Flavoring the Dough

Once you have a handle on the basic recipe, you can vary the flour or add flavorings and pair them with sauces that will make their flavors stand out. Try whole grain noodles with a hearty meat sauce, saffron fettuccine with shrimp and basil, green ravioli with a ricotta filling and herbed noodles with butter and Parmesan.

Clockwise from bottom left, herbed pappardelle, whole grain fettuccine, saffron farfalle, and green ravioli.

For whole grain pasta, substitute 1 cup sifted whole wheat, spelt or farro flour for 1 cup of the 00 or all-purpose flour. Add extra egg yolks or water as needed, and allow dough to rest for 1 hour before rolling.

To make saffron pasta, place a large pinch of saffron threads and a pinch of salt into a mortar and pestle. Grind finely, then add 1 tablespoon boiling water to make saffron tea. Allow tea to cool, then whisk into the eggs. Rinse the remaining saffron out of the mortar and pestle with another tablespoon of cool water and whisk into the eggs. Add to the flour in the main recipe and proceed from there.

To make green pasta, steam or sauté 6 ounces (about 6 cups) baby spinach until just wilted. Remove from pan and spread out in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. When cool, squeeze the leaves thoroughly, a palmful at a time, then chop roughly. Purée in a blender with 2 eggs and 1 egg yolk, then add egg mixture to flour in the main recipe.

For an herbed pasta, stir in ½ cup finely chopped parsley, chives, chervil, tarragon or basil in any combination to the eggs before adding to the flour.

Tips for Rolling Dough

The rolling process can be meditative, but it also requires your attention to ensure the dough doesn’t tear, warp or stick to itself. A little patience and awareness will help you turn out smooth, delicate sheets.

1. USING A ROLLER

   Making pasta from scratch isn’t particularly difficult if you’re using a roller, but it can be time-consuming at first. Leave yourself plenty of time for resting, rolling and shaping the pasta. Clear off your counters to give yourself ample work space. If you’ve never made pasta, take it on as a weekend cooking project rather than a quick weeknight meal.

   Working with pasta requires all of your senses. You’ll quickly learn that every batch is different, depending on everything from humidity and weather to the type of flour and size of your eggs. If pasta threatens to stick, dust both the pasta and the work surface with flour. If it’s too dry, add another yolk. Your good judgment is as important for success as the recipe.

   And finally, though it can be hypnotizing, resist the urge to watch the pasta as it comes out of the rollers. Instead, watch as it enters the machine, using one hand to ensure it goes in straight and doesn’t ripple or overlap onto itself.

Shaping and Cutting

Basic pasta dough presents many possibilities. You could cut it into tried-and-true noodles; trim it into sheets for a savory lasagna or rich, satisfying cannelloni; form farfalle (bow ties); or use it as a base for ravioli and tortellini. Mastering one style is impressive, but commanding all four — that’s the stuff of advanced home cooks.

FOR NOODLES

To cut noodles with a pasta roller, run the pasta sheets, one at a time, through the cutting attachment, then toss with semolina flour. Gently fluff and separate noodles and pile into nests of single portions (about 3 ounces). Place on baking sheets lined with parchment paper and dusted with semolina, and cover until ready to use.

To hand-cut noodles, stack four sheets of pasta lightly dusted with semolina flour, then loosely roll into thirds lengthwise (like folding a letter). Cut with a sharp knife (in ½-inch increments for tagliatelle or fettuccine and into ¾-inch increments for pappardelle), continuing until all the dough is used. Gently fluff and separate noodles and pile onto prepared baking sheets into nests of single portions (about 3 ounces). Cover until ready to use. Both methods are shown in the video above.

For hand-torn noodles, pick up a single sheet of rolled pasta. Pinching about ½ inch at the corner with your thumb and forefinger, tear lengthwise down the sheet. Repeat, aiming for noodles of a consistent width. Toss with semolina flour. Gently fluff and separate noodles and pile onto prepared baking sheets into nests of single portions (about 3 ounces). Cover until ready to use.

To make fluted pappardelle, use a ravioli cutter instead of a knife to cut noodles, one sheet at a time.

FOR LASAGNA

Cut sheets of dough into 6-by-10-inch pieces to use for lasagna or 4-by-4 inch pieces to make fazzoletti (pasta handkerchiefs traditionally served with basil pesto).

FOR CANNELLONI

Cut the sheets into 4-by-6-inch pieces, then boil in salted water, drain and pat dry. Lay out the cooked pieces and spread ¼ cup ricotta filling — or combined filling of ricotta and chard (for a recipe, see the fillings chapter below) — onto each, along the short side. Roll the filled sheets into cylinders. In an 8- or 9-inch square baking dish, spoon ¾ cup tomato sauce, and carefully lay the cannelloni onto the sauce in a single layer. Drizzle with ½ cup tomato sauce, ½ cup heavy cream and ½ cup finely grated Parmesan. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees until brown and bubbly, about 35 minutes.

Fillings

If you’ve chosen to make a filled pasta, you’ll want to make your filling while the dough rests. And there are so many ways to fill your shapes. Whatever you choose — whether greens, cheese, meat or vegetable — you’ll need about 2 ¼ cups for a single batch of ravioli (and a little less for tortellini).

For a basic ricotta filling, use the freshest whole-milk ricotta you can find. If it resembles cottage cheese in consistency, drain it in a sieve lined with cheesecloth overnight to keep it from being too wet.

In a medium bowl, whip together 2 cups (16 ounces) whole-milk ricotta, 1 ½ cups finely grated Parmesan cheese, freshly ground black pepper, a generous pinch of salt and 3 tablespoons very finely chopped parsley, chives or basil (optional). Taste and adjust salt as needed. Cover and refrigerate until using.

Cooking and Storing

You’ve made your pasta. It’s time to cook and eat it. A few tricks, like adding the right amount of salt, preheating your sauce and deploying pasta water judiciously, will yield the best plate of tagliatelle or ravioli you’ve ever cooked.

1. COOKING THE PASTA

   Unlike dried pasta, which should never be cooked past al dente, fresh pasta must be cooked through, but just barely. At first, the only way to know when the pasta is done is to taste it, so stand by the pot, tongs in hand, and taste repeatedly.

   Eventually, you’ll learn to tell when the pasta is ready by looking at how it droops. Fresh pasta cooks quickly, often in 3 or 4 minutes. Have your sauce warm and ready before you drop the pasta into the pot. Cooked pasta should always be tossed with warm sauce — with the exception of pesto, which is raw — to ensure it gets coated properly. Cook pasta in plenty of heavily salted, boiling water. For four servings, use at least 5 quarts of water seasoned with ½ cup Diamond Crystal kosher salt or 6 tablespoons fine sea salt. Don’t worry too much about how much salt it takes to season the water properly: Most of it will go down the drain. You just need to create a salty cooking environment that will season the pasta in the few minutes it spends in the pot.

   Bring the water to a rolling boil before adding the pasta. Otherwise, it may pile at the bottom of the pot and stick to itself. If cooking noodles, stir them with tongs or a wooden spoon after about a minute to encourage them to separate.

   Pasta cooking water, full of salt and starch, is a precious gift. It’ll season and thicken sauces and help them cling to the pasta. If draining pasta in a colander, sneak out a cup or two before taking the pot to the sink. Instead of draining delicate ravioli and tortellini into a colander, use a skimmer, spider or slotted spoon to pull them out of the pot and set them gently into a waiting pan of warm sauce.

2. STORING THE PASTA

   To refrigerate: Store fresh pasta in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap to keep it from drying out. Refrigerate for up to one night.

   To freeze: Store fresh pasta in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze until rock hard and transfer to a freezer bag. If freezing noodles, divide them into about 3-ounce nests before freezing. To cook, drop frozen pasta into salted boiling water and cook for 4 to 7 minutes.

Sauces

Fresh pasta is so flavorful and tender that just a drizzle of good olive oil and some freshly grated Parmesan will make it shine. But if you’re in the mood for something more, try one of these classic accompaniments. (All will yield enough sauce for 4 servings of noodles or 6 to 8 servings of tortellini or ravioli.)

For a simple tomato sauce, pour a 28-ounce can of peeled Roma or San Marzano tomatoes and its juices into a medium bowl and crush them with your hands. Pour ¼ cup water into the can, swirl and add to tomatoes.

Set a small Dutch oven or saucepan over medium-high heat and add 3 tablespoons olive oil. When it shimmers, add 1 diced yellow onion and a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are tender and golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Move onions to the edges of the pot and add 1 tablespoon olive oil in the clearing. Add 2 sliced garlic cloves, and allow them to gently sizzle until they release an aroma, about 20 seconds. Before the garlic has a chance to start browning, stir it into the onions and add tomatoes.

Season with salt and 1 teaspoon dried oregano or 12 basil leaves, torn into large pieces, and bring to a hard simmer. Stir, then reduce heat to low and cover pot (to prevent splattering). Cook, stirring occasionally, for 40 minutes or until raw tomato taste is gone.

Remove from heat and stir in ¼ cup olive oil. Pass sauce through a food mill or use a stick blender to purée. Taste and adjust salt as needed.