Italian Spinach Pasta

This is pasta verde, the green homemade pasta of Emilia-Romagna. Three ingredients: spinach, eggs, flour. No commercial substitute really captures what fresh egg pasta tinted with real spinach tastes like, which is grassy, faintly sweet, and unmistakably homemade.

The whole game is moisture management. Spinach holds a tremendous amount of water, and pasta dough cannot. Blanch the spinach quickly, drain it, then squeeze it bone-dry in a clean kitchen towel before it goes into the food processor with the eggs. If the spinach is wet, the dough will be sticky, slack, and impossible to roll thin. If it is properly dry, the eggs alone hydrate the flour into a workable dough.

Knead for two to three minutes after the processor stage; the flour will not fully absorb the moisture until you work it by hand. Rest the ball for at least thirty minutes, then roll thin. The dough tears more easily than plain pasta, so a slightly thicker setting on the machine is wise.

Cook in heavily salted water just until the strands float, then drain and serve immediately with butter, brown butter and sage, or a light cream sauce.

Variations

• Use the dough for tagliatelle, fettuccine, lasagna sheets, ravioli, or sturdy pappardelle.
• Add a quarter cup of finely grated parmesan to the dough for a richer, saltier pasta.
• Replace half the spinach with wilted nettles, Swiss chard, or beet greens for different colors and flavors.