BASIC PASTA DOUGH

This is a great recipe 1 egg to 100g flour serves 1 person.

Serves 4

Ingredients

400g Strong or pasta flour

4 eggs

Pinch of fine salt

Method

Place the flour on a board or in a bowl and make a well in the centre. Crack the eggs into the well, add a pinch of salt then with a fork, mix the egg into the flour as much as possible so it’s not sticky. Don’t worry if there are lumps in the dough. Keep mixing and then when crumbs form put it on a flat surface and knead together. You can also speed this up by mixing your ingredients in a food processor until they bind.

Once it is all combined, knead until you have a silky, smooth, elastic dough. You are aiming to achieve a playdough texture. If your dough is crumbly (too dry) add a teaspoon of olive oil. If the dough sticks to your hands (too wet) add a little extra flour.

Cover with cling film and rest for 30 minutes. 

You can roll your dough by hand using a rolling pin but you’ll need some serious elbow grease to get your pasta sheets really thin.

If you are using a pasta roller, take a small fist sized amount of dough, squash it flat with your fingers (remember to keep the rest of your dough covered with the cling film so it doesn’t go dry) push it through the pasta roller on the widest setting. Fold into thirds, then repeat 3 times. Once you have a rough square shape, start working it through the machine, taking it down one setting at a time, until the thinnest setting. If your pasta is too sticky, it won’t go through smoothly, so add a little flour to each side before you put it through the roller. Try to avoid too much flour – the less you use, the better otherwise your pasta can start to feel heavy when cooked.

You should end up with a long sheet of pasta about 8-10cm wide. Place this on a flat surface with flour underneath to stop it from sticking. This is the most versatile form as from this sheet you can create so many different shapes and dishes.

To make pappardelle: Sprinkle a little flour over both sides of the pasta sheet and fold it into thirds (short edges together). Trim the long edges straight with a sharp knife, and cut into 2.5cm-wide strips, lengthways. When you unfold the pasta you will have long pappardelle.

To cook fresh pasta – large pot of salted water boiling, add pasta, stir to separate cook until al dente (3-5 minutes). Drain and serve with your desired sauce.