William Meppem
“The Italian cook’s ability to combine flavours is superbly illustrated by our recipe for pansotti, which translates wonderfully as ‘little bellies’.”
Ingredients
Salsa di noce
Pasta dough
Method
Main
1.Blanch cime di rapa until stalks are just tender (2-3 minutes), then refresh. Drain well, coarsely chop three-quarters into 5cm pieces, refrigerate until required. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible from remaining rapa, finely chop and combine with remaining ingredients, except olive oil, in a bowl with a fork, mixing lightly to combine. Season to taste, add extra pecorino or Reggiano to taste. Refrigerate until required.
2.For salsa di noce, blanch walnuts in boiling water, then cool and remove any skins. Pound in a mortar and pestle until coarsely ground, add Reggiano and extra-virgin olive oil and season to taste (mixture should resemble pesto in texture – add more oil or Reggiano to achieve desired consistency). Stand at room temperature until required.
3.For pasta dough, mix ingredients in a bowl until a smooth dough forms, turn onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth, wrap in plastic wrap and set aside for 1 hour to rest. Divide dough in half and, working with one piece at a time, feed through pasta machine, rolling and folding as you go, reducing settings notch by notch until dough is 2mm thick. Transfer to a lightly floured tray, cover with a damp tea towel.
4.Working with one pasta sheet at a time, (keep remaining covered with a damp tea towel), cut into rough 8cm squares, working quickly to avoid pasta drying out. Place a tablespoon of ricotta mixture in centre of each square. Lightly brush two edges with water and fold pasta over filling to form a triangle. Press edges to seal well and remove air, then join two points of the triangle on its longest side, pressing together. Place on a flour-dusted tray and repeat with remaining pasta and filling. Makes about 25.
5.Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil over high heat. Add pasta, cook 1 minute, add reserved cime di rapa and cook until pasta is al dente and cime di rapa is tender (30 seconds-1 minute), drain and toss in olive oil. Divide among bowls, drizzle with salsa di noce and serve.
This recipe is from the August 2009 issue of Australian Gourmet Traveller.
Notes
