Although I like to think that I’m a fresh-pasta-making kind of person, the reality is that those hand cut strands of pappardelle only emerge from my kitchen a few times a year. Just like how I’d like to be the type kneading sourdough and brewing kombucha with a container of fiery kimchi fermenting in the garage – life gets in the way. While we’re all existing in this strange pandemic limbo, it seems as good an opportunity as any to tackle the baking projects that have resided in ever growing lists for the best part of five years. Aside from the above, it includes rum and vanilla spiked cannele, cinnamon sugar dusted pastel de nata, Lune style almond croissants, hazelnut cream paris brest, flour and stone’s famous pannacotta lamingtons and layered lemon meringue cake, tartine’s cult morning buns, any and all recipes from Ottolenghi and Helen Goh’s Sweet. Challenge accepted? If you want updates, sign up to the newsletter and/or follow along on instagram here.
Starting out with this easy yet utterly delicious blistered cherry tomato pasta and zucchini salad: the fresh pasta is brought together with your hands in a bowl or blitzed briefly in a food processor. While the dough is resting, roast a tray of tomatoes over high heat, transformed with a slick of olive oil and generous pinches of flaky salt into a sweet, intensely fragrant sauce. The salad is equally simple. Shaved zucchini with freshly toasted pine nuts, torn basil, just enough sharp parmesan and a squeeze of lemon, grassy olive oil and the requisite salt and fresh pepper. Add chilli flakes for a kick. Use a pasta machine to roll out the dough into long sheets (or by hand with a rolling pin as thin as possible), and slice into fettuccine or parpadelle like strands. Cook at a rolling boil, reserving a cupful of pasta water when you drain it(the gluten from the pasta helps bring everything together), and toss with the tray of juicy oven blistered tomatoes. Top with torn burrata. If you’re going to be at home, you may as well be at home eating this.
- 3 large eggs
- 290 g flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 600 g tomatoes – cherry tomatoes or halved small tomatoes
- 3 cloves garlic sliced
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and pepper
- fresh burrata or bocconcini / mozzarella to serve
- 3-4 zucchini shaved into strips with vegetable peeler
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup pinenuts toasted
- pinch of red chilli flakes
- generous freshly ground salt and pepper
- 1/2 cup fresh basil torn
- 1/4 cup thinly shaved parmesan
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Place the eggs and flour in a food processor. Pulse until it resembles a crumble and holds together when you pinch some between your fingers. If it is a little dry (I’ve never had to do this, but maybe if your eggs were small), add water a teaspoon at a time and pulse to combine.
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Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead into a cohesive dough. Cover and leave to rest for 30 minutes while you make the sauce and salad.
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Divide into 4-6 pieces. Work with one at a time and keeping the others covered.
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Flatten the dough with your hands into a small rectangle and run through the rollers of a pasta machine on the widest setting. Fold in half and run through again, still on the widest setting. Repeat 4 or 5 times to develop the gluten – you’ll notice it gets smoother.
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Continue to run the pasta sheet through the machine, this time adjusting to a narrower setting each time (without folding it in half), until you get to the second or third narrowest width. Mine is a kenwood attachment and I finished on 8 out of 9.
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Lay the sheet of pasta out on a lightly floured bench, and lightly dust the top side with flour.
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Repeat with remaining dough.
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To cut the sheets into strips, gently fold into thirds and cut into 1cm strips with a sharp knife. Unfold and hang the pasta out on a pasta drying rack or a clothes horse until ready to cook.
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Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Salt generously. Carefully add the pasta and cook for 3-4 minutes or until al dente, using tongs to detangle any strands that might stick together. Reserve a cupful of cloudy, salty pasta water (it contains gluten that helps bring the sauce together.
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Drain and use immediately: tip in about half a cup of the reserved pasta water and all the roasted tomatoes, and toss over low heat to fully coat the pasta. Serve up with the zucchini salad and top with torn burrata.
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Preheat the oven to 200°C. Combine the tomatoes (whole cherry tomatoes or halved/quartered small ripe tomatoes), sliced garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper in a single layer in a baking tray. Roast for 30-45 minutes, until blistered and juicy. If you’re still making the rest of the pasta and salad, just turn the oven down a bit and leave to keep roasting further.
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Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and toss to combine. Leave to marinate while you finish the pasta off.
In terms of pasta quantities, this makes enough for 3-4 people depending on portion size. If you allow a ratio of 1 egg /95g flour per person you should have more than enough.
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