Makes 6 Servings
INGREDIENTS:
500g pasta flour
a large pinch of salt
4 egg yolks
3 eggs
semolina flour, for dusting
Olive oil
Method:
- On a clean wooden board, pile the flour into a mound. Make a wide well in the centre of the mound. Pour the eggs and 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 olive oil to loosen.
- 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 wrap the dough in cling film and allow it to rest at room temperature for at least 20-30 minutes.
- Lightly flour your surface and shape the dough into a rectangular shape. Cut the dough in to quarters.
- Set up a pasta machine and push the first quarter of 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. Cut the long sheet in half and sprinkle both sides with semolina flour. Hang up the pasta sheets on a clean clothes horse or something similar to dry slightly for a few minutes.
- Set up the pasta machine with the cutters and run the half you have not hung up though the machine to cut the sheets into pappardelle or whichever type of pasta you wish. Hang the cut pasta on the clothes horse. Repeat with the other half of pasta.
- Next repeat the process with the other three quarters of the dough. When it is all done, place the cut pasta on a board, sprinkle over semolina and gentle toss through. Then use a fork to make little pasta nests of pasta and put the nests on a baking sheet. Cover and place in a fridge until you are ready to use it.
- Store in the fridge and eat within 2 days.
FOR OTHER TYPES OF PASTA:
- For tagliolini, cut into ¼ inch strips
- For tagliatelle, cut into ½ inch strips
Photography by Issy Croker
