Incredible (as in Hulk) Pasta and Pesto

Par stephane • Recipes • Sunday 01/04/2012 • 1 commentaire •

2 great recipes from Corrina for the Saint-Patrick recipe challenge:

My children LOVE, LOVE, LOVE mixing ingredients. If I don’t give them something to mix, they will find stuff to mix on their own (which always involves an enormous mess on my kitchen floor). This was a good task for them. Simple ingredients, simple process, and they got to crank the heck out of the pasta machine. Don’t be afraid to make your own pasta – it is really much easier (and tastier) than you can imagine. This is a true hit with the kids because (1) they get to help make it, and (2) it’s GREEN!!!

Ingredients:

Pasta:

1 Tbs. flaxseed meal
4 Tbs. water
4 Tbs. olive oil
1 cup fresh spinach leaves
½ tsp. salt
1 cup flour

Pesto:

2 cups lightly packed spinach leaves (2 oz.)
¼ cup pine nuts, toasted
1 Tbs. lemon juice
½ Tbs. garlic, minced
¼ tsp. salt
Pinch of black pepper
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
1/3 cup olive oil

Directions:
To make the pasta: In a small bowl, combine flaxseed meal and 2 Tbs. water and let sit for 10 minutes. In a blender, combine flaxseed meal mixture, remaining 2 Tbs. water, olive oil and spinach. Puree until smooth. In a standing mixer combine flour and salt. Add the green mixture and combine. When well mixed, knead by hand for about 5 minutes. Let sit for 15 minutes. With a pasta machine, follow the instructions, and roll dough out to desired thinness (I use level 3), and then use the pasta machine to cut into strips of desired width (I like linguini size for fresh pasta). Let air dry over the side of a bowl until ready to use. To make the pesto: If you haven’t toasted the pine nuts, place them on a cookie sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for 6 minutes. Place spinach, lemon juice, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper in a blender and puree until smooth. Add the pine nuts and pulse a few more times. With the machine running, gradually add the oil, blending until the mixture is creamy. That’s it. Your pesto is ready. Now, submerge your pasta in boiling water for about 3 minutes. Gently stir to separate the noodles. Turn off the heat. When done, drain and return to the warm pan. Add the pesto sauce and stir to coat. It is ready to serve.