Spinach Fettuccine from Scratch– Whole Wheat and Kid Friendly

Make spinach fettuccine from scratch! This easy recipe is kid friendly, has excellent flavor all on its own and can be frozen for a fast meal anytime. Blanched, finely chopped spinach, along with dried basil, naturally dyes the dough a beautiful, pistachio green. Whole wheat and semolina flour lend lovely bite and nutty flavor. Eggs, along with a splash of whole milk and olive oil make for a rich, creamy texture.

Equipment needed to make spinach fettuccine.

Kitchen scale and large bowl. A kitchen scale ensures accuracy when measuring the flour. Once all dry ingredients are whisked together, dump onto work surface into a mound.

Rolling pin. I recently bought myself a marble rolling pin from Black Oak Home and Haven, an adorable, nature inspired home store in Woodstock, Illinois. I love the way marble remains cool and resists sticking.

Bench scraper. A bench scraper works great for cutting dough and scraping the work surface of stubborn, stuck on bits.

Pasta maker machine. I love kitchen tools that do not require batteries or an outlet. I have a pasta machine that rolls out dough and has an attachment to cut fettuccine. Highly recommend a countertop pasta machine for any and all who make pasta.

Is homemade pasta worth the time and effort?

I’m reading your mind.

The aisle of pasta with eye catching packaging and neatly printed directions are certainly enticing. Although I’m not opposed to buying a few boxes to have on hand, I know homemade spinach fettuccine tastes different. It actually tastes like something. Imagine a plain noodle hitting your tongue. What do you taste? Probably nothing. But these fettuccine noodles are full of flavor all on their own. My son enjoys them with nothing more than butter. A light Bolognese sauce is lovely as well.

Cooking from scratch is the logical way to prepare meals when you have fresh, local ingredients available. The whole wheat used for this recipe was grown and milled within 10 miles from my home. I incorporated beautiful spinach from Ninepatch Farm of Hamburg, Wisconsin. It beats anything I’ve ever seen in the grocery store.

With all this said, yes, homemade pasta is certainly worth it, especially when the ingredients are thoughtfully sourced with season and quality in mind.

Ingredients in spinach fettuccine.

Thoughtfully source your ingredients for the most delicious meal. Try to find locally milled flour, fresh greens, pasture raised eggs. Forming a connection with your food makes its all the more special.

How to blanch spinach.

The first step to making spinach fettuccine is to prepare the spinach.

1. Bring a 3qt pot of water to a boil. Liberally salt water.
2. Have a boil of ice water ready.
3. Drop spinach, stems and all, into the boiling water. Press down with a utensil to fully submerge. Boil around 45 seconds.
4. Fish the spinach out and immediately transfer to cold water to stop the cooking process.
5. Transfer spinach to a lint-free tea towel and ring out as much moisture as possible. Spinach will look like a wad of fabric when done.
6. Chop spinach very fine until nearly a paste is formed. Set aside.

How to make spinach fettuccine.

For accuracy, I recommend measuring the flour in a bowl over a kitchen scale. Once the semolina and whole wheat flour are measured, whisk in all seasonings. Then, dump everything out onto a large work surface.

Make a well in the center for the spinach, eggs, milk and oil to fill. Keep whole wheat flour and a measuring tablespoon handy. With a fork or small whisk, begin whisking vigorously, breaking up the eggs and with the other hand, pushing flour into the center. Keep whisking until it seems like you are wasting your time and hands would be a better tool.

Knead the dough, adding flour a tablespoon at a time to prevent sticking. Knead for around 10 minutes, or until the dough is forms a cohesive ball and doesn’t stick to the work surface or your hands.

Kneading tips.

Have flour easily accessible. I keep the flour container open with a measuring tablespoon sticking out.

Don’t rush! Kneading is necessary to build gluten structure. This recipe requires around 10 minutes of kneading.

If dough is sticking, simply sprinkle in more flour.

When the dough becomes a cohesive ball and doesn’t stick to your hands and work surface, kneading is done. The texture of your dough will vary depending on the flour used. The whole wheat I used was a bit coarse, making for texture similar to sandpaper.

Back to making fettuccine..

Wrap the dough ball in plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 30-60 minutes. My home temperature is usually 70F.

Unwrap dough, it should feel soft but firm. Cut the dough into 4 equal pieces, I eyeball it. A bench scraper works very well for cutting but use what you have.

With a floured rolling pin, roll out each piece until its about a 1/2 inch thick and roughly the same length as the paster roller feeder. Before running the dough through the pasta maker I dust the dough with flour and cut the strips in half for easier handling.

Feed each piece of dough into the pasta roller. Feed it again and again, lowering the thickness each time. The dough should be just slightly thicker than paper. After, run the dough through the fettuccine noodle attachment. Toss with flour to avoid sticking. Form into mounds and place on a cutting board or parchment paper while the rest are made.

Once all noodles are cut and placed into mounds, either boil them right away in salted water or leave out to dry for around an hour. After, they can be frozen.

boiling instructions.

1. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil.
2. Liberally salt water,
3. Add noodles. After around 30 seconds, lightly pry the noodles apart with a utensil.
4. Noodles will be dibe in 3 minutes or so. Taste for doneness.

freezing instructions.

To freeze fettuccine noodles, follow these steps.

1. Once the mounds are dry (around an hour at room temperature), transfer to a baking sheet and flash freeze for an hour uncovered.
2. Remove tray. Wrap each mound of fettuccine in plastic wrap.
3. Freeze. Boil as needed, adding only a minute or so to cook time.

Whole Wheat Spinach Fettuccine from Scratch

Spinach fettuccine from scratch! This easy recipe is kid friendly, has excellent flavor all on its own and can be frozen for a fast meal anytime. Blanched, finely chopped spinach along with dried basil, naturally dyes the dough a beautiful, pistachio green. Whole wheat and semolina flour lend lovely bite and nutty flavor. Eggs, along with a splash of whole milk and olive oil make for a rich, creamy texture.

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Servings 20 ounces

Equipment

• 1 kitchen scale
• 1 pasta maker w/ fettuccine attachment
• 1 bench scraper optional
• 1 mixing bowl
• 1 Rolling Pin

Ingredients

  

• 200 grams whole wheat flour + more for kneading
• 100 grams semolina flour
• ½ tsp salt Redmond’s Real Salt
• 1 ½ tsp basil
• Pinch of ground pepper
• 50 grams blanched spinach rung out, finely chopped (100g fresh)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp whole milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 egg yolk

Instructions

 

• In a large bowl over a kitchen scale, measure both flours.
• Whisk in salt and seasonings.
• Dump dry ingredients out on work surface, forming a mound. Make a well in the center.
• Add spinach, eggs, oil and milk to the well.
• Have whole wheat flour easily accessible to add as needed.
• Begin to whisk to break up the eggs. Slowly push the flour into the well, whisking as you go. Do this until the dough is too heavy to whisk, then move onto to using your hands.
• Knead dough 10 minutes or so, adding flour a tablespoon at a time until the dough no longer sticks to hands or work surface.
• Once finished kneading, the dough will be a firm ball and not stick to hands or work surface. Depending on the flour used, the texture may feel gritty like sandpaper, this is fine.
• Wrap dough ball in plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature (70F) for 30-60 minutes.
• On a floured surface, cut dough into 4 equal parts. I eye ball this.
• Roll out each piece so it is roughly ½ inch thick and the general size of the feeder to the pasta machine. Cut the piece in half, width wise, for easy handling. Lightly dust with flour.
• Using the pasta maker, roll out the dough until slightly thicker than a piece of a paper. Follow up with fettuccine attachment. Toss with flour to avoid sticking.
• Place noodles in mounds on parchment paper. This is especially important if you wish to freeze them.
• Once all noodles are cut and placed into mounds, they can be immediately boiled in salted water for 3 minutes.
• To freeze, place mounds on a baking tray and flash freeze for an hour. Then, wrap each mound with plastic wrap and freeze until ready to cook. Add an additional minute to cook time.