Title: Pasta Recipe for Greens-Filled Tortelli
Categories: Pasta Herb
Yield: 1 Servings

INSTRUCTIONS FOR PASTA

1. Heap the flour in a bowl and make a well in it. Break the eggs into the well and beat them together with a fork. Stir them into the flour from the bottom of the well until the dough in the center is smooth and shiny. With your hands, incorporate the flour from the outside into the center, kneading gently until the dough is uniform in con- sistency but still soft. It should be smooth and resilient. You may not be able to incorporate all the flour. Conversely, if the dough is sticky or very pliable, knead more flour into it. Divide the dough into 2 portions and cover it with plastic wrap or overturned bowl. Let it rest for at least 15 mis. before putting it through a pasta machine. 2. To mix the dough in a food processor, put the flour in the work bowl with the steel-blade and pulse. Add the eggs and process about 30 secs. The dough should just turn over itself at the top of the bowl. Stop the machine and pinch a bit of dough together. If it coheres readily, turn it onto a board and knead. If not, add water, a teaspoonful at a time, and process. Be careful notto add too much water. 3. Processor dough is stiffe than hand worked dough. Cover and let it rest for at least 30 mins. before rolling. 4. Adjust the rollers of the pasta machine to their widest setting. Roll one portion of the dough thru the machine. Fold it and run it thru the widest setting another time or two. always put an open side into the machine when adding folded dough. If the dough feels wet or sticky, dust it lightly with flour before running it thru the machine. 5. Advance the rollers and put the dough thru the machine without folding. Continue rolling the dough once thru each setting without folding. The ideal thickness for filled pastas is a little less than a millimeter; this is the last setting on some machines, the next to last on others. The pasta will be difficult to handle if it is rolled too thin. 6. Cut the rolled pasta into 12" lengths, and lay them on a smooth, light- ly floured surface so that they do no touch. (Reserve oddly-shaped pieces for another use.) Roll out the other portions of dough. The pasta is ready to fill.

Source: The Herb Companion April/May 1995

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