Spinach Noodle Pasta with Fresh Asparagus, Peas, Pesto and Parmesan Cheese Recipe
Keyword: Dinner, Pasta
Skill: intermediate
Servings: 1
For the Pesto:
- 2 bunches of fresh basil leaves
- ¼ cup of toasted pine nuts
- juice of 1 small lemon
- 1/3 cup of finely grated parmesan cheese + ½ cup of garnish
- 2 to 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
For the Pasta:
- 1 cup of packed baby spinach, stems removed
- 2 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 ¾ cup flour, sifted
- ½ teaspoon of Kosher salt
- 3 eggs
- water as needed
For the Toppings:
- 1 bunch of asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2” long pieces
- ½ cup of fresh spring peas
- Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
- Add the basil, pine nuts, lemon juice and 1/3 cup of parmesan cheese to a food processor and pulse on high until it becomes roughly chopped.
- Next, drizzle in the olive oil while processing on low speed until it becomes a runny paste. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Cook the spinach in a medium size pot of boiling salted water until wilted, about 1 minute. Drain immediately and reserve a few tablespoons of the water.
- Add the spinach, water and eggs to a food processor and process on high speed until it becomes smooth. Set aside.
- Add the flour and salt to a clean cutting board and using your hands make a well by pushing the flour with the backside of your hand from the inside out.
- Next, add the spinach-egg mixture and tomato paste to the center of the well and whisk them with a fork until combined.
- Gradually add the flour to the center of the well with the fork while continuing to whisk until it is combined. Optional: Use a bench knife to scrape the cutting board to make sure and get all of the flour and eggs.
- With your hands, knead the dough for 5 to 7 minutes. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Next, divide the dough into 3 chunks and dust each with flour on both sides. Gently roll the dough to slightly flatten them so they will be able to fit into the Marcato pasta roller.
- Set the roller to 0 and using the crank feed the dough through it. Dust with flour and fold the outer 1/3’s of the dough in and run through the roller again. Dust again but do not fold.
- Change the roller setting to 6 and again feed the flattened dough through. Note: it will become a long flat pasta dough so be sure to have enough room to set it on a clean dusted surface.
- Cut the dough into 3 parts using a knife.
- Add the linguine attachment and feed each cut rolled out dough 1 at a time until all 3 have been made into linguine pasta.
- Hang the pasta on a drying rack for 30 to 45 minutes or until it has slightly dried out.
- While the pasta is drying cook the asparagus and peas in a large pot of boiling salted water just until al dente, about 3 to 4 minutes, drain immediately and set aside. Note: Time it with the cooking of the pasta.
- Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water for 3 to 4 minutes or until al dente, or slightly crunchy.
- Combine the pasta, pesto, cooked asparagus and peas and toss. Garnish with the remaining ½ cup of parmesan cheese.