Semolina tagliatelle by hand

Having had success with my homemade spelt flour pasta, I felt a little more confident to make this semolina tagliatelle with a smaller time frame. I arrived home at 12:50 with a plan to have this served for three people at 13:30. However, this being Italy, our small lunch soon became a bit of gathering and we grew to a party of 6. When using shop bought pasta, this increase wouldn't bring even the smallest bead of sweat to the surface. For me however, making this quantity by hand (for only the second time this trip) was a little worrying. But I'm pleased to say that I pulled out my inner Nonna and managed it all in the time... and the results were delicious.

 



 

Serves 1-2 (easily doubled, tripled...)

100g semolina flour
1 egg
And a little extra virgin olive oil (this may not be needed, it depends on the size of your eggs)

I served this with a mushroom and parsley sauce - recipe coming soon.

• Pour the flour into a mound on a clean work surface.
• Create a well in the middle and crack the egg into it.
• With a fork, beat the egg and gradually combine the flour (keep tapping in extra flour from the sides of the well).
• When it becomes tough to work with a fork, resort to your hands and work it all in.
• If you used a small egg, you may need a little extra virgin olive oil as you want a slightly sticky dough which you can then kneed until smooth (the extra virgin olive oil also gives the pasta a lovely colour and a better depth of flavour).
• Lightly flour your work surface (and hands) and kneed the dough for about 10 mins until smooth.
• Wrap in clingfilm and set aside for about 20 mins.
• After 20 mins, unwrap and roll out on a floured surface until about 1mm thick (you can use a pasta machine if you prefer).
• Cut into tagliatelle strips with a knife, or a special roll along cutter if you have one.
• Dust the pasta strips with a little extra semolina flour and spread them out with your fingers to allow them to dry for a couple of minutes.
• Bring a pan of water to boil and when you're 30 seconds from being ready to eat, drop in the pasta (it should only take a matter of seconds to cook - it will rise to the top once ready).
• Enjoy with whichever sauce you fancy.