Holiday Themed Homemade Pasta

Often during holidays, we cook together as a fun family activity; usually its something we have never tried before. This Thanksgiving we decided to venture past the convenience of store-bought pasta, and I must say that nothing beats the taste of fresh homemade pasta — not even store-bought fresh!  While I made the dough, kids enjoyed cutting/shaping the dough and exploring other creative possibilities, while hubby dear was happy tweaking his base recipe of pesto!

The pasta is tender and so satisfying by itself, it doesn’t need any additional frills.

Herbed-Ricotta-Ravioli with a light olive oil drizzle, and fresh basil-mint pesto!

Dough : normal,red (addition of beets)       Pappardelle

   

Kids experimenting with colorful Ravioli

Pasta drying ( 10 min )

Bow Tie pasta boiling

Ingredients   (Dough - 2 servings)

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 tablespoon salt

2 large eggs

1/2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Method:

I used a food processor to combine all the above ( add little bit more flour, water to bring dough to a proper consistency).

Let the dough rest for at least 30 min.

For the red dough, add 1 boiled pureed beet. Add more flour until the consistency is reached

Roll by hand or pasta machine, then cut into desired shapes.

Let dry for at least 10 min before boiling ( only 2-3 min )

Lasooni Palak (Garlic Spinach)

Like all other dark leafy vegetables, spinach has a large nutritional value, and is rich in antioxidants. I am usually looking out to cook spinach in different ways, so we can eat this healthy vegetable at least couple of times in a week. This is one of the preparations of spinach, Lasooni Palak- a dish very quick to make, hence perfect for a busy weekday.

This recipe uses very few spices, and is loaded with garlic. The delicate nutty sweetness of garlic perfectly accents the earthy notes of spinach. This dish is truly for the garlic lovers, and the health conscious.

Ingredients

• 16oz  spinach
• 1 small onion
• 12-15 cloves of garlic
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1/2 tsp turmeric (haldi)
• 2 green chillies
• 1 teaspoon kasoori methi
• Salt to taste

Method

• Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan
• Add finely sliced garlic. Make sure the heat is turned down to medium before adding garlic, otherwise the sugar in the garlic tends to burn. Sauté for approximately 30 seconds , stirring constantly until the garlic becomes fragrant and turns golden
• Add finely chopped onions, and fry till they are transparent
• Add turmeric, crushed green chillies, chopped spinach, kasoori methi, and salt
• Cook till spinach is wilted (around 7-8 minutes)
• Serve with mini whole wheat pita breads, or hot rotis. You may squeeze a bit of lemon for an extra lemony zing.

This goes to SWC - Cooking with Greens event hosted by Sowmya.