Cavatelli pasta - Cooking during quarantine

Cavatelli is a traditional shape of fresh pasta from South Italy.

It's a simple dough with semolina flour and warm water.

Due to the scarcity of eggs this pasta can be a perfect lockdown recipe and something not too complicated even if you never made fresh pasta before.

If you would like to see how it's made click on the link below to watch the video i made :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m9XquLWRpM

Sauces to go with cavatelli :

-Simple tomato sauce

-Sausages and broccoli rabe

-Asparagus, peas and artichokes

-Basil pesto

-Red pepper pesto

-Prawns, mussels, cherry tomatoes, clams, squid.

Buon Appetito!

Nociata

Nociata is an Italian treat traditionally made in the Sabine area in Lazio, with only 2 ingredients delivers exceptional deep flavours in its simplicity.

It's a Christmas treat to give away to your loved ones or to share during the festivities. Usually the bay leaves in which the dessert it's wrapped they are thrown in the fireplace to create a delicate christmassy smells around the house.

Recipe is below :

Ingredients for approximately 30 pieces :

250gr honey

250gr chopped up walnuts

60 fresh bay leaves, possibly organic.

Method :

Mix the walnuts and the honey in a medium sized saucepan and put it on the hob on a low/medium heat.

Let it cook stirring frequently until the honey is caramelised. While the mixture is still hot carefully place a teaspoon worth of the nociata between 2 bay leaves. Let it cool completely before serving it.

Tips :

• Roughly chop the walnuts, you can use an electric chopper if you wish but be careful to not ground them.

• Keep an eye on the mixture as can easily burn.

• The sweets will last about one week in an airtight container, they are perfect as edible gift!

Focaccia Pugliese - Apulian focaccia

I was lucky to contribute to Delicious magazine with the recipe of my godmother Mimma Apulian focaccia.

Follow the link if you would like to read an extract of the published article.

https://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/focaccia-pugliese-fresh-tomatoes/

Ingredients

2 medium (about 350g) maris piper or king edward, peeled and cut into 3-4cm chunks

800g plain flour

1 tbsp fine sea salt

7g fast-action dried yeast

1 tsp caster sugar

4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle

600ml lukewarm water

1 tsp sea salt flakes

250g Cherry tomatoes

Deep 30cm x 40cm baking tray lined with non stick baking paper

Method

Put the potato chunks in a pan of cold water, bring to the boil, then cook until tender (about 15 minutes).

Drain, then use a potato ricer or masher to mash until smooth. Transfer to a large plate or tray and set aside to cool.

Put the flour, salt, yeast, sugar, cooled mashed potato, 4 tbsp olive oil and the lukewarm water in a large bowl.

Gently stir, using your hands or a wooden spoon, to form a dough, then knead in the bowl for 5 minutes. The dough will be very wet, so don’t worry if it looks and feels different from other bread doughs.

Transfer the dough to the prepared tray, pressing it to the edges to completely cover the base. Cover the dough with a piece of oiled cling film or a clean damp tea towel, then leave to prove in a warm place for 30 minutes (see tip).

Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6.

Sprinkle the focaccia with the sea salt, arrange the tomatoes on top, then drizzle with the extra oil.

Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 30 minutes or until crisp and golden. Serve warm or at room temperature as an antipasto with deli vegetables, salami, prosciutto or other cured meats.

Because it contains potatoes it best eaten on the same day.