Flat Egg Noodles with Basil

Makes about 12 oz of noodles ~ enough for 3-4 people

2 C All purpose flour (Can also be made with 1C stoneground whole wheat flour and 1C all purpose flour)

2 Large Eggs

1 t Salt

2 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 T Basil +/- to your taste
Water (as needed) 1T at a time

Blend flour, salt and basil in a bowl. Break the egg in a separate dish to avoid any shell fragments, then make a depression in the flour mix and pour in the egg and olive oil. With a fork mix the egg and oil and slowly draw in flour to the center until you cannot blend with the fork. Continue blending in the flour using your fingers, adding water as needed, 1 T at a time. Dough should be smooth, firm and not sticky. If sticky, add a bit more flour until dough is smooth and slightly dry to the touch. Roll finished dough into a ball, cover it with a bowl or plastic wrap and allow to rest for 20 -30 minites.

If using a pasta machine, cut the dough into 4 pieces and follow machine directions for making noodles. Finished dough should be rolled to thickness to ypur desire. My machine goes from 1-5, and I like flat noodles at setting #4. Never put sticky dough through the machine rollers.

If using a rolling pin, roll dough to 1/16" thick or a little thinner, turning the dough from front to back several times on a floured surface. Allow to dry for 10 minutes (you can lightly flour the dough to speed up drying if it's tacky). Roll up the dough into a log like a jellyroll, and cut the log into º" wide segments using a very sharp knife on a cutting board (to save the edge on your knife). Unroll segments and allow to dry on a pasta drying rack or on a flour dusted linen towel.

Coil up pasta into loose piles and put in freezer in an air-tight container, or cook in salted water or stock about 2-3 minutes to use immediately.