Green Dough
It’s very traditional to use ortiche, or “nettles,” to make green pasta such as this one. Despite the fact that they are often called “stinging nettles,” they don’t really sting, but they do have a bristly texture that can irritate your skin. If you wash them first, they won’t bother you as you pick the leaves off the stems. Another solution is to wear thin rubber gloves. If you can’t find nettles, spinach is an acceptable substitute. In either case, the greens have so much water in them (no matter how much you try to squeeze it all out) that we use very few eggs in this dough.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 1 1/2 pounds
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Fill a large saucepan with water, bring it to a boil over high heat, and add enough salt so it tastes like the ocean. Fill a large bowl with ice water and place a fine-mesh strainer in the sink.
Step 2
Plunge the nettles or spinach leaves into the boiling water and cook them for 1 minute, until they turn bright green and tender. Drain the leaves in the strainer and immediately plunge them in the strainer into the ice water to cool. Lift the greens out of the water and place them in the center of a clean dishtowel. Close the dishtowel to form a bundle with the greens inside and, holding the bundle over the sink, twist the towel as tightly as you can to wring out the excess water.
Step 3
Put the eggs in the jar of a blender or the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pull the nettle or spinach leaves apart slightly (they will be in a tight ball after having been wrung out) and add them to the blender. Blend the eggs and greens on low speed to begin to combine them. Gradually increase the speed, pulsing if necessary to loosen the mixture, until it is a very fine, homogenous purée.
Step 4
Put the flour in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the purée and mix on low speed until the dough comes together. Turn off the mixer, remove the paddle attachment, and replace it with the dough hook. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat the dough with the dough hook on medium speed until it forms a ball, about 5 minutes. Dust a flat work surface with flour. Turn the dough out onto the dusted surface, form it into a ball, and gently knead it for 20 to 25 minutes, until the ball begins to feel elastic and the surface of the dough feels smooth and silky. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate to rest for at least 45 minutes and up to overnight before sheeting it (any longer and the dough will discolor).
