Instructions: Stage 1 By hand
Make a welt in the centre of the flour and add the eggs (and yolks if using the special recipe ingredients).

Using a fork break up the eggs slightly as you bring in the flour from the sides. As it begins to form a semisoft dough start to use your hands.

Work the dough hard for about 3 minutes or until smooth silky and elastic.

Wrap it in clingfilm and allow it to rest in the fridge for 60 minutes.

Stage 1 In a mixer

Use the dough hook on the mixer.

Add the flour to the eggs/yolks and mix at a medium speed for about 3 minutes or until it forms a tight dough.

Take it out of the mixer and finish kneading by hand for about a minute or until smooth silky and elastic.

Wrap in clingfilm and allow to rest in the fridge for 60 minutes.

Stage 1 In a food processor
Plonk it all in and turn it on.

Within 30 seconds it should look like chewy looking breadcrumbs.

Leave it just a little longer to allow it to start working the gluten.

It should now start to come together into larger balls of dough.

Take it all out (the bowl should be clean) and work by hand for 2 minutes or until smooth silky and elastic.

Wrap in clingfilm and allow it to rest in the fridge for 60 minutes.

Stage 2 With a rolling pin

Remove the dough from the fridge and divide into 2 balls.

Recover one of the balls and with the base of the palm of your hand flatten the other one slightly.

Lightly flour your clean surface and with a rollingpin begin to roll out always rolling away from you dusting and turning 90. Repeat this process until you have a very thin sheet of pasta about 12mm thick depending on what pasta variation you are making.

It does help to have along smooth and preferably heavy rollingpin. When rolling the sheet of pasta out you can try to make it into a square shape but its not that important. I actually think it is better to have the pasta looking handmade than looking perfect like factory pasta.

Stage 2 With a pasta machine

Remove the dough from the fridge and divide into 4 balls.

Recover 3 balls and work with one at a time.

Flatten the ball slightly with the base of the palm of your hand and run the dough through the thickest setting on your pasta machine which will roll it out into a thick sheet.

What I do is fold the two ends into the middle and run the dough through on the thickest setting 3 or 4 times which makes the sides of the pasta fill out to the full width of your pasta machine. Then I lightly dust both sides with flour and run it through the machine on a thinner setting.

I repeat this through the settings until the sheets are 1 to 1.5 mm thick.

With a machine you can roll the sheets of pasta a lot thinner than you can by hand.

Persevere with the machine it can be tricky but its worth it. They are realty good value last for ever and only cost around $25. Once youve cracked it you can easily knock up a bit of fresh pasta when you need it its quicker than walking down to the supermarket. Its just a question of understanding what the pasta does and how it reacts when you work with it.

The making of pasta isnt some temperamental nightmare you just chuck the eggs and flour together no big deal. You dont need salt or oil thats a factory fallacy. The only essential for the most superior pasta experience is the freshest freerange eggs and good finely ground strong flour and semolina flour. We will knead these ingredients to a smooth fine and silkytextured dough and work it enough to develop and strengthen the structure of the gluten in the dough to make it elastic. If you are making pasta by hand do it either on a clean surface or in a bowl. The whold process will take about 5 minutes.

A processor or mixer will take even less time. I really want you to make this pasta its very quick and simple and is something youre going to be really proud of. These are the two pastas I make at home. The ingredients are slightly different but the method is the same and you can make them by hand in your food processor or in your food mixer. Just remember eggs and flour are always slightly different so if you think its a bit wet or sticky add a little more flour and if its too dry add a little more egg. I always make far too much on purpose. I then dry it and keep it in airtight jars for really good quick pasta.

Serves 4

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