Ingredients
100g plain flour, plus extra to dust
Pinch fine salt
1 free-range egg
Method
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Dust a clean, dry surface with extra flour. Mound flour on surface, add salt. Make a well in the centre wide enough to contain the egg.
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Crack egg into a cup, then pour into well. Whisk egg with a fork until lightly beaten. Use fork to swirl egg, then continue to swirl egg, adding in a little flour, swirling and adding more flour until all of the flour has been incorporated and a very rough, loose mixture forms. Use your hands to bring the dough together, forming a rough, sticky dough.
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Use the heel of your hand to knead dough, pushing dough down and forward, then turning dough clockwise 45 degrees and continue with pushing and turning for at least 5 minutes or until a smooth, soft, silky dough forms. If dough is too sticky, gradually add small amounts of flour, a sprinkle at a time. If too dry, add a very small amount of cold water, 1 tsp at a time.
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Form dough into a flat disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Set aside for 30-60 minutes. You can chill overnight if more convenient.
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Cut dough into quarters. Put one quarter on the bench and rewrap remaining dough in plastic wrap.
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Form quarter of dough into a rough rectangle using your hands.
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Pass dough rectangle through a pasta machine at the thickest setting (if you don't have a pasta machine, see How to make pasta with a rolling pin and knife, below). Continue to pass dough through the machine, folding it in half each time, reducing the setting after every 3 passes through the machine, lightly dusting dough with a little flour as necessary. If pasta gets too long and difficult to work with, cut sheet into smaller, more workable-sized pieces.
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Repeat with the remaining dough pieces. At this point you can make sheets, fettuccine, tagliatelle or other pasta shapes of your choice.
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Once you have cut the pasta into desired shapes, dust with a little flour to ensure it doesn't stick together, then it's ready to cook (see Cook's tips, below).
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How much pasta do I need to make?
The simplest way to ensure you are making enough pasta is to allow 1 egg per person, so a pasta dough containing 4 eggs and 400g flour would feed 4 people.
However, if you're serving the pasta with a very hearty sauce, such as a ragu, you probably won't need as much pasta - you could reduce the quantity down to a three-egg pasta.
How to make pasta with a rolling pin and knife
Form one portion of dough into a rough rectangle using your hands. Lightly dust a dry, clean bench with a little flour. Use a rolling pin to roll out pasta as thin as you possibly can, dusting the pasta, bench and rolling pin with a little flour as you go.
If the pasta gets too large to work with, cut the sheet into more workable-sized pieces. Fold the pasta sheets up a couple of times and cut the pasta into strips using a large sharp knife, then unravel.
Cook's tips
For best results, use eggs at room temperature. If your eggs have been chilled, simply put them in a bowl of warm water for a couple of minutes before use.
If chilling the pasta dough overnight, remove from fridge 30 minutes before using.
Fresh pasta is best cooked on the same day. It doesn't need a long cooking time, generally between 1.5 to 2 minutes in salted, boiling water.
