Fresh Herb Pasta

Place the herbs into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until they've broken down into a coarse, wet paste.

Add the flour, eggs, and salt and pulse until the dough forms large clumps and gathers around the food processor blade. If the dough seems dry, add the water, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, until it's moist enough to come together. Add only as much water as is necessary, as too much water can make a sticky, unmanageable dough.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth and springy, 3 to 4 minutes, sprinkling additional flour on the dough and surface as necessary. Sprinkle the dough with flour, then wrap it well in plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 30 to 60 minutes.

Divide the dough into four equal pieces (about 158g each). Return three pieces to the plastic wrap to prevent them from drying out while working with the remaining piece. Clear a large work surface (like a big cutting board) and sprinkle with semolina flour, or set up a pasta drying rack.

Roll the dough through a pasta machine once on the largest setting. Fold the dough in thirds like a letter (this helps it become a rectangular shape) before rolling it a second time on the largest setting. Adjust the pasta machine to the next increment and pass the dough through. Continue adjusting the setting and rolling the dough through the machine until you’ve reached your desired thickness (we prefer rolling to setting #7 or #8). Once you've rolled out one section of dough, set it aside, uncovered on your prepared work surface or pasta drying rack, while you roll out the rest.

By the time you've rolled out all four pieces of dough, the first pasta sheet should feel slightly dry to the touch. If it still feels damp, allow it to rest for another 5 to 10 minutes. Line a baking sheet with parchment and sprinkle with semolina flour.

To cut the semi-dry pasta sheets into noodles, dust a sheet lightly with flour, then pass it through the noodle cutter on your pasta machine. Place noodles onto the semolina-dusted baking sheet and toss to coat lightly. (To cut the sheets by hand, lightly coat the top of one with a little semolina flour, then loosely roll it up, cut the rolled-up dough into strips, and unroll.) Once the noodles are cut and coated with semolina flour, coil the pasta into loose mounds (“nests”) and set them aside until you’re ready to boil them. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.

To cook the pasta, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the herb pasta for 3 to 4 minutes, testing for doneness after 3 minutes. Drain the pasta and serve as desired.

Extra uncooked herb pasta can be stored in the freezer for up to 2 weeks and boiled directly from frozen. It may require a couple of extra minutes of cooking time.