Stracci with pistachio, mint and basil pesto

Pile the flour into a mound on a clean work surface and lightly press the base of a mixing bowl into the middle to create a well. (Or tip into a large mixing bowl and make a well in the middle.)

Whisk the eggs and egg yolks together in a bowl and pour into the well. Using a fork, start to incorporate the flour into the eggs until crumbs form

Bring the crumbs together using a dough scraper and/or your hands to form a dough. This is the trickiest part, but keep squeezing and moving the mixture around and a dough ball will form. If part of the mixture is stuck on your hands, rub your hands and fingers together to get the sticky bits off and back into the main mix. If the dough isn’t forming, splash a tiny amount of water onto your hands and then continue to knead

When the dough ball is formed (it’s ok if you have residual flour left over), put it on a clean work surface and start to knead. Use the heel of your hand to stretch the dough out away from you, then fold it over towards you into a ball. Repeat for around 5 minutes – basically, you’re giving the dough a massage to work the gluten in the flour. When you expose the wetter parts of the dough, use the stickiness to dab the residual flour. The dough is ready when it feels smooth, supple and stretchy. It should bounce back when you press a finger into it

Wrap the dough ball in cling film and leave to rest for at least 30 minutes, before shaping, or keep in the fridge for up to 2 days

Cut off one-sixth of the pasta dough and flatten it with your hand or a rolling pin so it’s roughly 1cm thick. If the dough is sticky, dust both sides with ‘00’ flour. (Keep the rest of the dough wrapped in cling film or under a damp cloth to stop it forming a crust.)

Turn your pasta machine to the widest setting and roll the pasta dough through twice: feed it between the rollers with one hand, as you turn the handle with the other. Take the setting down by one notch and roll the dough through twice more, dusting the sheet with flour if it becomes sticky at any stage. Take the setting down by one notch again and roll through twice

Now, fold the dough over in half lengthways to create the best rectangle possible. Turn the machine back to the widest setting and follow the above process 2 or 3 times. I know this feels a bit repetitive, but this is what we call ‘lamination’ in the trade, and it works the gluten to form a smoother, more elasticated dough that gives your pasta the right texture on the plate, and helps create a more uniformed rectangular shape

In this phase, the pasta will get a lot longer as you roll, so you need to set up your machine where you’ve got plenty of space to pull the fresh pasta through. If you find the dough starting to get sticky at any point, dust the sheet with flour

Turn the pasta machine back to the widest setting. Fold the dough in half to create a neat rectangle and roll it through the machine once. Continue to roll, reducing the dial each time until you reach the final setting, i.e. 1–1.5mm, and you have a good-looking sheet of pasta

Cut the pasta into 25cm long rectangular sheets, liberally dust both sides of the pasta with semolina and flour and pile on top of each other (the semolina and flour prevent the sheets sticking together). Cover the pile of pasta sheets with a damp tea-towel to prevent them from drying out and cracking. Repeat to roll out the rest of the pasta

Lay your pile of pasta sheets on a board and cut roughly 8cm triangles with a knife

Weigh into 110g portions and loosely stack the stracci on top of each other (make sure there’s a good amount of flour and semolina on the pasta to prevent them sticking to each other)

Sprinkle a layer of semolina on a tray and place the pasta on top

The stracci is ready to use but will have a better texture if it is left to dry out on a large plate over the next few hours, or overnight in the fridge covered with a damp tea-towel. It can be kept in the fridge for up to 2 days

For the pasta, in a large cooking pot, bring 4-5 litres water to the boil and add a fistful of salt (see page 31 of Padella)

Meanwhile, to make the pesto, using a pestle and mortar, pound the pistachio nuts to a crumb texture, then add the chopped herbs, extra virgin olive oil and grated Parmesan and stir to combine. If the mortar isn't big enough, transfer the pistachio crumbs to a bowl and stir through the other ingredients, seasoning with salt to taste. (Alternatively, pulse the pistachios in a blender to crumbs, then add the remaining ingredients and whiz for a few seconds to combine.)

Put roughly 300g of pesto into a pan large enough to hold the cooked pasta as well and add half a mug (about 120ml) of the seasoned pasta water, along with the lemon zest and juice, to loosen it

Drop the stracci into the boiling water and cook for about 1-1½ minutes

Drain the pasta as soon as it's ready, keeping two mugs of pasta water

Transfer the pasta to the pesto and stir over a medium heat with a spatula or wooden spoon for 30 seconds or so, adding splashes of the reserved pasta water to help the pasta and sauce come together. You are looking to achieve that nice creamy consistency, not too wet and not too dry

Taste and adjust the seasoning if required. Serve the pasta on hot plates and eat immediately