Hand Cut (Pappardelle, Tagliotelle, Fettuccine, and Tagliolini)

Doughs:

• Standard Egg Dough
• Almost All-Yolk Dough
• Whole Wheat Egg Dough
• Parsley-Speckled Dough
• Black Pepper Dough
• Chestnut Dough
• Citrus-Scented Dough
• Colorful Egg Dough

Sauces:

How they’re traditionally served

For tagliolini, with light sauces, particularly seafood, vegetable, and cream sauces, but also with meat, as well as in soups, baked, and fried. For tagliatelle, with Bolognese meat sauce, of course, or prosciutto, though other variations, made elsewhere and with other flours, are served with walnut sauce, vegetable sauces, and cream sauces, as well as baked. For pappardelle, with gamey meat sauces made from duck, boar, rabbit, and the like, or mushroom and onion ragùs. For fettuccine, with meat and vegetables and, of course, butter and Parmigiano-Reggiano.

MAKE THE DOUGH

Make your pasta dough of choice and let it rest, tightly covered, at room temperature for 30 minutes. To make “straw and hay” tagliatelle (paglia e fieno), make a half batch of Standard Egg Pasta Dough and a half batch of Green Colorful Egg Pasta Dough.

SET UP YOUR WORKSPACE

Dust a sheet pan with semolina or line it with a dry dishcloth. Gather your tools and set up your pasta machine.

SHEET THE DOUGH

Roll a quarter of your pasta dough into a sheet.

For tagliolini, roll the dough semi-thin, stopping at setting 4 or 5 for both the Marcato and KitchenAid machines.

For tagliatelle, roll the dough to setting 7 (Marcato) or twice through setting 7 (KitchenAid).

For fettuccine and pappardelle, roll the dough to setting 6 (both machines).

Lay the sheet on your work surface; if using a countertop, dust the bottom with 00 or all-purpose flour. For thicker tagliolini, you can leave the sheet as is or cut it in half; for the thinner ribbons, cut the sheet in half crosswise so you have two even pieces

DRY THE SHEET (A LITTLE)

Let the sheet dry for about 10 minutes per side, or until the surface feels leathery and doesn’t stick to your hands, work surface, or itself when folded over and pressed (but is still pliable). In the meantime, roll out another sheet if you have the space.

CUT THE PASTA

Dust both sides of the sheet with 00 or all-purpose flour, spreading it around and removing any excess. If making tagliolini, generously sprinkle the top with semolina, too.

Position the pasta sheet horizontally along your work surface. Fold the ends toward the center like an envelope so they meet in the middle. Then continue to fold up each side, carpet-style, once or twice more until they, too, meet in the middle and you have a little packet that looks like flat scrolls.

Rotate the dough 90 degrees, so the center line runs horizontally. Use a knife to trim the ends so you have straight edges, then cut strips across the dough.

For tagliolini, these strips should be about ⅛ inch (2 to 3 mm) wide;

for fettuccine, ¼ inch (6 mm) wide

for tagliatelle, ¼ inch or a touch (6 to 7 mm) wider;

for pappardelle, 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide.

Slide the blade of the knife under the pasta so its spine is directly under the center line and lift—the strands should unfurl like Rapunzel’s hair

Gently shake out the strands to separate them, then lay them across the prepared sheet pan. Dust the pasta with semolina flour and spread the strands out a little if using right away, or form them into nests if storing for future use. Repeat with the remaining dough.

COOK THE PASTA

Cook the pasta until tender but still with some bite, 2 to 3 minutes, depending on the shape, thickness, and drying time.