This vibrant pasta dish gets a flavour boost with added garlic and chilli.
Ingredients
- 150g olive oil
- 1/2 cup (50g) breadcrumbs, made from day-old bread
- 6 cloves garlic, very thinly sliced widthways
- 1 1/2 small red chillies, seeded, finely chopped
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 400g dried spaghettini or make your own pasta (see below)
Basic fresh pasta recipe
- 2 2/3 cups (400g) Italian '00' flour or high-grade flour, plus extra, for dusting
- 4 (59g each) eggs, at room temperature
- Fine semolina, for dusting
Method
- Step 1If making fresh pasta: Place flour in a mound on a work surface. Make a large well in the centre, then break eggs into it. Using a fork, gently beat eggs, while, with your other hand, secure the walls of the well. Continue stirring with the fork, drawing in flour until mixture is very thick, then, using your hands, work in remaining flour.
- Step 2Once flour is incorporated, knead the dough (it should be firm and not sticky) for 5 minutes or until smooth. Wrap in plastic wrap and set aside for 30 minutes.
- Step 3Divide dough into 6 pieces. Flatten 1 piece with your hand until 3mm thick. Dust lightly with flour. For machine-rolled pasta (for hand-rolled method, see tip), set your pasta machine to its widest setting, then feed the dough through 4-5 times, folding it in half each time and turning it 90 degrees until it is smooth and the width of the machine. Repeat feeding the dough through, without folding, narrowing the settings on your machine, 1 notch at a time (the highest number being the thinnest setting), until you reach the second last setting, then place pasta sheet on a semolina-dusted work surface. Repeat with remaining dough. For ravioli, once you have rolled out 2 pasta sheets, fill immediately, so dough remains pliable.
- Step 4For machine-cut pasta, drape pasta lengths over a clean broom handle, railing or opened cupboard door for 10 minutes or until slightly dry. Feed dough lengths, 1 at a time, through cutting attachment on your pasta machine, then scatter lightly with semolina and place on a tray.
- Step 5To make pasta sauce: Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add breadcrumbs and cook, stirring continuously, for 2 minutes or until golden, then remove from pan. Wipe pan clean.
- Step 6Heat remaining oil, garlic and chillies in cleaned pan over low heat for 2 minutes or until oil is hot and garlic is light golden. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, lemon rind and juice and stir to combine. Remove from heat. Add fresh pasta to a large saucepan of salted boiling water and cook for 20-30 seconds or until it just floats (for dried pasta, cook following packet directions).
- Step 7Drain, then add immediately to hot oil mixture with the breadcrumbs. Toss well to combine. Serve.
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
Notes
Roll pasta sheets out to the thinnest setting, dry slightly, then cut using the thinnest cutters.
Variations:
To make it more special, add 250g cooked crab meat or chopped cooked prawns with the breadcrumbs in step 2.
To make spinach pasta, add 2 tbs very finely chopped, blanched squeezed-dry spinach to 300g plain flour and use 2 eggs and 1 yolk. Proceed, following the Basic fresh pasta method.
- Author: Sophia Young
- Image credit: Andrew Lehmann
- Publication: Notebook:
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