We’re leaning into the social isolation content today with this pici with spinach pesto and ricotta. Small-batch, hand rolled (if you’ve ever used playdough, I promise you can manage this) fat strands of fresh pasta, coated in a silky smooth, vibrantly green spinach and basil sauce and finished off with fresh ricotta (you can even make your own if the boredom is really hitting). No pasta machine required.
The pici recipe is a little non-traditional as it’s usually made without eggs – I prefer the colour and chewiness the egg addition gives. The sauce is simple: sizzle a few finely chopped cloves of garlic in a pat of butter and slosh of olive oil, dump in a few big handles of spinach and a crucial ladleful of gluten-heavy pasta water and stir to wilt. Add grated parmesan, toasted pinenuts and generously grated salted and pepper, transfer to a blender with a handful of fresh basil and blitz on high until the sauce is as cohesive as possible. With more pasta water on hand, toss the sauce through your cooked pici and plate up – artful ricotta dolloping an optional (but highly recommended) finishing touch.
Best served with last week’s molten dark chocolate, fig and orange pudding for dessert.
And if you’re looking for other pasta projects (and lucky enough to have spare flour on hand) you could try:
- Blistered cherry tomato pasta with fresh zucchini salad
- Homemade ricotta gnocchi with roast tomato and eggplant sauce
- 250 g plain flour
- 50 g semolina flour
- 3 eggs
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1-2 tablespoons lukewarm water if needed to bring the pasta dough together.
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 3-4 handfuls baby spinach
- 1/4 cup toasted pinenuts
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan
- 1/2 cup fresh basil
- 1/4-1/2 cup pasta water reserved
- salt and pepper
- 150 g good quality ricotta
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Combine the flours in a small bowl. Add the eggs and olive oil and use a spoon to mix to combine. Add a tablespoon of warm water if it seems too dry. You should be able to use your hand to bring it all together into a cohesive dough. Knead for 5-10 minutes until smooth and springy, not sticky or rough.
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Cover and leave to rest for 30 min to an hour.
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Bring a large pot of water to the boil for the pasta and salt generously.
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To roll out the pasta, cut the dough into 4 chunks. Take one piece and shape it into a rectangle (see photograph) and cut into 1cm slices. Use your hands (NOT floured) to roll out into a string. Go thinner than you imagine the pasta being – it will spring back a bit and also swell while cooking. Set each piece aside on a semolina dusted tray while you roll out the rest.
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Prepare the sauce ingredients before you cook the pasta – it all happens quite quickly at the end.
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Boil the pasta for 3-5 minutes (depending on thickness) until al dente – taste to check. While it’s boiling, make the sauce. Scoop up a mug-full (at least a cup) of pasta water to make the sauce – the gluten in the pasta water helps the sauce become silky and cling to the pasta.
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To make the sauce: in a separate pot over medium heat, melt the butter and olive oil. Add the crushed garlic and sizzle for a minute. Add the spinach and a ladleful of pasta water (approx 1/4 cup) and use tongs to move around until wilted. Add the toasted pine nuts, parmesan and salt and pepper. Transfer to a high speed blender or food processor (vitamix or bullet blender or similar), add the basil and blitz on high until you have a cohesive green sauce.
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Drain the pasta and transfer back to the pot over a low heat. Tip in all the green sauce, using some of the extra saved pasta water to wash out all the bits in the blender. Toss the sauce through the pasta, adding a bit of extra pasta water as needed to make it the right consistency.
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Serve up with dollops of fresh ricotta.
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