Fresh egg pasta

• 300 g (11 oz) Italian 00 flour, plus extra for dusting
• 3 medium eggs
• Pinch of salt

Ingredients for pasta verde (green pasta)

• 75 g (3 oz) well drained puréed cooked spinach

Ingredients for pasta purpurea (purple pasta)

• 4 tbsp beetroot juice

Ingredients for pasta rossa (red pasta)

• 1 1/2 tbsp tomato purée

Ingredients for pasta neri (black pasta)

• 1 tsp cuttlefish ink

Preparation:

Sift the flour onto a work surface (marble is ideal), forming it into a volcano shaped mound with a well in the centre. Break the eggs into the well and add the salt. Incorporate the eggs into the flour with your hands, gradually drawing the flour into the egg mixture until it forms a coarse paste. Add a little more flour if the mixture is too soft or sticky and, with a spatula, scrape up any pieces of dough. Before kneading the dough, clean your hands ands and the work surface. Lightly flour the work surface, and start to knead with the heel of one hand. Work the dough for 10-15 minutes until the consistency is smooth and elastic. Wrap the dough in clingfilm or foil and allow it to rest for half an hour. Again, lightly flour your work surface and a rolling pin. Gently roll out the dough, rotating it in quarter turns to a sheet 3 mm (less than 1/4 in) in thickness. If your are making filled pasta, go straight ahead and incorporate the filling as in the recipes. If you are making flat pasta or shapes, leave the pasta on a clean tea towel to dry for about half an hour before cutting. If you wish, you can also add one of the colourings suggested in the ingredients list, though you may need to increase the proportion of flour to eggs slightly so that your mixture doesn’t become too wet. If you choose to make pasta purpurea, use only 2 eggs.