The soul of the sfoglia with Pasta al Limone

In my kitchen, simplicity is the ultimate technical challenge. This dish remains my litmus test for a perfect dough.

This is a high-yolk dough (300g flour to 185g liquid) While many prefer a drier dough for machines, I find this 61% hydration essential for the silkiness needed when rolling and cutting by hand. You can see the elasticity in the first photo,it should feel like 'seta' (silk) before it hits the knife.

The creamy texture you see on the plate comes entirely from the Mantecatura, the marriage of starch and fat, not from heavy cream.The result is a translucent, golden coating that honors the pasta as the protagonist. When the pasta is this fresh, you don't want to hide the flavor of the eggs and grain, you want to highlight them

For the Pasta al Limone, you will need butter, fresh lemon zest, Parmigiano-Reggiano, starchy pasta water, fresh lemon juice, and a crack of black peppe. That's it. Done in 40 minutes or less.