For my birthday, my Mother surprised me with pasta attachments for my KitchenAid® and let me tell you…our house has been making homemade pasta ever since. Pasta is one of the EASIEST things to make, with or without special pasta tools, and only requires three simple ingredients – flour, eggs, salt. From these three simple ingredients you can enhance your pasta with herbs, spinach, beets, lemon, garlic and more! With Spring already upon us, I thought it would be fun to experiment with making different types of pasta using fresh vegetables from my local farmers market.

I’m going to share with you a recipe utilizing my handy KitchenAid tools, however I’m also going to share with you a way to make homemade fettuccine with only a rolling pin and knife.

• 2 1/2 cups “00” Tipo Flour* (I use this brand)
• 3 eggs
• Pinch of salt
• 3/4 – 1 cup fresh spinach, stems removed
• 1-2 tablespoons cold water (if needed)

Begin by steaming the spinach until just wilted (about 2 minutes). Drain and squeeze the spinach between two towels to remove excess water. Puree the spinach in a blender with the eggs.  In the bowl of your stand mixer, add flour and salt and make a well. Add in the spinach/egg mixture and combine utilizing the flat attachment on low for about 30 seconds. (alternatively – you can create a well on a clean, wooden cutting board and mix the ingredients until well combined). If mixture seams a little dry (when you pinch dough between fingers it should stick together) add in 1 tablespoon of cold water.

Switch the attachment to the dough hook and knead the dough for another 2-3 minutes on low. Remove the dough from the mixer and knead by hand on a lightly floured surface until dough comes together in a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for about 20 minutes. (if kneading by hand – use your palm of your hand to knead the dough. If sticky, gradually add some flour and combine until dough is a cohesive mass. Lightly flour the cutting board and knead for an additional 5 – 6 minutes adding flour to the board as necessary. Cover in plastic wrap and let rest for 20 minutes)

Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Roll one of the pieces out to about 1/4 inch thickness. Using the KitchenAid pasta roller pass it through the 1 setting and fold the dough over. Pass through again and repeat until the dough is smooth. Lower the setting to 2 and pass through. Continue until you are at the 4th setting. The pasta will be long – lay it on a lightly floured surface and cut into half. Lightly dust the top of the pasta sheets with more flour. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough. (if you don’t have a pasta roller – don’t worry! Use a rolling pin to press the pasta as thin as possible. You want to build in layers, folding it back over itself, and flattening again and again. Let the sheets sit out and dry for about 15 minutes)

Switch over to the KitchenAid Fettuccine attachment. Pass the dough through the attachment and hang the fettuccine on a pasta rack or lay flat on a floured surface. (now if you don’t have a pasta cutter, simply take your sheets of dough and fold them at 3-4-inch intervals to create a flat, rectangular roll. Utilizing a sharp knife, cut the roll into strips of your preferred thickness)

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Fresh pasta cooks WAY quicker than dried so make sure you don’t step away from the kitchen. Add the pasta and cook for about 2-4 minutes (it will float to the top when done). Drain and toss with your favorite sauce. Serves 4.

I made a dairy-free garlic cream sauce (almond milk, fresh garlic, vegan cheese, flour, salt, pepper) and tossed the pasta with fresh spinach, artichoke hearts and garlic chicken sausage.

*You can also use all-purpose flour if that’s all you have. I prefer “00” Tipo because they are the softest, finest, Italian flours resulting is velvety, smooth pastas.