Feature › Food & Drink

Italians love pasta and really do eat it every day if they can, usually at lunchtime. It is a first course, or "primo", rather than a main course, and there are over 300 different types of pasta in Italy. Although it is widely used in its dried form, everyone agrees that there is nothing like the home-made version. Here, Bruna demonstrates how to make a basic pasta dough, which she forms into the golden ribbons known as tagliatelle.

When making home-made pasta without a pasta machine, you will need a suitable surface on which to work; a wooden board or marble work surface is ideal, and youíll also need a very long rolling pin. Brunaís is a handmade one given to her by her mother-in-law.

Ingredients (enough for three people)

Every nonna has her own way of making pasta but, in general, it is one egg and 100g of plain flour per person.
300g flour
3 eggs (or one goose egg!)
Pinch of salt
1 litre boiling salted water

Pile some of the flour onto your board and make a well in the middle. (You can use all the flour, but Bruna usually leaves some back for adding later to make sure she gets the correct consistency for her pasta - she never weighs anything!). Break the eggs into the well and add the salt.
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Either with a fork or your hands, gradually incorporate the flour. Keep adding flour until the mixture is of the correct consistency - basically a soft dough. Knead the dough with the heel of your hand until it is smooth and elastic, and then leave it to rest for about 10 minutes. Place the dough on a board or work surface and start rolling away from you.

Bruna has a special technique involving moving her hands from the middle to the ends of the rolling pin and back as she rolls, but this is quite difficult.

When the dough is very thin, about 2mm, cut into strips and cover them with a tea-towel until they are ready to use. To cook the pasta, make sure a large pan of salted water is at a rolling boil and then cook for a few minutes, until the tagliatelle come to the surface. Traditionally, tagliatelle is served simply with butter and parmesan cheese or with a cream, cheese, or meat sauce. It is also wonderful with funghi porcini or tartufo (truffle) sauce. Buon appetito!

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