Pasta Flour Tagliatelle Carbonara

pasta machine or rolling pin, large 2lt saucepan, frying pan and mixing bowl

PASTA DOUGH
160g Doves Farm Organic Pasta Flour
pinch of fine salt
2 eggs
flour, for dusting

TO COOK FRESH TAGLIATELLE
2l water
pinch of salt
75g butter

CARBONARA SAUCE
150g pancetta cubes
3 egg yolks
oil, for frying
salt and pepper
parmesan, grated to serve

Pasta Dough

1. Put the flour and salt into a mixing bowl and stir to combine.
2. Make a depression in the middle of the flour.
3. Break the eggs into the middle of the flour and beat with a spoon, allowing a little flour to be incorporated.
4. Continue stirring as the flour mixes in, eventually forming a dough.
5. Gather the dough together and knead it for 100 presses to make a smooth ball of dough, adding a little flour only if needed.
6. Cover and leave the dough to rest for 15 minutes.

Tagliatelle Made Using a Rolling Pin

1. Sprinkle flour over the table and rolling pin.
2. Cut the pasta into four pieces.
3. Roll each piece into a rectangle 1mm/1/32” thick, turning it over regularly and dusting lightly with flour.
4. Using a knife, cut the dough rectangles into 7mm/¼” wide strips.
5. Dust the tagliatelle with flour to stop it sticking and lay it out, or hang long pasta over the edge of a tall saucepan, for an hour to dry.
6. Uncooked pasta can be chilled for up to 24 hours before using.

Tagliatelle Made Using a Pasta Machine

1. Dust the pasta machine and the table liberally with flour.
2. Cut the dough into four pieces.
3. Flatten each piece of dough with your hands and pass it through the widest, flat roller of a pasta machine to make a rectangle.
4. Fold the rectangles in half, pass them though the roller again and lay the rectangles on the floured table. If the dough seems sticky, dust it with flour.
5. Do this a couple more times, trying to keep the pasta dough rectangular.
6. Decrease the roller width 3 or 4 notches and pass the rectangles through a couple of times, to make longer rectangles.
7. Reduce the roller width a couple more times, lightly dusting the pasta with flour until it is 1mm/1/32” thick.
8. Pass the pasta through the tagliatelle cutter. 
9. Dust the tagliatelle with flour to stop it sticking and lay it out, or hang it over the edge of a tall saucepan, for an hour to dry.
10. Uncooked pasta can be chilled for up to 24 hours before using.

To Cook the Fresh Tagliatelle

1. Put the water and salt into a large 2lt saucepan and bring it to a rolling boil.
2. Add the pasta and stir to ensure it is free flowing in the water.
3. Cook for 3-6 minutes, depending upon the final size and thickness of the pasta.
4. To test if the pasta is cooked, carefully remove a piece of pasta from the pan, cut it with the side of a fork and if the pasta resists continue to cook the pasta.
5. Repeating the fork test every minute until the fork cuts with only a small amount of resistance.
6. When cooked, drain the pasta.
7. Put the butter into the saucepan and return it to a medium heat.
8. Tip the drained pasta back into the saucepan and remove it from the heat.

 To Serve Tagliatelle Carbonara

1. Put the pancetta into a lightly oiled frying pan over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, until cooked then remove from the heat.
2. Add the cooked pancetta to the warm pasta.
3. If using whole eggs, break and separate them, covering and refrigerating the egg whites for use in another recipe.
4. Lightly beat the egg yolks and add the salt and pepper.
5. Add the beaten eggs to the saucepan, stir and serve immediately, accompanied by some grated parmesan.