Though clean pasta isn’t necessarily higher than dried (it all depends on the sauce), you couldn’t beat the boastful pride that accompanies the silky, homemade stuff, whether or not scantily clad in a bit of sage butter or paired with a rich, meaty ragù. And when you’ve mastered the easy system, you’ll be turning out tagliatelle and tortellini with the nonchalance of a real Italian nonna.
Prep 45 min, plus resting
Cook 2 min
Serves 6
340g ‘00’ flour, plus more for dusting
160g semolina flour
1 big pinch of salt
3 large eggs plus 3 egg yolks
1. Choose your flour
Although you may in idea use just about any wheat flour to make pasta, finely milled ‘00’ flour, which may be observed in maximum big supermarkets, offers a smoother texture, at the same time as semolina flour supplies that all-essential bite. Traditionally, at least, southern Italians generally tend to apply more semolina than northern ones, but play around with the ratio to fit your taste.
2. Mix the flours and add eggs
Whatever you’re using, place the flours and a huge pinch of salt in a bowl and whisked to mix. Tip out directly to a clean work surface (or large reducing board) and make a massive nicely within the middle. Next, beat together the 3 whole eggs with two of the yolks, and pour -thirds of the egg blend into them nicely.
3. Bring the dough together
Use your fingertips gradually to draw the flour into the eggs in a round movement, till you have got a dough you could form right into a ball – if it appears dry, upload the greater yolk. Next, knead the dough like bread, pushing it far from you with the heel of your hand, then turning it and bringing it returned closer to you, until the dough springs again whilst poked.
4. Halve, wrap, and relax
Divide the dough into roughly identical balls and wrap it in a tea towel dampened with cold water. Set aside to rest in a cool area for an hour. At some stage during which period, you could set up the pasta gadget (if you have one) and/or make one of the sauces in step nine—lightly flour a work surface and rolling pin.
5. Roll the dough
Leaving one ball wrapped up, roll out the opposite piece of dough into a rectangle no wider than your pasta gadget (in case you don’t have one, see Step 6) until it’s about 1cm thick and can go through the widest setting easily. Run it through the system two times, then transfer it down a gauge. Repeat till you get to the narrowest part on your machine.
6. Keep it manageable
Fold the pasta rectangle in 1/2, press the two halves together, then repeat the entire method, reducing the dough in half while it turns too long to address with ease. Store one-half of the under the same damp material whilst you’re running on the first bit. If you don’t have a machine, virtually roll out the dough as thinly as you can control.
7. Shaping
When the dough has a mild sheen and is thin enough for use (pappardelle and tagliatelle have to be reduced on the second-narrowest gauge; stuffed kinds of pasta consisting of ravioli on the narrowest), reduce it with a knife (or with the device) to something shape, to your preference. Curl into element-sized nests on a floured surface and cover with a damp fabric even as you roll and cut the rest of the dough.
