How to Make Italian Homemade Pasta — The Exact Emilia-Romagna Recipe by Ratio

Overview

Discover the authentic Emilia-Romagna recipe for homemade Italian fresh egg pasta, known as pasta fatta in casa. This video details the gram-by-gram process for making tagliatelle, from selecting Tipo 00 flour and deep-orange yolked eggs to traditional hand-rolling and cutting techniques, passed down through generations.

Ingredients

• 400 gram Tipo 00 Italian wheat flour
• 4 whole large egg, room temperature
• Pinch of fine salt
• 4 liters water
• 60 grams fine sea salt

Instructions

1. Pour the 400 grams of Tipo 00 flour onto a clean wooden pastry board.
2. Build a perfect circular well in the middle of the flour, approximately 20 centimeters across, with high walls.
3. Crack all 4 eggs directly into the well and add the pinch of salt.
4. Using a sturdy fork, begin beating the eggs while keeping the flour walls intact.
5. Gradually pull flour from the inside of the wall down into the egg mixture until it becomes a thick paste.
6. Drop the fork and use a bench scraper and your hands to fold in the remaining flour.
7. Knead the shaggy dough firmly on the board for 8 to 10 minutes until it is silky-smooth, elastic, and bounces back when poked.
8. Cover the kneaded dough with an upturned bowl and rest at room temperature for a minimum of 30 minutes.
9. Divide the rested dough into 4 equal pieces, keeping three covered under a bowl.
10. Dust the board with semolina, not Tipo 00 flour.
11. Roll one piece of dough from the center out with a long wooden rolling pin (mattarello), rotating the dough a quarter turn every roll, until it is 1 millimeter thin (or use a pasta machine, starting at setting 1, folding in thirds and running through 3 times, then progressing to setting 6 or 7).
12. Let the rolled sfoglia drape on the board for 10 minutes to dry slightly.
13. Dust the rested sfoglia generously with semolina.
14. Fold the sfoglia loosely in thirds like a letter.
15. With a sharp knife, slice perpendicular ribbons exactly 8 millimeters wide for tagliatelle (or 6 millimeters for fettuccine, 2-3 centimeters for pappardelle).
16. Unfold each slice into delicate nests on a semolina-dusted wooden board and let them dry, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes until no longer tacky but still pliable.
17. Bring 4 liters of water to a vigorous rolling boil (100 degrees Celsius / 212 degrees Fahrenheit).
18. Add 60 grams of fine sea salt to the boiling water.
19. Drop the fresh pasta in and stir gently once.
20. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, starting to taste for al dente texture at 90 seconds.
21. Reserve one cup of pasta cooking water before draining the pasta.

In this video

• Pasta in Italy originated from Etruscan times, approximately three thousand years ago, in Tuscany, and was not brought by Marco Polo from China.
• Fresh egg pasta, 'la pasta all'uovo,' is a hallmark of the Emilia-Romagna region, thriving due to its superior wheat, corn-fed chicken eggs, and butter.
• For four servings, the recipe requires 400 grams of Tipo 00 Italian wheat flour and 4 large, room-temperature eggs with deep-orange yolks.
• The traditional rule for making fresh egg pasta is one egg for every 100 grams of flour.
• The 'fontana' technique involves building a well of flour, cracking eggs into it, and gradually incorporating the flour to form a dough on a wooden board.
• The dough must be kneaded firmly for 8 to 10 minutes until it is silky-smooth, elastic, and resilient, then rested for a minimum of 30 minutes.
• Sfoglia, the pasta sheet, should be rolled to an exact thickness of one millimeter, allowing you to see your hand through it.
• After rolling, the sfoglia should rest for 10 minutes to dry slightly before cutting, which makes slicing easier.
• For tagliatelle, the sfoglia is folded loosely in thirds and sliced into 8-millimeter-wide ribbons.
• Fresh egg pasta cooks rapidly, typically in just 2 to 3 minutes, and should be tasted at 90 seconds for an al dente texture.

Frequently asked questions

What is the traditional origin of pasta in Italy?

Pasta in Italy dates back to Etruscan times, approximately three thousand years ago in Tuscany, not from Marco Polo. The Romans consumed wide flat pasta, called laganon, as early as the second century.

What are the key ingredients for Emilia-Romagna fresh egg pasta?

For four persons, you need 400 grams of Tipo 00 Italian wheat flour and 4 whole, large, room-temperature eggs with deep orange yolks. A pinch of fine salt is also added, with no oil, milk, or water in the dough.

What is the correct flour-to-egg ratio for this pasta?

The traditional Italian rule for fresh egg pasta is one egg for every 100 grams of flour. For this recipe, it means 4 eggs for 400 grams of Tipo 00 flour.

How thin should the sfoglia (pasta sheet) be rolled?

The sfoglia must be rolled to an exact thickness of one millimeter, which is the thickness of a credit card, thin enough to see your hand through it.

How long does fresh egg pasta take to cook?

Fresh egg pasta cooks very quickly, in only 2 to 3 minutes, in vigorously boiling water. It should be tasted at 90 seconds for an al dente texture.