Black-Peppered Egg Noodles

Place the flour in a large bowl or atop a flat, wooden surface, and make a well in the middle for the other ingredients.

Next, add in the eggs, black pepper, salt, and paprika (if using).

With your clean hands or a fork, mix the ingredients together until you form a ball of dough (I suggest using a stand mixer for this because the dough was somewhat coarse and hard to put together in a ball. Don’t mix it too much, though). Add the olive oil as it mixes. Knead the ball for about 10 minutes.

Once you knead the ball of dough, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and allow to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature before using.

Next, separate the dough ball into 8 smaller balls. Flatten the balls of dough and put them through the pasta maker according to the instructions for your machine (I went up to the penultimate or next-to-last notch on the roller). Flour each layer so that the dough layers won’t stick.

Cut the flattened layers of dough into fettuccine noodles, or use the fettuccine cutter attachment. Make sure you sprinkle flour on the noodles so that they won’t stick to each other.

Notes:
If making the noodles immediately, prepared boiled water with a bit more olive oil and kosher salt. Add the noodles, and cook them for 2-3 minutes.

If using the noodles later, lay them out on a flat surface and allow them to dry out for a few hours. Store the dried noodles in a closed container for 2-3 days in the refrigerator and up to 3 months in the freezer.

Adapted from Mario Batali’s Molto Italiano cookbook.