Homemade Spinach Noodles (from homegrown spinach)

I made some Spinach Noodles a couple of weeks ago for January's Little Thumbs Up Noodles event hosted by Anne of My Bare Cupboard, but did not quite make it on time. So, I'm sharing it today :)

My homegrown Chinese spinach, harvested from my potted garden. I was a little late in harvesting these veggie, and they are a little old to stir-fry, so I used the leaves and stems to make Spinach Noodles.

1. Roughly chop the leaves and stems. Place them in a blender with a little water and blend to a puree.
2. Strain the blended spinach over a sieve into a bowl to collect the juice.
3. Press the residue with the back of the spoon to extract as much juice as possible.
4. Amount of lovely spinach juice collected.

1. Add the spinach juice into a bowl of flour.
2. Mix them and knead to a smooth dough. 

1. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and keep aside for about 45 minutes.
2. Divide the dough into 6 pieces and roll each piece into a thin sheet. Sprinkle with some flour on both sides.

1. Place the sheet of dough through the pasta maker to roll it out thinner (or to desired thickness).
2. Cut them into long noodles using the pasta maker.

Toss them in some flour to prevent sticking. Blanch the noodles in hot boiling water, drain and refresh briefly in cold water, and dip them again briefly in hot water. Ready to use and cook as desired. 

I've served the noodles with cooked minced pork, fish balls and some veggies.

Homemade Spinach Noodles
(serves 6)
150gm Chinese spinach (amaranth)
3/4 cup water
3/4 tsp salt
550gm plain flour

1. Roughly chop the leaves and stems of the Chinese spinach. Place them in a blender with a little water and blend to a puree. (Do not add more water than necessary. If the juice is not enough after straining, additional water can always be added during kneading).
2. Strain the blended spinach over a sieve into a bowl to collect the juice.
3. Press the residue in the sieve with the back of the spoon to extract as much juice as possible.
4. Mix the salt and flour in a large mixing bowl, make a well in the centre and add in half the spinach juice, gradually adding the remaining juice as you knead, to make a smooth dough. If the dough is dry and all of the juice has been used up, add in a tablespoon of water at a time until the dough comes together. Knead until the dough is smooth, it should not be too soft.
5. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and keep aside for about 45 minutes to rest.
6. Divide the dough into 6 equal portions, roll them out flat, and pass them one by one through the pasta maker to thin them out evenly. Cut the flattened dough to desired size noodles using the pasta maker. 
7. Toss the noodles with some flour to prevent sticking. Cook in hot boiling water, refresh in cold water and cook as desired.