Fresh kale pasta

So a couple of weeks ago I bought a huge bunch of gorgeous fresh kale. The problem is that since I only cook for myself (most of the time), I can't go through fresh produce fast enough! Last week, and before it had time to wilt any further, I embarked on the colored-pasta train. You know those healthy spinach pasta everybody raves about? Well, I made uber-healthy kale pasta. Ha!


INGREDIENTS (will yield about 1 to 1.5 lb fresh dough):
- 300g AP flour
- 3 eggs (thought I'd only need 2 at first, but I had to add another one mid-recipe)
- a bunch of fresh kale
- a pinch of salt


RECIPE:
- remove the ribs of the kale and blanch the leaves 1 minute in salted boiling water (the leaves should remain a vibrant green and keep their crunch)

- drain, pat the kale dry and pulse a large handful in a food processor (yields about 1 cup of shredded blanched kale)

Note: if you have more kale than you have use for in this recipe, you can absolutely freeze blanched kale and use in another recipe (for example: Kale pesto, kale omelet or scrambled eggs or even use in a healthy chunky vegetable soup or minestrone).

- in a bowl combine kale, flour, salt and eggs and mix until the dough is smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes kneading in a standing mixer with a hook attachment, or 10-15 with elbow grease)

- shape into a disc on a lightly floured surface and let rest in the fridge, wrapped in plastic for an hour

- when the dough has rested, put on a floured surface and roll it in a thin sheet (using a rolling pin or a pasta machine)

- shape into your favorite pasta shape: spaghetti, tagliatelle, parpadelle or you can use the whole sheets for a healthy green lasagna variation
- since Santa Claus brought me a gnocchi board for Christmas, I decided to shape mine into garganelli, a gorgeous ribbed short pasta: cut 1.5 inches squares and roll on the heavily floured board

Note: with this amount of dough, I only rolled out half of the recipe and yielded 4 servings of pasta. I froze the remaining dough wrapped in plastic and will use it another time.
- those pasta cook very fast (about 2-3 minutes in boiling salted water), they will rise at the surface when ready
- enjoy with your sauce of choice!

Semolina pasta dough

There's nothing better than homemade fresh pasta.

You can use this recipe for any kind of pasta you want: long (spaghetti, tagliatelle), short (penne, macaroni), flat (lasagna) or even filled (ravioli, tortellini), you name it!

Very simple, two ingredients (three if you count the pinch of salt), 5 minutes mixing, 1 hour rest and however long it takes you to shape the pasta :D

INGREDIENTS:
- 5 eggs
- 500g semolina flour
- a pinch of salt


RECIPE:
- break your eggs in the center of the semolina and salt in a bowl.

- mix with a spoon to start and your fingers when it's not too tacky anymore.
- knead the dough for a few minutes and shape into a ball.
Note: if it's still too tacky, add a little semolina (or AP flour) to dry it.

- wrap the dough in film and cool in the fridge for 1 hour.

- shape the cold ball into a log and cut in smaller pieces (I cut a log that big into four equal pieces).

- roll the dough into a pasta machine until the sheet is the thickness you want.

- Have fun with your freshly pressed pasta! They will cook in merely a few minutes in salted boiling water.

Homemade spaghetti recipe

Dead simple!

After my last post, Malou asked for the recipe of my homemade spaghetti.

For all kinds of pasta: 1 egg/100g of regular flour.  

Note: you can also use semolina flour to have a little more of a coarse dough. Be careful, the dough may be a little dry then, so adjust the quantity of semolina flour to a little less than if you use regular flour

Just make a small well in the flour, and break the egg(s) into this well. Slightly whisk them and then incorporate them progressively into the flour with your hands. I find that just twirling my fingers in a clockwise manner in the egg mixture is enough to take some flour every time, until it becomes really tacky and gooey.

Note: counter-clockwise swirling works just fine ;)

Then I just go at it full throttle, and use both my hands as I knead the dough  on a clean surface until it is firm and springy. If it is too sticky, you can use a little more flour. Then I just wrap it in cling film, and let it rest for at least 45 minutes in the fridge. 

When the dough has rested a while, I usually cut it, and make small patties of it, before I stretch it in my pasta machine. I then use the tagliatelle/spaghetti blades of the machine if I want to make long pasta; if I stick to lasagna, then I just don't use those blades.

Attention: those pasta are fresh, and cook really quickly! I think 2 minutes in boiling salted water are enough. Tagliatelle are delicious fresh. Spaghetti however are a little too "floppy" if not dried before hand.

I dry my pasta in two different ways:

1- I make little nests, and let them dry as such

2- Clothes hangers work wonders, but I suggest a little safer setup...

(I find that 5 eggs and 500g of flour will be plenty enough for a big lasagna dish)