Tagliatelle are long, flat ribbons of pasta hailing from Emilia-Romagna and Marche in Italy, made with nothing more than eggs and flour. It’s a variety that's particularly good at absorbing heavy, meaty sauces that are full of flavour.

As one of the simplest pasta shapes out there, it’s worth making your own at home (all you need is a rolling pin and a knife) – Filippo Trapella’s Homemade tagliatelle recipe will talk you through the process. Once you’ve got your nests ready to cook, pair it with a sauce or flavour it with striking squid ink like Rosanna Marziale does in her dish of Squid ink pasta with mussels, calamari crackling and mozzarella purée. A popular variation of tagliatelle is tagliolini, a more cylindrical and thinner pasta that suits lighter sauces. Salvatore Elefante’s Tagliolini with tuna, aubergine cream and burrata makes for a beautiful midweek dish, as does Grazia Soncini’s Tagliolini with squid and courgette flowers.

Whichever one of these tagliatelle recipes you decide to go for, make sure you don’t overcook it – pasta should always be served al dente so it retains its bite and doesn’t go claggy.