(as transcribed by Eric Dregni)
This is the recipe (top secret, of course) handed down from la nonna Tagliazucchi about how to make fresh pasta, Modenese style. This is pasta fresca, fresh pasta (ravioli, tortellini, tagliatelle, etc.) as opposed to pasta asciutta, dried pasta (spaghetti, penne, and other packaged noodles), which uses hard durum wheat or semolina.
A word of caution: never ever use a pasta maker, at least not while la nonna is looking. She says it dries out the pasta because it works the dough too much. Do not use salt in the dough, but be sure to salt the water when boiling. Adding other ingredients to the dough (ground spinach, carrots, or beets) is very tricky business and not for beginners.
Read Eric Dregni's experience with authentic Italian pasta-making.
