Fresh pappardelle with tomato and basil sauce recipe

Details

• Cuisine: Italian
• Recipe Type: Main
• Difficulty: Medium
• Preparation Time: 50 mins
• Cooking Time: 45 mins
• Serves: 6

Step-by-step

1. Pile the flour in a mound on a clean work surface, make a large well in the middle and break the eggs into it. Beat the eggs with a fork, pulling a little of the flour into them as you go. Gradually pull in more flour until you can work the dough with your hands without it sticking to your fingers. You probably won't need all the flour.
2. Knead the dough for 5 minutes, then wrap it in clingfilm and place it in the fridge for 30 minutes.
3. Set the pasta machine to its widest setting. Divide the pasta dough into 3 pieces and keep the other pieces covered while you work. Pass one piece of pasta through the machine. Fold it in 3 as you would fold a letter, turn it 90 degrees, then pass it through the machine again. Repeat the folding and turning and pass the pasta through the machine on the widest setting 3 or 4 times.
4. Keep passing the piece of pasta through the machine, reducing the size of the setting each time you do this, until you come to the penultimate setting, which is probably the best thickness for pappardelle. Cut this length of pasta into ribbons of about 2cm wide and 6cm long. Sprinkle these with a little flour and place to one side while you roll out the remaining pasta.
5. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. When the sauce is ready, put the pasta into the boiling water and cook for about 2 minutes.
6. To make the tomato and basil sauce: preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6. Put the tomatoes in a roasting tin with the garlic, olive oil and chopped basil and roast for 20 minutes.
7. When the tomatoes are cooked, mash them with the back of a spoon, then add the mascarpone cheese and season well. Sprinkle with some more basil leaves and then toss with the cooked pasta. Serve with Parmesan.