Ingredients
Pasta dough:
- 1 egg in 100 g of wholemeal flour (you get two servings of pasta),
- a pinch of salt,
- spoon of olive oil.
For the sauce:
- 200 g cherry tomatoes (preferably San Marzano varieties),
- 1-2 cloves of garlic
- a few leaves of green basil,
- salt and pepper to taste.
Pour the flour onto the table (preferably a wooden board), making a small indentation in the middle. Pour the egg there, pre-beaten with a fork.
Begin kneading the dough, gradually combining the egg mass with flour. This will take 15–20 minutes - the dough should be firm.
Wrap the finished mass in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30–45 minutes. If you want to make the dough in reserve, you can put some of it in a small container and put in a cool place (but not in the refrigerator, there is too humid environment for it). In a closed container, the dough can be stored for up to two weeks.
Take out the chilled dough and divide it in two. Flour the surface and roll out the dough with a rolling pin to the thinnest possible layer.
Roll the dough into tubes and chop each tube. Choose their size yourself: the tagliolini is 5 mm wide, the tagliatelle is 1 cm, and the papardelle is 2-3 cm. Part of the pasta can be frozen or left in a container for a day.
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and add the garlic, cut in two, into it (remove the core). If you don't want a strong garlic taste, you can take it out later. Place the tomatoes, cut in half, salt and basil, which is better to tear into pieces with your hands, not with a knife. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
Put the paste in boiling water, after adding a spoonful of olive oil there (so that the paste does not stick together). My rule of thumb: for every 100 g of pasta, you need a liter of water (good quality!) And 10 g of salt. Boil the pasta for two minutes and then transfer it to the tomato skillet.
Add a couple more tablespoons of water in which the pasta was cooked. Simmer for a couple of minutes, stirring occasionally, and then quickly transfer to bowls, sprinkling with grated cheese - parmesan, grana or, as we prefer in Tuscany, smoked ricotta or sheep's pecorino cheese. The dish can be drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and garnished with a sprig of fresh basil.
Chef's secret
“I am often asked: why knead the dough with your hands when there are mixers? To this I usually answer: why do you need a mixer when you have hands? As far as progress goes, in some cases I prefer to follow tradition. Hands feel the dough and its consistency better. Plus, it's a good muscle workout and an excellent anti-stress therapy. Today, you can buy everything, order food at home. But will this replace the cooking process? Smells, creativity?
The best tomatoes for pasta and tomato sauces are San Marzano plum tomatoes. The best of them grow at the foot of Mount Vesuvius, and they are used to make the most delicious (and real!) Pizza in the world - the Neapolitan. The most fragrant and juicy San Marzano is harvested at the end of August. The rest of the time, I advise you to buy tomatoes on a branch and cut them just before cooking - this way the fruits will retain their aroma and vitamins. And do not store tomatoes in the refrigerator - they spoil there quickly."
Photo: Getty Images
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