World's Easiest Pasta (Frascarelli)

Suggested tweaks: This may be the world's simplest pasta, but it is hardly the fastest. The most efficient method I found for picking out the the pasta "nuggets" was to scoop big handfuls of flour and nuggets off of the cutting board and into a fine-mesh strainer set over a bowl. Then I let the strainer do the work of sifting out the pasta bits, and returned the sifted flour to the wooden board. But be forewarned--even when using this trick, the pasta-forming step will still take quite a while.

Ingredients

serves Serves 4, active time 1 hour and 15 minutes, total time 3 hours and 15 minutes

• 4 cups (680g) semolina flour
• 2 large eggs
• 1 rosemary branch (optional)
• Salt
• Olive oil
• 3 sweet sausages
• Pecorino cheese

Procedures

1. Spread the semolina flour onto a large wooden board. In a small bowl, beat the eggs with 1/2 cup (120 ml) water. Drip the egg mixture onto the flour, a little at a time, using a fork or rosemary branch, and stir with your finger tips to form little nuggets. As they form, pick the resulting nuggets out of the flour and into a mesh sifter. Shake off any excess flour and transfer the nuggets onto a cotton dishcloth. Repeat until the egg mixture is used up, adding more flour if needed. Let the nuggets air dry uncovered, for 2 hours.
   
2. Bring 1 quart (960 ml) lightly salted water to a boil and add the pasta nuggets. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until tender.
   
3. Meanwhile, in a small sauté pan, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium high-heat. Remove the meat from the sausage casings, add it to the pan and cook until it is lightly browned, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon as it cooks.
   
4. Once the pasta is tender, spread it out onto a serving platter or wooden board, and top with the sausage and a generous sprinkling of shaved or grated cheese and drizzle of olive oil.