The following is an excerpt from Susanna’s book Italian Country Cooking

Home-made pasta has a unique lightness that the commercial dried and fresh varieties just can’t equal. This is the traditional method of making pasta – it can be hard work and quite time-consuming but is immensely satisfying as well. You may be relieved to hear that you can cheat and use the food processor – your pasta may not be quite as light and elastic in texture but is much quicker and still far better than any fresh pasta produced commercially. I have included both methods. I would not advocate the use of pasta machines that mix the flour and eggs at one end and spew various pasta shapes out the other.

400g/14oz plain flour (about 3 cups all-purpose flour)
4 eggs
A pinch of salt

These quantities will make enough pasta for 4 people. Calculate quantities at roughly 100g / 3 1/2 oz (3/4 cup) of flour and 1 egg per person. Because making fresh pasta from scratch is such a lengthy process, I often make more than I need and freeze the rest (do not defrost before cooking, but cook from frozen). The dough keeps covered in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

Mixing and kneading the tradition way

You will need a long rolling pin and a large wooden board. Pour the flour into the middle of the board and hollow out a well in the middle. Break the eggs into it and add a pinch of salt. Stir the eggs in the middle around with your fingers, combining the yolks with the whites and gently beginning to work the mixture into the edges of the well, gradually incorporating the flour. Continue to work the flour in from the edges, keeping the mixture smooth. When the dough becomes thicker as you work in the remaining flour, start to knead it. Scrape the board of any small bits that have stuck and keep it lightly floured. Work all the flour in. The dough may start to break up a bit during kneading. Keep sprinkling with flour to prevent any stickiness. Work the dough with the heel of your hand, leaning into it; try to amalgamate the flour and egg smoothly. The kneading should take about 15 – 20 minutes, by which time the dough should feel quite hard and solid and no longer sticky.

Quick pasta in the food processor

Process the eggs until well mixed. Then slowly add the flour and salt, keeping the mixture smooth. Process for about a minute or until the dough forms a ball and catches on the blade. Remove it from the machine and knead it for about 7 minutes on a lightly floured surface.

Rolling out the pasta dough

Dust a little more flour over the board and start to roll out the dough. Roll, stretching evenly in all directions. Keep turning the dough and try to keep it circular. When it gets to about 1cm / 1/2inch thickness, start rolling it away from you, folding over itself onto the rolling pin. You can feel any unevenness in the dough and can stretch it a bit by pullingat the rolling pin as you unroll. Keep repeating this routine, aiming for the thinnest sheet of dough possible. The dough will feel a bit like a hide of leather – the eggs give it a unique elasticity that will allow you to roll it very thinly, literally 1-2 mm / 1/16 inch.

Dust the pasta very lightly with flour and fold it in sections, flouring between each fold. Using a sharp knife cut into strips. Gently unravel about 5-6 strands at a time and arrange them in nest-like shapes on lightly floured pieces of kitchen towel. Dust with a little more flour to stop sticking. At this point you can either cook the pasta immediately, freeze it (and later cook from frozen), or keep it covered at room temperature (not in the refrigerator) for up to 48 hours.

Cook the pasta in plenty of lightly salted boiling water for a couple of minutes until al dente, taking care not to overcook, as this will spoil the texture. Drain and serve immediately with the sauce.

A pasta machine can be used for the rolling process. These small manual machines are operated by turning a handle on the side. The sheet of pasta is pressed between the rollers, which are adjusted to make them gradually narrower. You then fold the strip back on to itself in sections of three and keep rolling it through the machine. A longer and thinner strip, that looks and feels a bit like leather belt, emerges each time. You repeat the process until you reach the desired thickness of 1-2mm / 1/16 inch. Leave the pasta to dry on a cloth for about 15 minutes.