RECIPES

I will be updating this page every month to give you deliciously irresistible recipes to cook up for your supper so keep posted! In this feature you will find 3 delicous recipes Tuna and Tomato Pasta from Puglia, Tagliatelle with Roast Butternut Squash, Parmesan and Watercress and Tagliolini with Sage Butter as well as recommended pasta brands and tips on cooking pasta – Bon Appetito!

MAY RECIPES

PASTA 

The Campagna region in Italy is the most famous region in the world for pasta and, it is said (though there are a lot of other claims) that pasta was invented in this region.

There are two reasons for what makes a pasta good -- the ingredients and the way it is made. The best pasta is made from Durum Wheat (strong wheat) which is imported from Canada (they grow better quality wheat than in Italy) and is then made into semolina in Italy. The process in which the semolina is made is an old traditional Italian method. Here the wheat is toasted to make semolina. A good pasta maker will do this on a very low temperature for a long period of time to ensure that the wheat does not burn. In the bigger industrial factories,  where poorer qualities of pasta are made, the wheat is toasted on a very high heat and at a very fast rate. The next important step in making the pasta is the drying of the pasta. It is important that the pasta is allowed to dry slowly as this allows the dough to become porous. Pasta that is dried at a high temperature will not become porous; therefore, when you cook the pasta it will not absorb the sauces properly.

The other ingredient in the pasta is water. The high quality of water is imperative in the making of pasta. There are two towns in Italy that have become famous for their quality of water and hence the fantastic quality of their pasta -- Gragnano in Campagna (very close to Naples) and more recently Fara San Martino which is in Abruzzo. Italians, when shopping for pasta, will search out for the name ‘Gragnano’ on the packaging of pasta as they will be guaranteed that the quality of the pasta is very good.

In Italy people take their choice of pasta brands very seriously and of course it makes perfect sense. If all you are adding to the pasta is a simple sauce and you are feeding 4 people from the one packet, then to pay an extra euro or two for a brand of pasta that will transform the quality of your meal is most certainly worth it. Below are some brands to keep an eye out for and also some tips and recipes for a delicious meal! Bon appetito!


Here are some great pasta brands to look out for:

•    DeCecco
•    Cocco
•    Ca Pastai Gragnanesi
•    Di Nola


Tips on Cooking Pasta:

•    Make sure you cook the pasta in a large saucepan full of salted water (the water should taste like the sea!)
•    Do not add in olive oil to the water when cooking the pasta as this makes no difference to the taste


Tuna and Tomato Pasta from Puglia

Serves 4

Ingredients:
800g of canned tomatos
100g of canned tuna
1 x clove of garlic
1 teaspoon of dried oregano
600g spaghetti
salt and pepper
olive oil

Method:
Place a saucepan over a medium heat and add a good slurp of olive oil and then add in a crushed clove of garlic for 30 seconds. Add in the tomatos and leave to cook for 4 minutes (during this time you can cook the spaghetti in a large pan of salted boiling water). Drain the tuna from the can and sprinkle over the oregano, salt and pepper and break up the tuna with a fork. Then add the tuna in to the tomato sauce and leave to cook for a further minute or two. Serve hot with the spaghetti.


Tagliatelle with Roast Butternut Squash, Parmesan and Watercress

Serves 4
600g (1lb 5oz) butternut squash (or 400g/14oz peeled and seeds removed)
70ml (21/4fl oz) olive oil
salt and freshly ground
black pepper
200ml (7fl oz) crème fraîche
75g (21/2oz) Parmesan cheese, grated
500g (1lb 2oz)  tagliatelle
handful of fresh watercress
or rocket

Halve the butternut squash and peel the outer skin (get a good peeler for easy work). Slice the flesh into quarters and scoop out the seeds. Cut into 1cm (1/2in) cubes and place on a roasting tray. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt
and pepper.
Cook in a preheated oven at 180°C, 350°F, Gas Mark 4 for 35 minutes (you will notice the squash getting wrinkly). Stir once every 10 minutes to coat the squash nicely with the oil.
Remove from the oven and stir in the crème fraîche. Scatter with grated Parmesan and 1 teaspoon black pepper (this balances the saltiness of the Parmesan) and return to the oven for 2–3 minutes until melted.
Put a large saucepan of salted water over a high heat, and when it comes to the boil drop in the pasta, when the pasta is cooked drain off all the water and rinse the pasta in a colander with hot water.
Transfer to a big serving bowl and fold through the squash, crème fraîche and Parmesan. Just before eating, fold in the watercress or rocket – this gives a lighter, fresher taste to the dish.


Tagliolini with Sage Butter

Everywhere you go to get in Piemonte, Northern Italy (which is the culinary capital of food in Italy) you will find this dish and it is a very traditional dish in this region. It takes seconds to make and it is one of my favourite dishes to eat when I go out in Piemonte.

Serves 4
salt and freshly ground
black pepper
500g  tagliolini or spaghetti
1 large bunch of fresh sage, chopped
50g butter

Put a large saucepan of salted hot water over a high heat. As soon as it comes to
a rolling boil, throw in all the pasta and once cooked, drain and rinse the pasta in a colander with hot water. Transfer the pasta to a big serving bowl.
For the sage butter, place a frying pan over a medium heat and add the butter. When the butter has melted add the sage and cook until it is slightly crispy. Pour
the sage butter over the pasta and toss lightly. Season with salt and pepper and
eat straight away, this dish won’t wait around!