From Italy With Love

Silvia Colloca takes us back to her childhood and to the Italian dishes she adores, just as her mother and nonna made them

- Silvia Colloca

FRESH EGG SPAGHETTI WITH ROASTED LEMON AND SCAMPI

SERVES 4

plain flour and coarse semolina, for dusting

2 lemons, halved

80ml extra-virgin olive oil

20g butter

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley stalks, finely chopped

8 scampi, halved lengthways finely grated zest of 1 lemon

WHOLE - EGG PASTA DOUGH

400g plain or fine (00) flour 4 eggs, at room temperature

1 scant tsp salt flakes

1 For the pasta dough, place flour on a board. Make a well in the centre and drop in eggs and salt. Combine using fingers or a fork. Knead vigorously for 10 minutes until it forms a smooth, firm ball. Wrap it (Silvia uses beeswax wraps or use cling wrap) and let in rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.

2 Dust your board with flour or coarse semolina, and cut the dough into quarters. Work with one piece at a time and keep the rest wrapped up to prevent dough from drying out. Flatten dough with the palm of your hand, then pass it through the pasta machine’s widest setting three or four times, folding the dough into three each time. Continue passing the dough through the machine (no further folding required), each time through a thinner setting, until you get to the second-last setting or the sheet is roughly 2.5mm thick. At this point, pass the dough sheet through the spaghetti cutter. Gently place the cut noodles on a floured tea towel, dust with semolina and allow to dry slightly at room temperature. Repeat with the remaining portions of dough.

3 Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 180°C and line a baking tray with baking paper.