Symbol of peace or salvation, the olive tree is one of the protagonists on our tables during Easter. So why not bring it to our dishes as well? I love Olive Leaves, a tasty and colorful fresh pasta. You can season it as you prefer; we chose simply butter and sage, with a sprinkle of Parmesan at the end.
I’ll leave you some fresh pasta recipes, but if you browse the blog, you’ll find many more.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 20 Minutes
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 4 people
- Cooking methods: Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons, Easter
Ingredients
- 5 oz spinach, cooked, boiled (frozen, squeezed)
- 2 1/2 cups semolina remilled durum wheat
- 1 tbsp olive oil (a nice tablespoon)
- 2 tsp fine salt (2 level teaspoons)
- 2/3 cup water
Steps
I used frozen spinach, thawed them, squeezed them well to remove all excess water, and blended them with an immersion blender until they became a cream.
On a work surface, place the semolina in a mound, add the spinach puree, oil, salt, and the water little by little. I recommend not adding it all at once as it might be too much since the dough’s moisture also depends on the amount of water in the spinach.
Knead the ingredients well; you need to obtain a rather compact and smooth dough.
Wrap it in a sheet of plastic wrap and put it in the fridge to rest for a few hours.
After the resting time, take the dough again, remove the plastic wrap, and cut it into pieces.
Cut into small pieces, more or less large depending on your taste.
Now start preparing the olive leaves. Take a small piece, place a knife without a serrated edge on the surface, press down lightly, pulling toward you. I recommend placing your thumb to keep them open.
Try to open and slightly lengthen the leaf.
Place them on a floured table and sprinkle the surface with semolina. You’ll get about 19 oz of olive leaves.
Once ready, drop them into boiling salted water, and they will cook in about 10 minutes.
Drain them and toss them directly into the pan where you previously melted the butter and sautéed the sage. Toss them, sprinkle with grated Parmesan, and voilà, the dish is ready!
Suggestions, Tips
You can make the Olive Leaves (fresh pasta) as large as you prefer; the larger the pieces, the larger the pasta, obviously depending on your tastes.
I recommend squeezing the thawed spinach well and adding water to the dough little by little to adjust the consistency. You should get a dough that is not too soft but not too hard, and it should be easily workable.
With these ingredients, you’ll get about 19 oz of fresh olive leaves.
Here are some other fresh pasta recipes:
