chop or process the spinach finely before adding to the dough. I’m glad you’re going with your ‘third’ thought 🙂 good luck for the pesto sauce!

  45. Nice job! I have lots of tips – I’ve made ravioli, colored pasta, flavored pasta – check out my blog … I love making pasta. A pasta machine or if you have a kitchenaid mixer – you can buy the pasta attachments will definitely make it easier! Your friend is right, once you have home made you will always want it that way!

    1. Wow! you have a wonderful blog. I’m following it now. I plan to try your Thai Chicken Pasta with fresh Fettuccine this weekend 🙂 Thanks for all useful tips.

    1. Hi Deepa. I have always eaten my homemade pasta relatively quickly after it’s made.. never got a chance to stored it 🙂 I guess the best way to store is to just let it dry naturally. Freezing or refrigerating may not get the best results. Put it in a dry spot for a few days and then bag them. You can maybe use clothes hangers to hang the pasta strips for drying, but they’ll be delicate and brittle so you’ll need a lot of patience 🙂 Good luck!!

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