Homemade Italian Pappardelle (Fresh Pasta Recipe)

What is Pappardelle?

Pappardelle is a ribbon noodle shape originating from the Tuscany region of Italy. These long noodles are wide, flat and best suited for hearty pasta sauces. Pappardelle can be made from different styles of pasta doughs and can have straight or scalloped edges.

This homemade pappardelle recipe uses an egg and semolina based pasta dough that has a rich flavor and silky texture. Pappardelle is similar to fettuccine and tagliatelle pasta shapes, but is generally a wider, hand-cut noodle. Pappardelle ribbons are typically cut to be about 1 inch (or 2 - 3 centimeters) wide

Is Pappardelle the same as Tagliatelle?

Pappardelle looks and tastes very similar to tagliatelle. They are both ribbon style noodles that are generally made fresh from an egg based pasta dough. The difference is that tagliatelle originates from Emilia-Romagna and is only 6 millimeters wide.

Pappardelle comes from further South in the Tuscan region of Italy and is 3 - 5 times as wide (about 2 - 3 centimeters). They both work best with a rich sauce. In your kitchen, you can feel free to use tagliatelle and pappardelle interchangeably without effecting your recipe too much.

Ingredients & Equipment Needed for Pappardelle

Our favorite thing about making homemade pappardelle pasta is that the recipe calls for just a few ingredients and hardly any special equipment. This pasta shape is great for those making pasta for the first time! However, once you're a pasta pro - you'll find yourself returning to this simple shape for lots of comforting meals and cozy recipes. Here's what you'll need:

Ingredients

• Egg Yolks & 1 Whole Egg - For rich flavor and silky smooth texture!
• Semolina Flour - For sauce-clinging ability!
• Bread Flour (or all-purpose flour) - For fresh pasta's characteristic chew!
• Water - Just a splash, to bring the dough together.

Equipment

Other than these simple tools you will need a clean countertop or work surface, a pot of boiling water, a delicious pasta sauce and some hungry bellies!

• Bench Scraper (for hand-made pasta) or a Kitchen-Aide mixer for a little help!
• Rolling Pin or a Pasta Machine - Personally, I like to use my Marcato Atlas 150 machine or a mini rolling pin for sheeting pasta. However, a regular rolling pin, or even a wine bottle can work too!
• Sharp Knife (or a Straight or Fluted Pasta Wheel) - If you're going to get serious about pasta making, I recommend investing in some brass pasta wheels. Although, for this simple pappardelle pasta shape - a simple kitchen knife will do the trick!

How To Make Homemade Pasta

Our fresh egg pasta dough is easy to make by hand, as demonstrated below. To see our instructions for how to make this recipe in a Kitchen-Aide stand mixer, head to our entire Semolina Pasta Dough post for step-by-step instructions.

1. Sift or whisk flours together and mound them onto a clean work surface. With your hand (or the bottom of a small bowl), make a well in the center of the flour mixture.
2. Add egg yolks and one whole egg into the center of the well. Then, add a little water.
   

3. Use a fork to whisk the water and egg mixture in a circular motion. Once combined, slowly start whisking flour into the center of the well. Continue to pull flour from the edges of the well into the center. A thick, paste-like dough will form.
4. Once most of the pasta flour is incorporated and the dough begins to come together, switch from using the fork to the bench scraper. Scrape the dough up from your work surface and fold it over itself. Use the bench scraper to evenly distribute the flour throughout the shaggy dough.
   
   Note: If the dough is too dry to come together, drizzle a little additional water and continue to combine with the bench scraper. You want to have a dough that is easily pliable, but not sticky. If sticky, the dough has too much excess moisture and a little additional flour can be added.

5. With your hands pull the dough together and use the mass of dough to pick up any stray scraps of dough or loose flour on your work surface. Knead briefly, with the heel of your hand, until the dough is cohesive and shape into a ball.
6. Allow the ball of dough to rest, covered in plastic wrap or a damp towel until ready to be shaped.

The Thick & Thin of Hand-Cut Noodles

Once the pasta dough is made and has rested, it's time to sheet the pasta. To make pappardelle, you need to sheet the dough into long rectangles. You can do this by hand, with a small rolling pin or with a pasta machine.

We make pappardelle both ways, however, for consistency, I like to use a pasta machine, whenever possible. We use a simple hand-crank pasta machine that has lasted us for years! You could also use the Kitchen-aide pasta rolling attachment or a similar motorized pasta sheeter. For more information on sheeting this pasta dough, check out this visual guide from our Semolina Pasta recipe post.

Sheeting the Pasta Dough with a Rolling Pin

1. To sheet the pasta dough by hand start with one-sixth of the pasta dough. Roll the dough into a thick, elongated oval.
2. Then, fold the oval over-itself, like a letter. Folding the dough this way helps to create pasta with a classic chewy texture. Use a rolling pin to flatten the folds.

3. Repeat this process 2 - 3 times to develop gluten and shape the dough into a smooth-sided rectangle. To help keep the rectangular shape, occasionally roll outwards towards the doughs' corners.
4. Use a rolling pin to continue to thin the rectangle of dough.

5. Continually roll the pin away from you in a single direction to create a long, thin rectangle of dough.
6. The thickness of the pasta is up to you, but try to keep the dough thin enough to be translucent and about about the thickness of a credit card (1 millimeter).

Sheeting the Pasta Dough by Machine

To sheet the pasta with a machine, start by shaping and folding the dough, like a letter, as pictured above. (Photos 1 - 3 under Sheeting Pasta Dough by Hand). Then roll through the machine to the desired thickness.

Make sure you start on the machines widest setting and slowly thin the sheet of pasta by passing it through each subsequently thinner setting. I like to run the dough through each setting twice.

Cutting the Noodles by Hand

Once your pasta is sheeted, it is time to cut the dough into wide ribbons. Start by trimming the dough to the desired length. I don't typically measure, but I like noodles about 10 - 12 inches (25 - 30 centimeters) long. You can make yours longer or shorter.

• Pasta Wheel: If you are using a straight or fluted edge pasta wheel, you can simply lay the sheet of pasta flat and slice the noodles vertically along the sheet of dough. (You can use a ruler or rolling pin to help guide you.)

• Knife: To cut the dough with a knife, start by dusting the top of the pasta sheet with additional flour. (You can stack a couple of trimmed pasta sheets for faster noodle cutting.) Then, lightly roll the dough over itself, like a tube. Use a sharp, dry knife to cut broad noodles. Finally, unravel the folded dough to reveal your perfect pappardelle!

Drying & Cooking the Noodles

• Drying: Fresh pasta is best served after a brief drying time. During the pasta drying process, the pappardelle ribbons will become porous and better absorb the flavors of your pasta sauce. Special equipment like pasta drying racks and mesh screens are available, but not necessary. I typically dry my pasta for a short amount of time while I am finishing cooking. In that case, I just lay my pappardelle noodles flat on a lightly floured sheet pan while I finish my sauce and bring my water to a rapid boil. For longer drying, you can also dry pappardelle in portioned nests. The nests help to prevent breakage when the pasta is fully dried and more brittle. Be sure the pappardelle noodles are well floured to prevent sticking together while in the nest shape.
• Cooking: To cook the pappardelle pasta, bring a pot of water to a rapid boil. Then, generously salt the water. (Keep in mind, this recipe does not use any salt in the pasta dough and is reliant on seasoning from a heavy-handed salt water bath.) The exact time it takes your pasta to cook will be determined by the thickness of your noodles and how long the pasta was dried. Our pappardelle typically cooks in about 8 - 12 minutes but you should taste a piece to check for it's proper doneness.

Once the pasta is al dente, we recommend using a kitchen spider tool to transfer the wide noodles directly into your sauce. Finish cooking the pappardelle directly in the sauce, stirring often, with a splash of the pasta water for a couple of minutes until the sauce has thickened and is clinging to each glorious noodle.

Serving Suggestions

Pappardelle pasta is the perfect pairing for rich sauces and hearty meat and mushroom dishes. It's an easy recipe that makes for an impressive dish. Here are a few of our favorite serving suggestions:

• Bolognese Sauce - This traditional beef ragu is the perfect pairing for the wide stands of pappardelle pasta and a generous serving or Parmesan cheese! Check out our favorite slow-simmering bolognese recipe for a delightful Sunday supper!
• Amatriciana - The Roman's answer to a meat ragu has tomatoes, guanciale, garlic and pecorino cheese. While traditionally served with bucatini, pappardelle creates a beautiful canvas for this flavorful sauce.
• Other Ragus - Other hearty sauces can also be great pairings for this pasta shape. Think mushrooms, veal, wild boar, braised rabbit or duck confit!
• Matsutake Pasta with Miso Butter - This original recipe is a simple way to show off handmade pasta and one of Autumn's most delicious delicacies!
• Vodka Sauce - These noodles are perfect with a quick and simple Vodka sauce. It works well with our 'Nduja Vodka Sauce recipe.
• Beef Stroganoff - Just like a simple egg noodle, pappardelle is perfect for sopping up the creamy sauce on a classic stroganoff style meal.
• Osso Buco - These flavorful braised lamb shanks are often served over a bed of creamy polenta. However, a bed of pappardelle is a great way to enjoy all of the flavorful white wine braising liquids and zesty gremolata.

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