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The thickness of the pasta depends on the type of pasta you’re making. For the wide noodle, pappardelle, and for linguine, I finish the pasta on the second to last setting on the pasta rollers for noodles with a little heft. For ravioli, I like to finish it on the thinnest setting.

To prevent it from sticking, I toss the cut pasta with rice flour, a very fine flour that has relatively little gluten and so won’t make the pasta tough; but Wondra flour is fine to use.

To cook pasta, the most important step is to season your water properly. This does not mean putting a pinch of salt in a big pot of water. It means adding enough salt that the water tastes seasoned, so that the water has the same seasoning level you want your finished pasta to have. I use about 3 tablespoons kosher salt per gallon. Allow your water to return to a rapid boil—there should be plenty of water—and cook the pasta to al dente, so that it has some bite to it.

When you drain it, reserve some of the water to thin your sauce if necessary. Do not rinse your pasta! You’ll wash away the starch, which allows the sauce to cling to your pasta.

EGG YOLK PASTA DOUGH

This quick-knead dough is a summary of my pasta convictions. Except for the mac and cheese, which uses dried pasta, all of the pasta recipes in this book use this fresh dough.

Makes 1 pound dough, enough to serve 4 to 6

1½ cups (7 ounces) “00” or all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon kosher salt

9 large egg yolks

1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

Rice flour or Wondra flour, as needed for dusting the cut pasta

Mound the “00” flour on a cutting board or countertop. Sprinkle the salt over it. Form a well in the center of the flour and pour in the yolks. Add the olive oil and break each yolk. Using a plastic bench scraper (my tool of choice) or your fingers, draw the flour over the yolks from the perimeter. Continue to mix the flour into the yolks until it’s all incorporated, kneading only enough for it to come together. Shape it into a rectangle about ½ inch thick. The mixture should be dense, flaky, and crumbly. Cover the dough with a damp towel and let it rest for 10 to 30 minutes.

Cut the dough into four pieces. Take one piece of dough (keeping the others covered) and flatten it with your hands. If the dough feels very dry, dampen the surface with a few drops of water using your fingers or a pastry brush. Starting with the rollers of your pasta machine set to the widest setting, pass the dough through, five or six times, or until the dough begins to become pliable. Do the same for the remaining pieces. Narrow the rollers by one setting and roll each piece through it once. Continue narrowing the rollers and rolling the pasta through each consecutive setting one time until the dough has reached the desired thickness.

Proceed to cut the pasta as desired, tossing the finished pasta with rice flour to prevent sticking. Pasta at this point can sit at room temperature covered with parchment or a dry towel, something that will allow it to breathe but not dry out, for up to half a day. It can also be cut as desired, tossed with rice flour, and frozen in plastic bags for up to a month. There’s no need to thaw it before you want to cook it.

LINGUINE WITH HEIRLOOM TOMATO, CAPERS, ANCHOVIES, AND CHILE

This simple tomato-based pasta dish originated because one of my chefs, Jonathon Sawyer, now chef of a nearby restaurant in Cleveland, loved loved loved anchovies. He used to put them in everything, using them almost like an aromatic or an herb. I love fresh anchovies, fried, but I’ve never been a fan of whole cured or canned anchovies, such as anchovies on a pizza. But they are a great seasoning device and I love working them into sauces; it’s a quick, easy way to punch up the flavor.

I urge you to make your own linguine for this one because otherwise the dish is almost too easy, but if you’re pressed for time, some dried pasta will work fine too.

Serves