Pasta dough

Method

• Sift flour and salt together. Make a well in the centre. Place eggs, oil and water in the well. Working as rapidly as possible gradually incorporate flour into liquid ingredients until it comes together.
• Spinach pasta: Add 225 g fresh, cooked spinach or 150 g thawed, frozen spinach (all well-drained) to flour before adding eggs and oil.
• Knead dough will until smooth and elastic. Cover airtight with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
• Herb pasta: Add 45 ml finely chopped fresh herbs to flour before adding eggs and oil.
• Tomato pasta: Add 30 ml (1 sachet) tomato paste to flour and use only 2 eggs.
• Divide dough into four pieces. Take one piece, keeping remaining pieces covered, and flatten slightly with the palm of your hand.
• Set rollers of pasta machine on widest setting and begin to roll dough through machine to form a long, wide sheet.
• Fold sheet into thirds, like a letter, and run it through rollers twice more, folding it each time. Set rollers to thinnest setting and roll through once. The dough should be smooth.
• Cut pasta sheet as desired, using machine attachments or tagliatelle or spaghetti, or cut by hand into 9 x 14 cm lasagne sheets. Repeat with remaining pieces of dough.
• Lightly dust with flour to keep pasta from sticking. Bring a large, heavy-based saucepan with salted water to the boil. Add pasta and cook for 3 - 5 minutes. Drain and use as required.