Homemade Leafy Green Pasta Noodles

Wash greens and chop into 1-inch pieces. If they’re on tough stems (like chard), de-stem, but save the stems for a later recipe, like pesto or broth.

Cook greens in salted water for two minutes, transfer to a bowl of waiting ice water to blanch and keep the color bright. Once cool, drain the greens, and puree with a hand blender or food processor. If the puree feels dry, add a few drops of water.

Pour flour into a mound on a clean, dry surface—say your counter or a large butcher block—and dig a hole in the center. Add the salt and greens puree to the center, and with a fork or your fingers (likely, both), knead the dry ingredients into the wet until they’re well incorporated. Your dough should be bright green and can form a tight ball. Remember: humidity can affect homemade pasta greatly, so don’t be discouraged if your dough feels dry. Add a few drops of salt water (not too many, it will go far) and continue to knead. Once the dough is shaggy and doesn’t stick to your fingers, roll in a ball and wrap with plastic or a dishtowel to rest for at least one hour or up to one day.

Now, it's pasta-shaping time. The shape this dough can take on is so versatile. You can mold it into orecchiette, roll it into thin tagliolini tubes, fold it into bow-ties, or follow the below method for long noodles: Break the dough ball up into quarters, and wrap three remaining pieces in plastic, to keep them from drying. Dust the first ball with flour, and run it through a pasta roller on the largest setting. Fold horizontally, dust with flour, repeat. Decrease the pasta roller by one increment, re-flouring the sticky dough each time you run it through, down to a four or five, depending on your machine—if the dough starts to tear, it's too thin. The greens holding the green dough together are more delicate than egg protein, so you won't want to go too thin. Dust the finished pasta sheet with flour and let rest. If you prefer a rolling pin, dust the rolling pin with flour as well, and start rolling until you reach about ⅛-inch thickness.

Repeat with the remaining dough balls, and then use a knife to slice them into thin, long noodles, or run the floured sheets back through a pasta cutter for the shape of your preference.

Allow pasta to air-dry, then boil in heavily salted water until al dente. Pasta keeps in airtight container in the fridge for up to five days, or in the freezer for three months.