Fresh Egg Pasta-Mario

Three ingredients. That’s all you need to make real pasta from scratch: flour, eggs, and a touch of olive oil. This recipe follows the traditional Italian well method, where you mound flour on a cutting board, crack eggs into the center, and slowly work everything together with a fork before kneading by hand.

It looks like a mess halfway through, and that’s normal. The dough only comes together once about half the flour is incorporated. From there, you knead with the palms of your hands for a solid six minutes total. This develops the gluten that gives fresh pasta its stretch and bite. The dough should feel elastic and just slightly sticky when it’s ready.

The 30-minute rest is not optional. Resting relaxes the gluten strands you just worked so hard to develop, which makes the dough pliable enough to roll thin without snapping back. Skip it and you’ll fight the dough the entire time you try to sheet it out.

Kitchen Tips

• Use a wooden board if you have one. Wood grips the dough better than marble or stainless steel, giving you more traction while kneading.
• Scrape up the dried bits from the board before the final kneading rounds. Those crusty pieces create hard lumps in an otherwise smooth dough.
• Dust the board lightly with flour only when the dough sticks. Too much extra flour toughens the pasta.
• After resting, roll the dough out immediately or run it through a pasta machine. Cut into fettuccine, tagliatelle, or pappardelle, or use it as a wrapper for ravioli.

Variations

• Add 2 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh herbs (basil, parsley, or sage) to the egg well for flecked green pasta.
• Replace one egg with 3 tablespoons of pureed roasted beets or cooked spinach for naturally colored dough.
• Use semolina flour for half the all-purpose flour. The coarser grind gives a chewier texture that holds hearty sauces better.