Home Made Spinach Pasta

 

Last weekend I made a batch of spinach pasta for a quick lasagna I was making and then absent mindedly threw the left over dough into the fridge. Days later I was looking for some thing to make for dinner and wanted pasta and I remembered this dough.  After days sitting in the fridge the nicely shaped and divided balls of dough had become one big mass.  I pulled it out of the fridge, dredged it in some flour and cut it back into smaller sections.

Then I quickly passed it threw my pasta machine, first to flatten it out...

...then when it was thinner I used the other end of the past maker and cut it into Linguini.  I find you need to be careful that the strands of pasta are separate and individual otherwise they risk cooking into blobs.  Into boiling well salted water I cook the pasta for just a few minutes, strained, and topped with left over tomato sauce and some fresh grated Parmesan cheese. 

For years I was afraid of making home made pasta it seemed so difficult and tricky.  Then I got a pasta maker and still was intimidated, it takes a little practice to get the dough right and to become comfortable with the how your machine works.  But once you do it is so easy.  This pasta could ave been dressed up in any number of ways and served as a main course at a dinner party, add some clams, garlic and parsley or a nice bolognese a salad and some good bread and presto! 

Because I had the pasta in the fridge (and left over sauce) this meal took maybe 30 minutes to make and there is no comparison between fresh pasta and dried,  the fresh wins every time.

So let go of any apprehension you might have and give homemade pasta a go, if I can do it so can you!