Ingredients
4 large eggs, at room temperature
Water, as needed
2. Knead dough, working vigorously, until smooth and even, about 8 minutes. Cover with damp towel and let sit 15 to 30 minutes.
3. Have fillings ready for stuffed pasta. Cut small sections of dough, lightly flour, and roll out using pasta rolling machine or long, narrow pasta rolling pin (available at kitchenware stores). Keep remaining dough covered as each piece is rolled out. Roll very thin for stuffed pasta, a little thicker for noodles. Pasta is ready to be used.
4. To cut into noodles, use cutting roller of machine or lightly flour sheet of dough, roll like jelly roll, and cut crosswise. Spread on lightly floured towels until dry enough to gather and coil into nest shapes without sticking together. May be cooked immediately or dried (about 24 hours) for prolonged storage. To fill pasta, refer to individual recipes. Makes enough for 8 servings of stuffed pasta, 4 to 6 servings if cut into noodles
Saucing Notes: Olive trees do not grow in the fertile valleys around Parma, and until recently, olive oil was all but unheard of in the region’s cooking. Pasta is most often sauced generously but simply with a rich butter that is almost as celebrated as the region’s signature cheese. Liberal does not, however, mean careless. One of the things that impressed me about Mama Rosa’s cooking was that, despite its exuberant flavors, it was a study in exquisite balance and restraint.
Recipe by Damon Lee Fowler, author of New Southern Baking. "Relish a Classic Flavor," April 2006.

