Basic pasta dough

1. Put the flour and eggs in a food processor with a pinch of salt. Whizz until it forms a coarse crumb. Take a little of the crumb between your fingertips and work into a dough. It should come together easily and feel firm and a little tacky. If it's stiff and dry then add a little more beaten egg or a few drops of water. If it's soft and sticky, add a little more flour.

2. Tip the mixture onto a work surface and knead into a dough. Carry on kneading for about 5 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Wrap in cling film and leave to rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes (or up to 4 hours).

Roll it out

If you’re using a pasta machine, take 1⁄4 of the pasta dough (keeping the rest wrapped in cling film) and roll it out with a rolling pin until it is thin enough to fit through the widest setting. Then run the pasta through each setting of the machine once. If it becomes too long and unwieldy, just cut it in half and run each section through separately. If the dough cracks, fold it in on top of itself, then run through the previous setting twice, until it’s smooth again. Once you’ve reached the final setting (or, for spaghetti or tagliatelle, the penultimate one), sit the pasta on a tray lined with cling film, keeping each piece separate. If rolling by hand, only flour the work surface if it really sticks – a little stickiness will help to stretch the pasta.