Fresh Pasta w optional Sugo Sauce

This pasta was the pulse of Pazzo Chow because it was the only dish you could order everyday for 5 years. It was fresh house-made tagliatelle pasta with your choice of Sugo Sauce, fresh arugula and cheese. We made ours with egg, but you can make it without if you prefer.

feeds 4-6 people 

INGREDIENTS

200g semolina flour
200g tipo '00' flour (extra fine flour)/sub regular flour if you don't have it
4 large free-range eggs (room temperature) = Substitute about 1 cup room temperature water in place of eggs for egg free version

PROCESS

• In a mixer add both flours and start to beat on lowest speed with the dough paddle

• Crack eggs into a vessel and make sure to remove any shreds of shell, mix together

• Slowly pour the eggs into the mixer while the paddle is moving

• Let the paddle mix for 30 seconds to 1 minute - you'll know when to stop because it will become a dense mass and the paddle will start to struggle

• Turn bowl over onto counter directly (stone counter is ideal but wood works too) and knead

• *If you don't have a mixer, you can do this manually by mixing the flours together in a bowl and then pouring it onto the work surface creating a well shape in a dune and pour the egg slowly into the middle of the well while mixing it into the flour from the sides with a fork until you get the same mass textured dough ready to knead

• Knead hard - push the dough mass in from the sides with your hands while pressing down and forward with your palms like a rocking motion. Push the dough down with your fingers to shift it at the end of this motion. The more repeats the more the dough cycles and mixes together to form a smooth and silky round mass rather then floury, lumpy and textured

• Package it up in some cling film or silicone pouch (anything that keeps the air out) and put in fridge for at least 30 mins to chill

• Now it's time to roll it out! At Pazzo Chow, we had an electric pasta machine so this stage was easier than it is for many however this is the trickiest part of making the tagliatelle pasta in general

• The goal is to get the pasta into thin long sheets, so start with cutting similar sized pieces of dough, about 6 chunks should come out of this recipe

• Get your rolling pin and roll those chunks out to about 1/2 inch thick and as even as possible

• With a machine (electric or manual): Start with your largest setting and feed the dough through a couple times and then set it down one notch to thinner and so on until it's as thin as you want it (remember it expands a bit when it boils). It's important to go one stage at a time to get a gradual, even thinning. If it puckers or tears, take it out roll it up and start again

• Make sure you keep some dry flour on the side to dip the dough in, between stages so it doesn't get too sticky (to itself and the machine)

• When it's as thin as you want it, take the sheets and cut the length of noodles you want and dust with flour again and in between each other

• Run them through the cutting side of the machine

• Take the strands gently and place them in lots of dry flour mix so they don't stick to eachother

• Ready to boil in salted (like the sea) water for 2-3 minutes to cook

• *By hand: you are rolling it out until you have sheets of thin (4mm or so) pasta sheets

• Use lots of dry flour mix under and on top and roll loosely and gently into a tube and gently (without much pressure and a sharpe knife) cut it into 1/2inch wide pieces and roll 'em out 

• Admire your work ;-)

• Pazzo Chow style: boil the pasta in salted (like the sea) water in a submerged strainer with Sugo Sauce warming up in a metal vessel beside it. After about 3 mins, pull the strainer out with the pasta and the metal vessel (good quality glass works too but not as well) of sauce (this is for room temperature sauce, if it's been chilled leave it in a bit longer than the pasta), put pasta directly onto plate with about a teaspoon of pasta water and then pour the sauce on top

• Sprinkle/grate fresh hard cheese (Parmeggiano/Grana Padano/Pecorino) and fresh arugula with a drizzle of delicious extra virgin olive oil