_Tagliatelli o Pasta Fatta in Casa_
The best and most tender paste is made simply of eggs and flour and
salt. Water may be substituted for part of the eggs, for economy, or
when a less rich paste is needed. Allow about a cup of flour to an
egg. Put the flour on a bread board, make a hole in the middle and
break in the egg. Use any extra whites that are on hand. Work it with
a fork until it is firm enough to work with the hands. Knead it
thoroughly, adding more flour if necessary, until you have a paste you
can roll out. Roll it as thin as a ten cent piece. If the sheet of
paste is too large to handle with an ordinary rolling pin, a broom
handle which has been sawed off, scrubbed and sandpapered, will serve
in lieu of the long Italian rolling pin.
This paste may be cut in ribbons to be cooked in soup as _Tagliatelli_,
or cut in squares or circles and filled with various mixtures to make
_Cappelletti_, _Ravioli_, etc.
Any bits that are left or become too dry to work may be made into a
ball and kept for some time to be grated into soup, in which it makes
an excellent thickening.