Fresh Homemade Tagliatelle Pasta

With Sage Butter Sauce

Makes approx. 1kg

INGREDIENTS:

For the fresh pasta
500g durum pasta flour

a large pinch of salt

7 medium eggs

semolina flour, for dusting

Olive oil

For the sage butter

100g butter

2 tablespoons of sage leaves, chopped

80g Parmesan cheese

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

METHOD:

1. On a clean wooden board, pile the flour into a mound. Make a wide well in the centre of the mound, it must be large enough for all the yolks. Pour the yolks into the well, beat the egg mixture with the fork, slowly pulling the flour from the sides of the well until the egg has all been absorbed by the flour. If the dough is still a bit dry, add the olive oil to loosen.

2. Knead the dough by pressing the heel of one hand into the ball, keeping your fingers high. Press down on the dough while pushing it firmly away from you. The dough should stretch and roll under your hand to create a shell-like shape. Turn the dough over, then press into the dough with your knuckles, one hand at a time. This process should be carried out around 10 times. Roll the dough back into a ball and repeat the stretching and knuckling process, using more flour if needed to prevent any stickiness. Repeat the process for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and silky. Roll the dough into a smooth ball. Wrap the dough in cling film and allow it to rest at room temperature for at least 20-30 minutes.

3. Lightly flour your surface, and shape the dough into a rough circle. Using a pasta machine, set it up and push the dough through the rollers 8 times. With each pass through the rollers reduce the setting, until you reach the final setting. Be careful that your pasta does not break as you should now have a long thin sheet. Then, dust lightly with semolina flour and hang over a clean clothes horse or something similar for 10 minutes. Store in the fridge, and eat within 2 days. For tagliatelle, cut into ½ inch strips.

4. Next make the sage butter. Melt the butter in a frying pan. Add the sage leaves, and a few spoons of the pasta cooking water, then cook on a low heat until the butter turns nutty and smells biscuitie