Fresh Egg Pasta

Mound the flour on a clean work surface and whisk the salt through it, then sweep out a wide well in the centre. Crack the whole eggs and the extra yolk into the well, add the olive oil, and beat them with a fork. Working the fork in slow circles, draw flour from the inner wall of the well into the eggs a little at a time. When the centre is too thick to stir, switch to a bench scraper and chop the wet, ragged mass together with the remaining flour until it forms a rough, shaggy dough with no loose dry pools.

Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface with the heel of your hand: push the dough away from you, fold it back over itself, give it a quarter turn, and repeat. Keep a steady rhythm for 8-10 minutes. At first it will tear and feel stiff; as the gluten develops it tightens, smooths, and springs back. Add flour only a pinch at a time if it stays stubbornly sticky.

Wrap the dough tightly in cling film or seal it under an inverted bowl so it cannot dry out. Let it rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, up to an hour. This hydrates the flour evenly and relaxes the gluten so the dough will roll thin without snapping back. Do not skip this — a rested dough rolls effortlessly where a fresh one fights you.

Cut the dough into quarters, keeping the unused pieces wrapped. Flatten one piece into a disc and pass it through the widest setting of a pasta machine (or roll by hand with a long pin). Fold it in thirds like a letter, give it a quarter turn, and pass it through the widest setting two or three more times to laminate and square it. Then roll it through progressively narrower settings, dusting lightly with flour to prevent sticking, until the sheet is thin enough to see your hand through.

Let the sheets dry on a floured cloth for 5-10 minutes until the surface is tacky-dry but still flexible — this keeps the cut ribbons from gluing together. Pass the sheets through the cutter or roll them loosely and slice by hand into tagliatelle or pappardelle. Toss the ribbons generously with semola rimacinata, lift and fluff them into loose nests, and either cook within the hour in heavily salted boiling water (2-3 minutes) or let dry for later.