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There is nothing better than homemade pasta and this Homemade Tagliatelle Pasta has the taste and texture you come to expect with with fresh pasta. It’s not as difficult as you think, I promise.

Mounds of homemade tagliatelle pasta on a cutting board

When making homemade pasta, you start with one recipe and you can make any shape pasta you choose, from this tagliatelle to lasagne sheets and spaghetti.

I love fresh pasta and my favorite is tagliatelle from my favorite region of Italy, Emilia Romagna. They are most famous for prosciutto from Parma, balsamic vinegar from Modena and Parmigiano Reggiano (Parmesan),  so it is a great place for foodies to visit.

A pasta machine and homemade tagliatelle pasta

I remember my last visit to Lake Como, my favorite snack was crusty bread, prosciutto and cheese all washed down with Chianti, it is heaven.

Tagliatelle looks very similar to fettuccine, so what’s the difference you ask? Well, traditionally fettuccini are wider noodles traditionally served with creamy sauces, where tagliatelle is thinner and traditionally served with a Tagliatelle Bolognese Sauce.

I find that cooking is an on-going learning process and the more you make a recipe, the more you learn. The last fresh pasta I made was tortellini and where I like the way it turned out, I found that adding olive oil and a little water makes for a softer, more tender dough.

Freshly made cheese tortellini

How to Make Homemade Tagliatelle Pasta

The most effective way to make pasta is the old fashioned way. The way they have been doing in Italy for centuries. Just a surface and a fork. You make a well with the flour then add the eggs, salt, olive oil and water, then just mix until the dough comes together.

Don’t use all the flour if you don’t need to, just use only enough for the dough to come together. As you see below, that’s how much flour I was left with.

Homemade tagliatelle pasta on a board freshly made

Kneading is key in getting great dough, if you can, knead for about 10 minutes. It’s quite a workout, but you’ll be left with a nice soft dough and as an added bonus your hands will feel soft from the olive oil.  Now the dough needs a rest for 30 minutes.

If you’re not familiar with rolling pasta dough, it’s quite simple. Starting with a small rectangle of dough, you run it through your pasta maker at the largest setting, #1.

Once it comes out, dust lightly with flour then fold both ends into the middle. Run it through the machine again on the same setting, then repeat this 2 more times. After the 3rd time, turn the setting to 2, but don’t flour or fold the dough. Turn the setting to 3 and repeat and so on and so on until you reach the thinnest setting. Now your dough is ready to be cut.

Pasta dough being fed through a pasta maker

The dough will be long at this point, so lay it on your work surface and cut down to about 12 inches in length. Then run the dough through the thick cutting attachment of your pasta maker. Once the pasta is cut, lay out on a board and dust lightly with flour.

How to make homemade pasta without a pasta maker

  • After the dough has rested, take a small amount and roll out as thin as possible using a rolling pin to a rectangle of about 6-inches (15 cm) by 12 inches (30 cm) on a floured surface.
  • Take the end closest to you and start to roll, it will be more of a flat roll.
  • Using a sharp knife, slice from right to left (or left to right if you’re left-handed) into noodles. This will be the thickness of the pasta strands, so cut at least 3/16-inch (5 mm). The thickness is up to you.

Tagliatelle serving suggestions

Any light sauce is delicious mixed with this fresh pasta. I have a homemade Roasted Fresh Tomato Pasta Sauce or Easy Homemade Marinara Sauce that are perfect for fresh pasta.

On the heavier side, I have sage and cheese sauce  or a creamy cheese sauce that I used in baked gnocchi with sage and cheese sauce.

You can even use the pasta to make sheets for Lasagna Bolognese.

The pasta is best used right away. If you want to store it, I like to portion out the pasta, put the in individual freezer bags and freeze for up to 3 months. Then you can just throw the frozen pasta into boiling water when you need it.

This recipe yields 2 pounds/1 kg of pasta

Tagliatelle Pronunciation

Ta-lia-telleh

If you’ve made this Homemade Pasta Tagliatelle or any other recipe leave a comment below. I love to hear from my readers!

Yield: 6

Homemade Tagliatelle Pasta

Freshly cut homemade tagliatelle pasta on a board

Flour eggs, salt, olive and water are mixed then run through a pasta machine for the perfect homemade pasta.

Prep Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 3 cups (390 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 4 large eggs room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons water

Instructions

  1. On a clean work surface or a bowl, make a mound with the flour. Create a well in the middle and add the eggs, salt, olive oil and water.
  2. Using a fork, beat the eggs and begin to incorporate the flour from the inner rim of the mound, making sure the mound stays intact with the other hand by cupping the flour.
  3. The dough will start to come together and once there is no more liquid use your hands to start kneading the dough with the palm of your hands. Do not force the dough to take all the flour, just until the dough comes together and is not too sticky to handle.
  4. If the dough does take all the flour and is still too sticky, add more flour, a little at a time. Continue to knead for up to 10 minutes, the kneading is what makes the dough nice and light.
  5. Once the dough is soft and smooth, wrap it in plastic wrap, making sure it is well wrapped so no areas of the dough dries out. Set aside for 30 minutes to rest.
  6. For pasta machine method:
  7. Once the dough has rested, cut it into quarters. Take one quarter, wrap the other quarters back in the plastic wrap.
  8. Shape the quarter with your hands into a rectangle. With your pasta machine set to the largest setting the dough through.
  9. Fold the dough in half and pass through again on the largest setting. Repeat this 2 more times.
  10. Turn the machine to the next setting and pass the dough through.
  11. Keep running the dough through decreasing the setting each time until you reach the last setting.
  12. Attach the tagliatelle attachment to the machine and pass the dough through one last time.
  13. Drape the tagliatelle over your hand and transfer to a floured board or baking sheet and allow to dry for 30 minutes. Or if you have a pasta hanger you can use that.
  14. To make without a pasta maker:
  15. Take a small amount and roll out as thin as possible using a rolling pin to a rectangle of about 6-inches (15 cm) by 12 inches (30 cm) on a floured surface.
  16. Take the end closest to you and start to roll, it will be more of a flat roll.
  17. Using a sharp knife, slice from right to left (or left to right if you're left-handed) into noodles. This will be the thickness of the pasta strands, so cut at least 3/16-inch (5 mm). The thickness is up to you.
  18. The pasta is best used right away. If you want to store it, I like to portion out the pasta, put the in individual freezer bags and freeze for up to 3 months. Then you can just throw the frozen pasta into boiling water when you need it and cook for a few minutes until it floats.

Nutrition Information

Yield

4

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 279Saturated Fat 1gCholesterol 81mgSodium 420mgCarbohydrates 47gFiber 1gProtein 9g
© Culinary Ginger
Cuisine: Italian / Category: Dinner Ideas