Farfalle with nettle pesto

To make farfalle with nettle pesto, start with the fresh pasta: weigh the flour 1 and then pour it onto the work surface (you can use a bit less flour, start with 160-180 g and add more as needed if the dough seems too soft), then add the eggs and mix everything first with a fork 2 then continue by hand 3; keep working until you get a smooth and elastic dough.

Then wrap the fresh pasta in plastic wrap 4 and let it rest in a cool, dry place for at least 20-30 minutes. In the meantime, focus on the filling: put on disposable kitchen gloves (two pairs are advisable if they are thin), clean the nettles by removing only the tips (you will get 150 g of nettles for the recipe), then rinse them under plenty of running water 5, drain them 6

and place them in a pot with lightly salted boiling water 7; cook for 10 minutes, then drain the nettles, being careful to keep the cooking water in the pot as you'll need it later 8, and place them in a container with ice water so they cool quickly without losing their brightness 9;

Once they are cold, you can squeeze them in a fine-mesh sieve, pressing with a fork, to remove the excess water 10. Meanwhile, take the burrata, remove the string around the "onion", chop it roughly 11, and toss it into the cup of a blender along with the well-squeezed nettles and pine nuts 12.

Blend everything for a few moments, then start pouring in the oil in a thin stream while running the blender 13. Let the blades run until you get a creamy and homogeneous mixture, salt and pepper to taste, and transfer it to a small bowl 14. Take the fresh pasta, divide the dough into quarters (keep the rest wrapped in plastic wrap while waiting to work it), then pass the first piece through the roller of the pasta machine 15,

rolling several times from the largest thickness to the second to last to obtain a very thin sheet, about 1/25 inch thick 16. On the obtained sheets, pass the pastry wheel to create rectangles: make vertical lines with the fluted wheel spaced 2¾ inches apart 17. Then, with the smooth wheel, cut horizontally every 1½ inches 18 to obtain smaller rectangles.

To form the farfalle from fresh pasta, use your thumb and index finger: position your thumb at the center of the bottom edge of the rectangle and your index finger at the center of the rectangle; with your thumb, push the pasta edge towards the center (19-20); then with your index finger, bring the top edge towards the center as well 21: you will have created three folds in two moves.

Pinch in the center to define the butterfly shape and continue this way for all the rectangles 23 and finish the fresh pasta. As you make the farfalle, you can place them on a slightly floured tray (use semolina flour if you prefer so it doesn't get absorbed by the fresh pasta). Finally, prepare the seasoning: cut the smoked bacon into strips 24, then dice it

and sauté in a pan for 2-3 minutes over medium heat, just enough to make them golden and crispy 25. Cook the farfalle in the same nettle cooking water brought to a boil 26; it will take about 5 minutes. In another pan, with the heat off, pour the nettle pesto, dilute with 1 ladle of the pasta cooking water to thin it 26;

Drain the farfalle and toss them into the pan with the pesto and mix with the heat off 28; plate the farfalle with nettle pesto 29 and top each plate with some crispy bacon cubes 30!