Ingredient calculator
How many are you feeding?
Ingredients
Yield
Weigh your eggs rather than counting them — grocery store eggs vary from 45g (1.6oz) to 68g (2.4oz), and weight is the most reliable method. The approximate egg count shown is for reference only.
The recipe
Fresh pasta
This is Chef Maria Cristina's recipe as she taught it in Parma — a simple, honest dough that relies entirely on technique and good ingredients. The 60/40 split of "00" flour and semolina gives the pasta both tenderness and just enough bite.
- Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl and add salt to taste. For 1–4 portions, mix and knead by hand on a lightly floured surface. For larger batches, use a stand mixer with a dough hook.
- Mix until the dough comes together, then knead until very smooth and elastic — about 8–10 minutes by hand, or 5–6 minutes in the mixer on medium speed.
- Shape into a ball and cover loosely with plastic wrap or an overturned bowl. Rest for a minimum of 30 minutes at room temperature. The dough will relax and become noticeably softer and easier to roll.
- Cut off a working portion, keeping the rest covered so it does not dry out. Press flat and feed through your pasta machine, working up gradually to setting 6 for most shapes — this gives a great texture for cut pasta. Setting 7 is very thin and delicate, best reserved for filled pasta like tortellini or ravioli.
- Lay sheets on the counter to dry slightly, flipping once if the surface is very moist. Cut into your desired shape and cluster into nests.
Rice flour tip: Dust nests with rice flour rather than semolina if you have it. Rice flour's extremely fine, dry particles don't absorb moisture from the pasta the way semolina can, so the nests stay more separate, dry more evenly, and are far less likely to stick or clump together — especially important if you're drying or freezing. Semolina works fine if that's what you have; no need to purchase rice flour just for this.
- Cook in well-salted boiling water. Fresh pasta cooks fast — about 3 to 4 minutes depending on thickness. Taste early.
Dave's note on yolks
I've taken to adding extra egg yolks — for a 4-portion batch, one additional yolk; for 8 portions, two additional yolks, and so on. The result is a noticeably deeper golden color and a richer, more egg-forward flavor. Use the enriched yolks toggle in the calculator above to get the adjusted gram target, then achieve it with your own yolk-to-white ratio.
A note on salt
Add a generous pinch directly to the dough. The pasta water should be well-salted separately — the dough itself benefits from a little seasoning as well.
Storing your pasta
Fresh, dried, or frozen
Fresh pasta is best cooked the day it's made, but it keeps well with a little planning. The key distinction is whether your pasta is partially dried (still pliable) or fully dried (brittle, snaps cleanly like store-bought).
Partially dried — still pliable
- Paper bag at room temp: 1–2 days max
- Refrigerate in a lightly floured container: up to 3 days
- Risk of mold in humid conditions — when in doubt, refrigerate
Fully dried — brittle
- Allow 24–48 hours depending on humidity and thickness
- Paper bag in a cool dry pantry: 4–8 weeks
- Airtight jar or tin after drying: 2–3 months or longer
Freezing pasta nests
- Dust nests with rice flour before forming — its fine dry particles prevent sticking far better than semolina (use semolina if that's all you have)
- Flash-freeze on a tray in a single layer for 1–2 hours until firm
- Transfer to a freezer bag — they'll stay separate
- Keeps well for up to 2 months with no noticeable quality loss
Cooking from frozen
- Drop frozen nests directly into boiling salted water — no thawing needed
- Add 1–2 minutes to your usual cook time
- Taste early — they cook faster than you might expect
The pasta is the same — the adventure is just beginning.
Tortellini in brodo →