There is nothing revolutionary in this recipe; it’s down the line.
Though in our search of the simplest – and greatest – pastas, I have no choice but to type it up.
As part of Nat’s search for the world’s best pasta, it’s not going to be a finalist.
Though that isn’t the point.
We all need a (growing) repitoir of simple pastas for a late Saturday lunch. Grab a few ingredients from the shops.
Even better, we have basil aplenty in our modest herb garden and we always have pine nuts and grated Parmesan in the fridge.
The point instead is that you can feed eight on a dime. And in a way that eyes will lock, people will smile, you did this on a whim and satisfaction levels are sky-high given the circumstances: dinner on a whim.
Ingredients
1/2 c toasted pine nuts 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice 1 garlic clove 1/2 tsp sea salt Freshly ground black pepper 2 c basil leaves 1/4 c extra virgin olive oil 1/4 c fresh grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra to serve Pasta, cooked al dente to serve
Method
In a good processor, combine the toasted pine nuts, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper and pulse until well chopped.
Add the basil and pulse until combined
With the food processor running, drizzle in the olive oil and pulse until combined. Add the Parmesan cheese and pulse to briefly combine. For a smoother pesto, add more olive oil.
Serve with al dente pasta, more Parmesan, open a red, sit back and smile.
1 c dry breadcrumbs 2 cups milk 2 eggs 1 small yellow onion, finely diced 6 garlic cloves, minced, plus 1 clove for rubbing the focaccia 1 c flat-leaf parsley, chopped 2 tbsp salt Freshly cracked pepper 1 tbsp chopped oregano leaves 1 c grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving 1 c grated Pecorino Romano Olive oil 500gm ground beef 500gm ground pork 500gm ground veal 4 tbsp all-purpose flour 4 c Marinara (recipe follows) 1 large focaccia 250gm mozzarella sliced into 16 slices
Marinara (makes 6 cups)
800gm canned tomatoes 1 c olive oil 1 red onion, finely diced 8 garlic cloves, minced 1 bunch basil 2 tbsp salt 3 tbsp sugar 1/2 c grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Method
In a large bowl, combine the breadcrumbs and milk, mixing them thoroughly, and let stand for 10 minutes, until the breadcrumbs are hydrated. Add the eggs, onion, garlic, parsley, salt, black pepper, oregano, Parmigiano, Pecorino, and a dash of olive oil and mix everything until combined.
Next add the beef, pork and veal. Use your hands to really work the meat until everything comes together into a nice homogenous mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and let the mixture sit in the fridge for 1 hour.
After the mixture has rested, portion the mixture into golf ball sized balls. In a medium bowl, add the flour. Gently dust each meatball with the flour.
Preheat your oven to 180c.
Pour 1.5cm of olive oil in a large cast-iron skillet and bring it up over medium heat. Brown the meatballs in batches, about 10 minutes on all sides. Be gentle. Transfer the cooked meatballs to a large baking dish and cover them with marinara. Bake for 30 minutes.
Slice the focaccia down the middle and lightly drizzle with olive oil. Grill or toast until olive-oil side is golden brown. Rub both grilled sides with a sliced piece of garlic.
Preheat your grill on high. Spread the meatballs over the bottom half of the toasted focaccia. Sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano and place a slice of mozzarella over each meatball. Place onto a baking sheet and grill until the cheese is bubbling and lightly browned: 5 minutes. Coat the meatballs in the marinara mixture and the remaining slice of focaccia. If serving individually, skewer each meatball or cut it up however you want.
For the marinara: in a heavy pot, warm the olive oil and add the onion and garlic and cook until translucent, stirring frequently. Add the tomatoes, helping to break them down. Turn the heat down, add the basil an allow the sauce to simmer for 1 hour or more.
Remove from the heat, remove the basil stems and add the salt, sugar and Parmesan. Using a hand blender on low, gently blend the sauce until the tomatoes break down: you are looking for a sauce that is slightly chunky. Allow the sauce to cool. Store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
I’ve read Alfredo recipes that add cream, which I think is akin to adding cream to Carbonara. It’s amazing in a dodgy pizza restaurant in Newtown or Brooklyn, though hardly traditional or subtle.
This recipe from Serious Eats goes back to the original recipe with nothing but pasta, Parmigiano-Reggiano, butter and salt: no pepper, nothing else.
In terms of pure joy, this is it.
As part of Nat’s search for the World’s Best Pasta and in a slipstream of cooking the simplest pasta, the original Alfredo made the cut and came out way ahead.
Use a younger Parmigiano-Reggiano, pour a glass of cold Riesling and sit in the sun with a bowl of this pasta and prepare to be amazed.
Pure joy.
Ingredients
115gm good unsalted butter, diced 115gm grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese plus more for serving Salt flakes 500gm fresh fettuccine pasta
Method
In a large heatproof bowl, combine butter and cheese.
Cook the pasta in salted boiling water until al dente; drain, transfer the pasta to the bowl with the cheese, retaining 1/2 c pasta water.
Add the pasta water to the pasta, butter and cheese and using tongs, toss the pasta repeatedly until the butter is melted and a creamy, emulsified sauce forms. Add more pasta water if the pasta seems too dry. Season with salt, sprinkling more cheese at the table.
I was worried this wouldn’t be a special pasta, though there is something very special about it. There is a real nuance in the flavour and it’s just lovely.
Definitely the marjoram. Definitely.
Could also be the parmesan rind.
Could be that I really slowly cooked it down and then let it sit for a few hours.
Definitely was because it was a mid-week dinner.
We had dinner at Pelengrino2000 for Nat’s birthday earlier in the week and this is exactly what I would have expected from them.
1-hat stuff.
Hat’s off Colin Fassnidge. First recipe and it hit it out of the park.
Ingredients
1/2 c extra virgin olive oil 1 onion, finely chopped 3 garlic cloves, crushed 1/2 bunch marjoram, leaves picked and finely chopped, stalks finely chopped 1 red chilli, finely chopped 500gm pork mince 1/3 c white wine 700ml tomato passata 2 parmesan rinds (substitute 1/2 c finely grated parmesan) plus extra finely grated to serve 350gm spaghettini or rigatoni
Method
Heat oil in a large skillet over low-medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, marjoram stalks and chilli, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until the onion is softened. Increase heat to high, add pork and cook for 10 minutes or until evenly browned.
Add the wine and cook, stirring regularly, for 2 minutes or until the liquid is reduced slightly. Add passata, parmesan rinds and 3/4 marjoram leaves, and bring to the boil. Reduce to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes to reduce slightly and develop flavour. Discard rinds.
Meanwhile, cook your pasta al dente, reserving 1/3 pasta cooking water.
Toss pasta and reserved cooking water through the tomato mixture. Scatter with remaining marjoram leaves and extra parmesan to serve.
My father-in-law – also a Rob – and I have a shared passion for classic, old-school, home-cooked Italian.
If you follow my blog, you’ll know I have typed up many of Antonio Carluccio’s recipes, as just one example of the old-school Italian Rob and I enjoy so much.
I helped Rob with a few jobs at the start of the year and as thanks, he gave me Lidia Bastianich’s cookbook, ‘From Our Family Table to Yours’. (If you wanted to know the way to my heart, buy me a cookbook and preferably, one written by Lidia!)
Rob suggested I kick off the book by cooking Lidia’s Leek and Ricotta Tart.
To summarise the end-result, Tom, our 13-year old food critic simply said, “this is brilliant”. And he wasn’t wrong.
I love anything with ricotta and the leek is a wonderful addition.
For a long, homely Italian lunch or dinner, kicking-off the meal with this tart would very much set the scene for a special meal ahead.
Divertitevi!
Ingredients
For the dough
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour plus more as needed 1/2 c freshly grated Parmesean 2 tsp sugar 1/2 st salt 1 large egg yolk (save the white for the filling) 7 tbsp unsalted butter, cold, cut into bits
For the filling
3 tbsp unsalted butter, plus more for the baking pan 2 large leeks, white and light green parts, halved vertically, sliced 2cm thick 4 spring onions, chopped Salt and freshly cracked black pepper 1 large egg white (yolk used in the dough) 1 c fresh ricotta (I used smooth) 1/2 c freshly grated Parmesean, plus more for sprinkling 1/4 c chopped fresh Italian parsley Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg 1 large egg, beaten, for an egg wash
Method
For the dough: combine the flour, grated cheese, sugar and salt in a food processor, and pulse to combine. Beat the egg yolk in a spouted measuring cup with 1/3 water.
Scatter the butter pieces over the flour, and pulse until the mixture is lumpy. Drizzle in the egg-yolk mixture, and pulse until the dough comes together, adding a little more water or flour as needed. Move the dough to a floured counter, and knead it a few times to bring it together. Form it into a disk, wrap is plastic wrap, and chill until just firm, about 1 hour.
For the filling: melt the 3 tbsp butter in a medium skillet over a medium heat. Add the leeks, and cook, stirring often, until they’re tender: about 10 minutes. Add the scallions, and continue to cook until they are wilted but the green parts are still green: about 4 minutes. Season with 1/2 tsp salt and several grinds of pepper, and let it cool.
Beat the egg white in a large bowl until foamy. Add the cooled leeks, the ricotta, 1/2 c grated cheese, parsley, and nutmeg. Season with 1/2 tsp salt and stir to combine.
Preheat the oven to 180c with a rack in the bottom third. Butter a large 18cm cake pan. Roll the dough on a piece of baking paper to a circle about 30cm in diameter and lay it in the buttered pan. Add the filling, and spread it to an even layer. Fold the overhanging edges in to make a crust on the edges. Brush the crust with the egg wash, and sprinkle all over with the grated Parmesan.
Bake until the filling is set and deep golden brown and the crust is golden on the edges: 40 – 50 minutes. Remove to a rack to cool. Serve or warm or at room temperature, cut into wedges.
The first Thomas Straker recipe I typed up a few weeks ago was extraordinary.
And no kidding, my traffic grew by a third almost overnight and the recipe became my second most viewed.
All of Thomas Straker’s recipes are contained in short-burst TikTok videos without the recipe. Totally viral and social content, though not very helpful regarding cooking.
For the second time, however, Nat was still determined.
Introducing this totally nuts, baked gnocchi with beef and pork ragù!
On account of going up to Newcastle – two hours north of Sydney – for a 40th Saturday night, Nat started the ragù Friday. Gnocchi and béchamel on our return.
A triumphant, late Sunday winter lunch?
You absolutely bet!
What absolute luxury. Total, last meal decadence.
A dish that you’d drive across town for. Honestly, a dish you just can’t stop smiling about.
In a world of food complexity and pretence (and I am plenty guilty of that), this is a swinging boulder from the other direction to smash it all to pieces.
The beginning of homemade gnocchi.Taking shape.Plunged in an ice bath, reserved and tossed with olive oil.The incredible ragù.Béchamel with mozzarella and parmesan. OMG. Combine the béchamel and ragù and two very good things have come together.More parmesan and we are ready to bake.
Ironically, as we were leaving Newcastle this morning, Nat spotted an institution – Don Beppino’s House of Lasagne – a restaurant we had a late-night meal at 12 years ago. Already with a few drinks under our belt, we had the best night: the sort of food I am typing up here with too much Chianti and too many laughs.
About as old-school as it gets.
This is what life is all about.
Ingredients
Ragù
Extra olive oil 1 carrot, unpeeled, chopped finely 1 onion, finely diced 1 stick celery, finely diced 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 sprig rosemary 1 tsp Italian herbs 1/2 tsp dry oregano 500gm beef and pork mince 1 tbsp tomato paste Salt 1 tbsp sherry vinegar 3/4 c red wine 1 can cherry tomatoes 500ml chicken stock
Béchamel
2 tbsp butter 2 tbsp flour 1/4 c milk 1/2 mozzarella ball (175gm), chopped 1/4 c parmesan, grated Salt
Gnocchi
6 baking potatoes 1 1/2 c plain flour (plus more as you need it) 2 egg yolks 1 tsp salt Extra virgin olive oil
Pepper and extra parmesan to sprinkle before baking
Method
Start by making a sofrito: heat some oil in a heavy pan and softly sauté the carrot, onion, celery and garlic until very soft though not golden.
In a separate heavy pan, heat more oil over medium-high heat and fry the mince until browned. Add the tomato paste, salt and sherry vinegar and combine. Add the red wine, canned tomatoes and stock and bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to a simmer adding the herbs. Cook for 30 minutes. Add the sofrito and combine, reducing the heat to low and cook for as long as you can. Taste and season and remove the rosemary sprig.
For the béchamel, in a saucepan, heat the butter over medium-low heat until bubbling. Whisk in the flour until well combined and then add the milk, whisking until combined. Increase the heat and add the mozzarella and then Parmesan, whisking until well combined and fully melted.
Slowly introduce the béchamel sauce to the ragù and stir to combine.
To make the gnocchi, bake the potatoes at 180c until cooked through. Remove the flesh when cool and rice/mash. Combine with the flour, egg and salt and knead until combined. Set aside for 5 minutes.
Heat a large pot of boiling water and separately, set up an ice water bowl to reserve the cooked gnocchi. Using a piping bag with no attachment, pipe long tubes of the combined potato mixture and then cut into 3cm gnocchi with a sharp knife.
Cook the gnocchi rapidly for a few minutes until they float. Immediately transfer to the ice water bowl and allow to cool completely. When cooled, quickly drain and toss with oil.
Heat an oven to 200c. Carefully combine the gnocchi with béchamel ragù mixture ensuring the gnocchi does not break up. Pour the gnocchi mixture into a baking pan; or several pans. Pepper, very liberally sprinkle over parmesan and bake until bubbling.
Another pasta well at the peak of our ongoing ‘world’s greatest pasta challenge’ as we countdown the days to the arrival of Baby #4.
There is something so wonderfully subtle and scented about the ragù. This is class on a plate. 2-hat pasta class and I’m not overstating that.
Wow.
Nat made a nutty wholemeal pasta to go alongside and it just delivered that final, extra kick. If you don’t make your own pasta, try and find bigoli as your pasta.
I made the ragù ahead of time and reheated it with a knob of butter to add a little silk. I commend this to you.
Otherwise, this is the occasion to chill a good Vermentino, sprinkle plenty of Parmesan on the pasta, serve a side bowl of green leaves and enjoy.
This is why life is good.
Ingredients
500gm of minced duck, including fat and skin* 2 garlic cloves, slightly crushed 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary 240ml of dry white wine 480ml of duck stock or vegetable stock 2 juniper berries 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper Knob of butter when reheating
To serve
500gm of fresh bigoli pasta (or thick fresh spaghetti) 100gm of Parmesan
Method
To make the duck ragù, heat the oil in a large, heavy-based pan over a medium heat. Once hot, add the garlic and rosemary and allow them to infuse in the oil for a few minutes, stirring often.
Add the duck mince and increase the heat to a medium-high heat. Cook for 4 – 5 minutes, until evenly browned and season generously.
Pour in the wine and stock and add the juniper berries. Bring everything to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low and cover with a lid. Cook the ragù for at least 1 hour, stirring occasionally and adding a little stock if the ragù becomes too dry.
Once the liquid has reduced completely and only an oily sauce remains, remove from the heat and discard the rosemary, juniper and garlic. Cover and keep warm.
Cook your pasta and drain. Reheat the ragù, adding a little butter. Toss through the ragù with the pasta and half the Parmesan. Serve with the rest of the Parmesan.
* I left the procurement of duck for this recipe quite late and only had the option of duck breasts with the skin and fat. I was concerned that this would not be fatty enough for a ragù, though after mincing and cooking, rest assured it is. 3 duck breasts is about what you need here.
And this sauce. Which I have adapted slightly and which is just sublime.
Almost as good as it gets. The second pasta we have cooked with a residual liquid which is just fun, so bloody good. Half the point of the dish. (Check out this white ragu which is just incredible.)
My point on the adaptation is a few.
I found the recipe on Lidia’s website and it didn’t quite translate.
I’ve crumbled the sausage meat here. Halved the broccoli and then used broccolini instead, which I cut into 3cm pieces. And guessed at the butter – measurement missing otherwise – which based on her previous recipes, was on the mark.
As Nat says, you need things to look forward to during the waiting period and pasta seems to have become our thing. No complaints there and absolutely no complaints with this pasta.
Sublime as I said. 1 hat good. Totally great restaurant stuff.
Ingedients
1 tbsp olive oil 500gm Italian sausage meat, removed from skins 500gm broccolini 3 tsp sea salt 500gm ziti 3 large garlic cloves, crushed 1/4 tsp salt 1/4 tsp chilli flakes 1 c chicken stock 3 tbsp unsalted butter 1/2 c grated Parmesan
Method
Heat the olive oil in a pan over a medium-heat and pan fry the sausage meat, breaking it up as you go. Fry until slightly browned, drain from the oil and set aside.
Wash the broccolini, drain and cut into 3cm pieces.
Heat a large pot with boiling water and cook the ziti until al dente.
In a large, deep, heavy skillet with a fitted lid, heat the olive oil, add the garlic and sauté, uncovered until golden, about 2 minutes. Add the broccolini, 1/4 tsp salt and pepper flakes, cover, and steam 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in the sausage. Add the butter and stock and cook uncovered, over a high heat, about 3 minutes, until the liquids are slightly reduced.
Add the drained pasta to the sauce and toss gently. Sprinkle on half the cheese, toss again, serve immediately and distribute the remaining cheese over the pasta.
Nat and I did a cooking class with Rodney Dunn a few years ago when we spent a week in Hobart.
It was an awesome afternoon; true paddock to plate stuff, where every ingredient came from his farm. We cooked in his large country kitchen and then ate lunch in a wonderful dining room surrounded by cookbooks and sampling some amazing Tasmanian pinots.
An afternoon that Nat and I still talk about.
Rodney Dunn’s food is about body, flavour and honesty.
We’ve slightly adapted the recipe by blitzing the mushrooms and combining them with the ricotta and I think this made a textural improvement on keeping the mushrooms whole.
Though its the flavours that cannot be doubted.
Absoluely beautiful.
The homemade pasta is so good, you’re eating something elevated far above a cannelloni with tubes from the shops. (If making your own pasta, we always use this amazing Kitchenaid pasta dough recipe and suggest you do too!)
And the filling and the Béchamel!
This would be a signature dish in a good Italian restaurant.
Hitting a pasta homerun is my favourite thing and hands-down this pasta is a homerun.
Ingredients
580gm ricotta, drained 2 eggs, lightly beaten 100gm Parmesan, finely grated 1/4 c extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling 4 garic cloves, thinly sliced 3 spring onions (white part only), thinly sliced 300gm Swiss brown mushhrooms, coarsely chopped 250gm large flat mushrooms, coarsely chopped 6 sage leaves, thinly sliced 1 tsp thyme leaves 30gm dried porcini mushrooms, soaked in 200ml warm water for 10 minutes, drained and soaking liquid reserved
Pasta dough
1 1/2 c plain flour 1/2 c coarse semolina 2 eggs For drizzling: olive oil
Béchamel sauce
100gm butter, coarsely chopped 1/3 c plain flour 550ml warm milk 1/4 c finely grated Parmesan Pinch of finely grated nutmeg, or to taste
Method
For pasta dough, pulse flour and semolina in a food processor until combined. With motor running, add eggs, then gradually add 20ml iced water and process until mixture just comes together. Remove dough, knead until smooth (5 – 7 minutes), wrap in plastic wrap and res at room temperature (1 hour). Divide pasta into four, then using a pasta roller, roll until ou have pasta 2mm in thickness. Cut pasta into ten 12cm x 15cm pieces. Cook in a large saucepan of boiling salted water over high heat until al dente (1 minute), drain and refresh, drizzle with a little oil, set aside.
Preheat oven to 180c. Press ricotta through a fine sieve into a large bowl, then combine with eggs and 75gm Parmesan, season to taste and set aside.
Heat extra virgin olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat, add garlic and spring onion, sauté until starting to soften (2 – 3 minutes). Add the mushrooms and herbs and sauté until tender (8 – 10 minutes). Add prorcini and soaking liquid, simmer until liquid has been reduced (7 – 10 minutes), season to taste and set aside to cool. When cool, blitz in a food processor until consistency of mince and stir in with the ricotta mixture.
For béchamel, heat butter in a saucepan over medium heat until foaming (1-2 minutes), add flour and stir until mixture is light brown in colour (2-3 minutes). Whisk in warm milk, a little at a time, and stir until beginning to bubble (2-3 minutes), remove from heat, add parmesan, season to taste with salt, freshly ground black pepper and nutmeg, set aside.
Spoon ricotta into a piping bag fitted with a 2cm-plain nozzle, pipe across the middle of each piece of pasta, top with mushrooms and roll to enclose. Arrange cannelloni in a 25cm x 35cm buttered baking dish. Spoon béchamel on top, scatter with remaining parmesan and bake until golden and warmed through (30-40 minutes).
This was a pretty astonishing pasta we cooked as part of a slow, Saturday-night in Italian date-night.
Astonishing for two reasons.
Firstly, Nat made fresh fettuccini and fresh pasta always gives you a major speed bump. (Note, this recipe calls for pici, a handmade, spaghetti like pasta. The flavours of the pasta call for a thicker pasta like this and so Nat kept our fettuccini thick and it was amazing. The sauce is substantial so you will want a substantial pasta to pair.)
Secondly, the sauce is so strong, so nuanced, so restrained and subtle, all at the same time. Together with the fresh pasta, this is a dish that says, see what I can do?
We really were lost for words. Whereas the point of a ragu is to overwhelm with flavour, this ragu just swam under the surface is the most wonderful way. It was a bloody triumph.
We’ve fallen into a bit of a Saturday-night pasta habit. It’s not necessarily our evening of peak cooking, though it should be the most enjoyable.
Finding a new and genius pasta each time is hard. My fallback is so often Antonio Carluccio and he never fails.
Make your own pasta. Slow cook that ragu. Plenty of Parmesan. And I promise this will absolutely wow you. 2-hats.
I have slightly adjusted this recipe.
Ingredients
400gm pici or pinci (or the largest spaghetti as possible) 80gm pecorino cheese or Parmesan, freshly grated
Pork ragu
6 tbsp olive oil 1 small onion, finely chopped 1 celery stalk, finely diced 1 carrot, finely diced 500gm pork pork mince (not too fatty) 100ml dry red wine 500gm polpa di pomodoro or chunky passata 7 dry bay leaves Salt and pepper
Method
Heat the oil in a pan, add the onion, celery and carrot and fry gently until soft. Add the meat and cook until the liquid evaporates and then brown the meat slightly.
Add the wine and let the alcohol evaporate. Stir in the tomato pulp and add the the bay leaves and some seasoning. Cook very slowly for two hours.
Cook the pasta until al dente and then toss with the the sauce. Serve with grated cheese.
Robby Dog Cooks 