HERB PASTA RECIPE.
Our CSA started this week, and so we thought we'd share one of our easy, go-to recipes for random leftover greens - for our members, but also for anyone else out there who finds themselves with assorted radish tops, bits of spinach, kale, herbs, onion tops, etc. It is modified from the "Pâtes aux Herbes" recipe from Provence: The Cookbook.INGREDIENTS:
- A large handful (about 5 - 6 ounces) of herbs or greens. You can use WHATEVER you have - spinach, chard, kale, basil, arugula, green onions and garlic, wild greens like dandelions or sorrel....anything!)
- A large pinch of salt
- About 3 cups of flour (I use about 2 1/2 cups of plain and 1/2 cup of semolina flour)
- 2 eggs
- 3 -4 TBSP warm water
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- Parmesan cheese, pepper, butter for serving
DIRECTIONS:In a mortar, pound together the salt and herbs/greens until you form a paste. You can use a food processor, but you get more liquid with the mortar and pestle (plus it is more fun!) Put about 2 cups of flour in a bowl and make a well in the center. Add the paste and the eggs to the well, and then mix with a fork, slowly moving outwards and absorbing more flour as you mix. Add more flour or warm water as needed, so that you form a sticky but coherent dough.
Thickly flour a work surface and turn out your dough. Knead for about five minutes - stretching out the dough with the heel of your hand, folding it over on itself, turning, and then stretching again. The greens will continue to release more liquid as you knead, so keep adding more flour. You want a silky, rollable dough. Form into a bowl, cover with a cloth, and let rest one hour.
Scrape clean your work surface and flour it lightly. Roll out your dough (I like to do it in sections) with a floured rolling pin, to about 1/8th inch thick. Cut the dough into strips, and then cut the strips cross-ways to make squares.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the oil. Drop the squares into the boiling water. When the water returns to a rolling boil, let the pasta cook for about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Drain and serve in warm plates with butter, cheese, and pepper!What about you? What's your leftover random greens recipe?