Vegan Spinach Cavatelli and Herby Pesto

It should come as no surprise to any of you that I adore pasta and am always jumping at the chance to show you how simple, delicious and healthy it can be. However, this week, I thought I’d also show you just how EASY it can be with the help of my KitchenAid Perfect Pair mixer and blender.

Whether you’re cooking for yourself, your family or for friends over the Summer holidays, making pasta from scratch has never been easier. There’s no need to roll up your sleeves or break a swear kneading tough semolina dough with this recipe, simply add your ingredients into your KitchenAid mixer fitted with the dough hook, and switch it on. Then you can watch as the mixer does all the heavy lifting for you, and turns some spinach, semolina and water into a smooth ball of pasta dough!

Once you’ve got your dough perfected, it’s best to leave it to rest. I do this in the KitchenAid bowl by placing a damp tea towel over the top to cover it. Make sure you dampen your cloth first though, to keep the dough soft and smooth. If you cover it with a dry cloth, the dough can begin to stiffen and dry on the outside which results in an uneven texture.

Then you can get started on your pesto. While I love jarred pesto and always have some in the cupboard, nothing compares to making your own from scratch! The key is the most fragrant, vibrant pesto is super fresh herbs. If you grow your own (amazing!) be sure to pick them just before you need them so they don’t wilt and sag. Otherwise try to select the freshest bunches at the market or grocer. Steer clear of herbs that are wilted, discoloured, slimy or bruised. The KitchenAid K400 blender can handle the toughest ingredients, so feel free to add in your herb stalks too!

To whip up your pesto, just add everything to your KitchenAid blender and blitz it all up! You can do this bit-by-bit by using the pulse function or setting to speed 2-3 for a few seconds. I like to taste the pesto at this point and add anything it might need. Maybe you like a really bright pesto so you can add extra lemon juice or zest (or both!) or maybe you want to make it thinner, which you can do by adding a bit of extra olive oil.

All that’s left to do – although you haven’t really done much yet! ;P – is shape your pasta. Roll out your pasta dough into a thin sausage on a lightly floured surface and cut it into 1 cm pieces. Then press each piece into a cavatelli board or grater using your thumb to roll the dough piece downward until it curls and falls off the board. Repeat until all your pasta is shaped.

I love serving this recipe with a lovely glass of wine and some bread to dip into olive oil and balsamic vinegar. A simple meal taken to the next level by being entirely homemade using the KitchenAid Perfect Pair.

Happy cooking! Mel x

Thank you to KitchenAid for sponsoring this post.

Spinach Cavatelli and Pesto

Serves 4

Pasta Ingredients:

400g semolina

100g spinach, blanched and dried

1 cup water, to be added in ¼ cup increments

Pesto ingredients:

50g roasted pine nuts

1 bunch basil

1 bunch dill

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

1/3 to ½ cup extra virgin olive oil

¼ cup grated parmesan cheese (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer, with dough hook attached, place the semolina, spinach and ¼ cup of water.

2. Put mixer on Speed 1, and once the water has been worked in, add another ¼ cup.

3. Knead the dough on Speed 2 for 8-12 minutes, gradually adding more water as needed. You may not need all the water, depending on how wet your spinach is.

4. Once your pasta is fully kneaded, turn off the mixer, cover the dough with a tea towel and let it rest for 15 minutes. While your dough is resting, bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil.

5. In your blender place all pesto ingredients and blend until you reach your desired consistency, personally I like it a little thicker.

6. Once your dough is rested, turn onto a lightly floured surface and cut into 8 even pieces.

7. Roll each piece into a long sausage around [x]cm long, then cut into 1cm pieces

8. Roll each piece on a cavatelli board/box grater

9. Dust with flour and when ready to cook, pop into the water and cook until al dente. This should take around 7-8 minutes. Drain and return to the pot and place over a low heat. Toss through your pesto and cook for 1-2 minutes, then serve.