Whole-egg pasta dough

Both my nonnas were fresh pasta magicians. They would roll out sheets of transparent pasta in a seemingly effortless way, beating the dough into silky submission through the sheer force of their hands. Although one was from Abruzzo and the other was from Emilia Romagna, they both agreed on a ratio of 1 egg for every 100g of flour, bridging the age-old gap between north and south.

Stick with that and you will never get it wrong. If you want to speed things up you can mix the dough in a food processor in a matter of minutes. Process the ingredients until they resemble wet sand, then tip onto a floured board or bench, bring together with your hands and knead for 3–4 minutes until smooth. Although this is not the way hardcore Italian nonnas operate, it yields a perfect result in a quarter of the time.

SERVES 4

400g (2⅔ cups) plain or type ‘00’ flour

4 eggs, at room temperature

1 scant teaspoon salt flakes

1 Place the flour on a board, make a well in the centre and drop in the eggs and salt. Combine using your fingers or a fork, then knead the mixture vigorously for about 10 minutes. At first it will look crumbly, but once your body heat activates the starch in the flour, the dough will change its texture, turning into a smooth, firm ball. Wrap it (I use beeswax wraps) and let it rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.

2 The rested dough can then be hand-rolled to the thickness you like. Or you can cut it into sections, roll it through a hand-cranked pasta machine and cut into your desired shape.