We have a break in planting this week to focus on weeding, cultivating, and other projects. Most of the plants in the fields have taken root and are starting to take off in growth. Everything is glowing after the glorious rain.
We are tidying the herb room as well. With the first harvests of this season already dried and jarred, we are working to empty the herb room of last year’s harvest. We made one last big mix of oats, anise hyssop, tulsi, chamomile, and spearmint to give out in larger bags this week. Next week, we will have bulk bags of single herbs. Pascale cleaned all the jars so they are ready to be filled again.
There was a beautiful white calf born in the herd this week! It is a stunning sight to see.
This week’s pick list:
Eggs
Onions
Scallions
Arugula
Spinach
Beets
Fennel
Lettuce
Kale
Dried tea herbs
Dried ground peppers
Revolution Bread
Olive Oil
Spinach Pasta, smitten kitchen.com
5 ounces baby spinach leaves
2 3/4 to 3 cups flour (we use our sonora flour but we sift it first to remove the large bran flakes.)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt
3 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
Water (only if absolutely needed)
Additional flour for rolling
Wash spinach but no need to dry. With water droplets still clinging to the leaves, wilt spinach in a hot skillet until completely soft, about 4 minutes. Let cool and wring all the water — seriously, every drop you can get out — out of the spinach in small fistfuls, and then pressing these little bundles out against a fine-mesh strainer. Rest spinach on paper towels to remove even more water, then mince spinach on a cutting board.
Dump spinach, smaller amount of flour and salt on countertop and mix with your fingers, then form into a pile. Make a deep well in the center and add the whole eggs and yolks to it. Use your fingertips to break up the eggs and begin moving your fingers in a circular motion, keeping the eggs within the well (or you’ll have egg lava running everywhere and be in a very bad mood). Each circular movement pulls in a little bit of flour from the sides. In a few minutes, the mixture will become thicker and thicker, finally becoming too tight to move easily with your fingers. At this point, you can use a bench scraper (a perfect tool here) or spatula to start adding the remaining, a little pile at a time. Once a shaggy dough has formed, begin kneading the mixture, scraping it up when it sticks, until a ball is formed. It will look flaky but will hold together.
Knead the dough, pressing it away with the heels of your hands then forming it back into a blob, for 1 to 2 minutes, until the dough is moist but not sticky. Add remaining flour, a spoonful at a time, only if dough is too sticky. Add a drop or two of water only if it’s cracking when you knead it. In almost all cases, I find that erring on the side of firmer pasta is safer than softer pasta, which doesn’t hold shapes well and will want to stick a pasta roller. Let it rest for 5 minutes, then knead it again for 5 to 8 minutes. Wrap dough in plastic and let rest at room temperature for an hour.
Divide dough into sixths. On a floured surface, roll the pasta as thin as you can; as thin as a credit card and translucent is ideal. Letting rolled-out pasta rest for 10 minutes before cutting it into your desired shape helps yield cleaner, easier cuts.
Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling, well-salted water for anywhere from 2 to 6 minutes (depending on thickness), until al dente. Drain and toss with fixings of your choice — garlic-sizzled olive oil or melted butter, parmesan or pecorino, dollops of ricotta or mascarpone. Eat immediately.