Spinach pasta, marinara sauce and parmesan(italy flag pasta)
My parents both came down with COVID, so I had to make something which they could eat without too much trouble. I figured they’ve got to be bored of soup and bread, so maybe pasta would work. Of course, as you all know, they don’t like when I make pasta with all-purpose flour(some diet they’re on), so I made it with some really good whole-wheat bread flour(Honestly, I need views so check out my ravioli post for the link). First up, sauce. Definitely can’t do a very rich and thick cheese sauce or pesto, so why not a simple marinara sauce? It’s similar to tomato soup, so no way it can make them feel unwell. In the marinara, I also added an extra touch of balsamic vinegar, just to give it a slight kick.
Next was the pasta. At this point, I was already toying with the idea of an Italy flag pasta. To start, I used some spinach puree. A tip for pureeing spinach - whiz it in the blender for around 30 seconds, and then add a dash of oil. Mix the spinach and oil together and whiz again for a bit more. That makes a much smoother puree, and you don’t even need to blanch it. From there, around 250 grams of bread flour, the spinach puree, and an egg made the pasta dough. When making pasta, the dough looks better if it’s smooth, but it doesn’t need to be, honestly. If it’s too sticky, just cover it with a tiny bit of flour and rest it under a towel for an hour. If it’s too dry, wrap the dough in a towel, sprinkle water all over the towel until it’s damp, and let it rest like that for an hour. In both cases, your dough should be relatively workable after.
Finally, the potatoes. I made some really nice roast potatoes to eat with the pasta. The recipe was by arguably the greatest chef of all time - Heston Blumenthal. I boiled the potatoes, as he recommended, but it’s honestly much harder than he makes it look. Being brave enough to let them almost melt is incredibly difficult, and I pulled them out about 2 or 3 minutes early. In the oven, the potatoes got a beautiful golden colour, and when I pulled them out, I hit them with some fresh salt and some oregano, and that’s about it.
Roast potatoes - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCQWTWdCrSs
Next was the pasta. At this point, I was already toying with the idea of an Italy flag pasta. To start, I used some spinach puree. A tip for pureeing spinach - whiz it in the blender for around 30 seconds, and then add a dash of oil. Mix the spinach and oil together and whiz again for a bit more. That makes a much smoother puree, and you don’t even need to blanch it. From there, around 250 grams of bread flour, the spinach puree, and an egg made the pasta dough. When making pasta, the dough looks better if it’s smooth, but it doesn’t need to be, honestly. If it’s too sticky, just cover it with a tiny bit of flour and rest it under a towel for an hour. If it’s too dry, wrap the dough in a towel, sprinkle water all over the towel until it’s damp, and let it rest like that for an hour. In both cases, your dough should be relatively workable after.
Finally, the potatoes. I made some really nice roast potatoes to eat with the pasta. The recipe was by arguably the greatest chef of all time - Heston Blumenthal. I boiled the potatoes, as he recommended, but it’s honestly much harder than he makes it look. Being brave enough to let them almost melt is incredibly difficult, and I pulled them out about 2 or 3 minutes early. In the oven, the potatoes got a beautiful golden colour, and when I pulled them out, I hit them with some fresh salt and some oregano, and that’s about it.
Roast potatoes - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCQWTWdCrSs
By the way, stay tuned for the next week, we have a guest writer this Wednesday, and there's a big post coming next Sunday.
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