There's absolutely nothing that compares to home made freshy egg-based pasta. The Tagliatelle are the easiest type, and one of the most typical. They originate from the city of Bologna, and it is said that the width should be equal to the 12.270th part of the height of the Asinelli Tower in Bologna, therefore 7mm when raw, which means almost 8mm when cooked. They should be quite thin: between 0.6 and 0.8mm, whereas their length is not really established, but it would be quite the norm for them to be pretty long.
The name "Tagliatelle" comes from the verb "tagliare" (= "to cut"), as the sheet of pasta dough gets cut with a knife, however I use the pasta-maker cutting add-on to obtain regular cuts.
TIPs:
You can make them in advance and freeze them on a tray shaped in nests, or flat out, then once solid put them into food bags and store them in the freezer until required: cook them from frozen.
You can also dry them out using the oven (and I prefer to use this method, as I find the taste keeps better): pre-heat the oven to 50 degrees C (fan), then place the tagliatelle on clean tea towels on baking trays in the oven shelves, leaving the fan on but the oven off, and leaving the oven door slightly ajar for 30 mins. Note that if the oven temperature cools down too much after 15 mins, take the tagliatelle out, repeat the process by heating up the oven to 50 degrees, then turn it off and put the tagliatelle back in for another 15 mins. Again you can keep your tagliatelle rounded in nests, but I personally keep them long and flat to ensure they dry out properly.
In reality I usually make them and cook them the same day, leaving them to dry out on the stands until ready to cook them, between 1 and 8 hours.
Ingredients (multiply according to how many people you're cooking for):
1 egg per person
100gr flour per person (80gr plain flour, 20gr semolina)
2.5gr salt per person
Additional semolina to dust the kitchen counter
Method:
Mix both flour types
Put 80% of the flour mix you are using in a bowl
Add the eggs and the salt
Start mixing with a fork, then pour the dough on your kitchen counter and start working it with the ball and palm of your hands
At this stage, add some or all of the flour you set aside if needed (you usually don't need itall)
Work it very well until the dough is quite elastic - some 8 mins should be sufficient
Form a ball with the dough, then wrap it tightly in cling film, and set it aside on the kitchen counter for a minimum of 30 mins (maximum 2 hours)
Dust the counter with the leftover flour mix or with additional semolina, then obtain an oblong shape, 0.5cm thick and not too wide or too long: you'll need to pass it through the pasta machine
TIP: I find that using the equivalent of 100gr of flour gives a manageable piece: the above is half of the dough I made for 2 people.
TIP: leave the rest of the dough wrapped in clingfilm while you work your first oblong.
Fix your pasta machine to the table, then slowly feed the oblong through the thickest setting of the roller: number 1
Then fold the resulting shape in three, gently press it with your hands, and feed it through the rollers at number 1 again
Repeat for 3 times, always at number 1: this will give strength to your pasta
TIP: always slightly dust your sheet with semolina over and under before feeding it through the rollers, but dust off the excess.
Now reduce the thickness of the rollers progressively: to number 2, then 4, then 6
TIP: the machine goes to number 9, but, although there are no set rules for thickness, I find that number 6 or 7 is thin enough
At this point, feed the sheet through the cutting rollers of the machine, then gently drape each strand on the stand or on a clean teatowel dusted with semolina
Bring to the boil plenty of salted water, then cook for 5-6mins (taste it frequently for your preferred cooking point before draining it)
Have your chosen sauce ready, dress your tagliatelle and serve
TIP: Although tagliatelle is traditionally served with "ragu'" (=bolognese sauce), there are a variety of other sauces traditionally used with them, some vegetarian, some fish-based