Plain egg pasta is elevated to new heights by adding fresh herbs to the dough. Inspired by Richard Olney's recipe in his stunning book "Provence the Beautiful Cookbook," the recipe offers endless variations depending on your choice of greens and herbs.
Place the herbs into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until they've broken down into a coarse, wet paste.
Add the flour, eggs, and salt and pulse until the dough starts to form large clumps and gather around the food processor blade. If the dough seems dry, add the water, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, until it's moist enough to come together. Add water judiciously, as too much water can make a sticky, unmanageable dough.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth and springy, 3 to 4 minutes, sprinkling additional flour on the dough and the surface as necessary. Sprinkle the ball of dough with flour, then wrap well in plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 30 to 60 minutes.
Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces (about 158g each). Return 3 pieces to the plastic wrap to prevent them from drying out while working with the remaining piece. Clear a large work surface (like a big cutting board) and sprinkle with semolina flour, or set up a pasta drying rack.
Roll the dough through a pasta machine once on the largest setting. Fold the dough in thirds like a letter (this helps it become a rectangular shape) before rolling it a second time on the largest setting. Adjust the pasta machine to the next increment and pass the dough through. Continue adjusting the setting and rolling the dough through the machine until you’ve used reached your desired thickness (we like between setting #7 and #8). Once you've rolled out one section of dough, set it aside, uncovered on your prepared work surface or pasta drying rack, while you roll out the rest.
By the time you've rolled out all 4 pieces of dough, the first pasta sheet should feel slightly dry to the touch. If it still feels damp, allow it to rest for another 5 to 10 minutes. Line a baking sheet with parchment and sprinkle with semolina flour.
To cut the semi-dry pasta sheets into noodles, dust a sheet lightly with flour, then pass it through the noodle cutter on your pasta machine. Place noodles onto the semolina-dusted baking sheet and toss to coat lightly. (To cut the sheets by hand, lightly coat the top of one with a little semolina flour, then loosely roll it up, cut the rolled-up dough into strips, and unroll.) Once the noodles are cut and coated with semolina flour, coil the pasta into loose mounds (“nests”) and set them aside until you’re ready to boil them. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.
To cook the pasta, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the fresh pasta for 3 to 4 minutes, testing for doneness after 3 minutes. Drain the pasta and serve as desired. A simple dressing of melted butter and fresh Parmesan cheese is outstanding, and lets the subtle flavors of the herbs shine through.
Extra uncooked pasta can be stored in the freezer for up to 2 weeks and boiled directly from frozen. It may require a couple of extra minutes of cooking time.
