THE noodles they are a format of fresh egg pasta very simple and quick to prepare and, at the same time, easy to season with a large variety of sauces and creams. In fact, the tagliolini, thanks to their characteristic shape and thickness, are excellent both with fish, meat or cheese-based sauces, but also with a very simple sauce with oil, butter and lemon, as we propose them to you today. A condiment that lends itself very well to other types of homemade long pasta, such as tonnarelli, troccoli and scialatielli.

Preparation

1

Pour the flour onto a pastry board or steel surface, arranging it in the shape of a fountain, with a cavity in the centre. Break the eggs and pour them into the fountain.

2

With a fork, beat the eggs gradually including the flour, in order to thicken the mixture.

3

When the mixture is thick, proceed to knead it by hand, using a dough tarot.

4

Work the dough for 10 minutes until you get a smooth and homogeneous dough. Wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

5

When the dough has rested enough, take about 1/3 of it and flatten it with a rolling pin.

6

Then pass it through the pasta machine until you obtain a sheet with a thickness of 3-4 mm.

7

Take back each sheet and make the tagliolini with the special tool of the pasta machine. Place the tagliolini on a floured work surface and cover with a cotton or linen cloth until ready to cook.

8

Bring a saucepan with plenty of water to the boil to cook the pasta. On the other burner, place a pan with butter, oil and grated lemon zest and heat over low heat for about 2 minutes.

9

Extract the juice from the two lemons and pour it into the pan, adding ½ teaspoon of salt.

10

Also add the basil leaves and leave to infuse for a few more minutes. In the meantime, pour the fresh tagliolini into the boiling water, after adding 1 teaspoon of salt. The pasta will be cooked in about 3 minutes, so check the degree of cooking continuously.

11

Remove the basil from the pan and drain the pasta directly into the sauce. Add two ladles of cooking water and stir.

12

Serve immediately garnished with fresh basil.

Advice and tips

Always choose quality ingredients for the preparation of fresh pasta, especially as regards the eggs, which must be very fresh. Furthermore, respecting the rest time of the pasta is essential for the pasta machine to be able to cut it easily.

The thickness of the dough can be changed to your liking. Normally for the preparation of tagliolini we advise you to roll it out to a thickness of 3-4mm.

Once you have obtained the tagliolini, if you have time, you can spread them out on a grill or a pastry board to let them dry about 30 minutes before cooking them, in order to have an optimal result.

You can replace the basil with thyme or use other spices, such as oregano or sage.

The dish can be made creamier by adding about 1 tablespoon of fresh cooking cream. You can also flavor with a spoonful of grated Parmigiano Reggiano.

Conservation of fresh tagliolini

Fresh tagliolini can be stored in the refrigerator, covered with a damp cloth, for up to 2 days.

Alternatively you can freeze them: let the tagliolini dry for about 30 minutes, place them on a clean tea towel, then place them on trays to freeze for about 1 hour in the freezer, in small piles spaced apart. Once hardened you can combine them in special bags for freezing and keep them in the freezer for about 2 months.