Makes 1 lb of pasta
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp water (more or less)
Small bowl of water
Sharp knife or pastry cutter
Measure the flour and shake it through a sieve into a medium-sized bowl to aerate the flour.
Add the oil to a container with measurements on the side. Add the eggs and beat them with the oil. Add enough water to make 7 ounces of wet ingredients. Then beat all together.
Pour the wet ingredients into the flour. Mix with a fork until moistened and the flour starts to clump together. Lightly flour your hands and then bring the flour together and begin kneading in the bowl. Once it comes together, turn it out onto a lightly floured board and continue kneading for 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and shiny, soft throughout with no lumps and stretchy. If it is too sticky or too hard, adjust with small amounts of water and flour.
Form dough into a flattened ball and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Rest for 30 minutes.
Cut the dough into 4 pieces. Work one at a time and cover the others with plastic wrap. Lightly flour the board and rub some flour into your rolling pin. Press out one piece of dough and dimple it with your fingers. Start rolling it into a rectangle. Flip the dough over occasionally, turning it 90 degrees and dusting with flour as needed. It should become thin and floppy. You can gently stretch the dough with your hands in all directions until the sheet is 24” x 10” more or less.
Cut the dough into 1½ inches strips, then cut again to form squares. Pinch off a marble-sized piece of filling and place it in the center of 1 dough square. Brush (or use your fingers) the edges with water. Fold the square in half on the diagonal so that one corner touches its opposite corner. Press lightly to seal all the edges, forming a triangular pocket with the filling in the center.
Place the center of the long side of the triangle on the tip of your little finger. Fold the other two corners around your finger, until they meet, then pinch or press to form a tiny loop. Continue this process until all the dough or filling is used.
At this point, you can place the tortellini in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and refrigerate for up to one day.
To cook the tortellini, bring a medium saucepan of broth to a boil. Add enough tortellini as will fit with plenty of room to move around and cook, stirring occasionally, until they float to the surface. As soon as they float, using a slotted spoon, lift the tortellini from the broth and transfer to bowls. Spoon the hot broth over the tortellini, enough to just cover it, and serve.
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