Fresh Italian Egg Pasta

I learned to make this from my friend Gino in Florence, Italy. Of course, in his little kitchen, food was made with bowls, and spoons, and our hands. A Kitchenaid? No! I happen to have a Kitchenaid, and while it works in much the same way, you’ll appreciate the time it saves for this recipe. Don’t be afraid to make it by hand though–it just requires a little more time (and patience). I am giving you instructions for both methods. Make this pasta in the morning, so that it has a good 3 hours, or even half the day to dry out.

Start by putting the flour and salt into the mixing bowl. Stir to combine. Make a well in the center. If you are using your Kitchenaid, attach the dough hook, and make sure you lock the bowl down.

In a small bowl, whisk the eggs. Add them to the well in the flour.

If using a Kitchenaid, mix ingredients as follows:
Speed 1 for 1 minute, then
Speed 2 for 3 minutes, then
Speed 3 for 2 minutes, or until the dough comes together
Transfer dough to a floured board, and knead with floured hands until it is smooth and silky. Flour the top, flatten to a 1/2″ thick disk, and then let it rest for 30 minutes.

By hand:
With a fork, slowly start stirring the eggs into the middle of the well in the dry ingredients, slowly grabbing more flour from the inside of the well as you go. Keep doing this until it gets too hard to do with the fork. Transfer to a floured board, and knead until it comes together into a ball. Continue kneading until it is smooth and silky. Flour the top, flatten to a 1/2″ thick disk, and then let it rest for 30 minutes.

Cut the disk into 12 pieces, and then roll each one out to about 1/8″ thickness. Lightly flour a cookie sheet, place the flattened dough on the sheet. (You will need 2-3 sheets to do this, or a nice big counter). Flour the top of each piece, and then let it sit uncovered until you are ready to boil it–at least 3 hours, but more is okay too.

When your sauce is 30 minutes out from being done, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Stack the pieces of dough in 2-3 piece stacks, and then cut into random shapes or strips. You can go crazy here. Sometimes I cut them very thin, and sometimes, as you can see in the photo, I give them a very large, rough cut. When the water gets to a boil, add the pasta. Stir, and then let it boil uncovered for 6 minutes. Drain, and serve immediately with a sauce.