Homemade Lemon Pepper Pasta

DIRECTIONS

• Place the flour in a large bowl and form the "volcano".
• In a small bowl, combine the eggs, lemon juice, lemon zest and black pepper.
• Pour the egg mixture into the center of the flour and use a fork to start incorporating the flour into the mixture. Start with the inner rim and work in the flour from the bottom up. Spin the bowl counterclockwise if you're right-handed (or clockwise if left-handed) while working in the flour with the fork.
• Once the pasta forms large clumps, start kneading. When all of the loose flour has been incorporated and the dough has formed a rough but cohesive mass, about 4 minutes, transfer it to the board to finish kneading. (If loose flour remains and resists joining the dough mass, add 2-3 teaspoons water, toss with the loose flour, and incorporate into the dough mass.).
• (If using a pasta sheet rolling machine, knead until the dough is cohesive and moderately smooth, about 5 minutes.).
• (If NOT using a pasta sheet rolling machine, knead the bread for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic; check that dough has been kneaded long enough for hand-rolling by cutting it open: you should see small air bubbles inside and on the surface.).
• To check for the proper proportion of flour to liquid, press thumb into center of the ball of dough, it should come out clean. If too wet, sprinkle on some more flour (all-purpose flour is fine) and work inches If too dry, spray water with a mister and knead until the liquid has been absorbed.
• If making stuffed pasta, the dough should stick lightly to your fingers but pull away cleanly. For sheet pasta, add enough extra flour to make a firmer dough that releases easily from your fingers.
• If the dough is elastic and wants to spring back, separate dough into 6-8 balls, cover with a bowl or a damp cloth, or wrap in plastic, and allow it to rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes to relax the gluten before rolling. The dough will continue to absorb the flour as it rests.
• If the dough is sticky after resting, and you're rolling it by machine, you may wish to incorporate more flour by sprinkling the dough when you roll out the pasta to keep it from sticking.
• Roll the pasta to the desired thinness, following pasta machine's directions (start at 1 and progress to desired level). Aim for level 7 for fettuccine. If the dough breaks apart, is irregularly shaped, or sticks to the machine and makes holes, do not worry. Just fold up the sheet of dough into a regular shape that fits the widths of the pasta machine. Dust the new piece of dough with flour, and start rolling again.
• For wide paparadelle strips, roll pasta sheet into a roll, and slice with a knife. Otherwise, use pasta cutter of your choice.
• In hot, humid weather, place a table fan on low speed near the pasta drying rack. Turn the pasta sheets several times so they dry out evenly without developing any mold before forming into nests and drying fully. (Note if cooking pasta the same day, there is no need to dry out the pasta.) Once the pasta has been cut and formed into portion-size nests, arrange on a tray that has been covered with waxed paper or parchment paper and sprinkled with semolina or cornmeal, cover with plastic wrap and store refrigerated up to 3 days.
• For dry pasta, dry until dry on the surface with the texture of smooth cardboard but not brittle. The sheets are dried enough if the cut edges are whitish in color.
• To cook, heat generously salted water at highest setting so that water will return to a boil quickly after pasta is added. Cook until al dente, about 4 minutes for fresh pasta.