Australian Gourmet Traveller - (04)April 2020 (1)

“WhenI wasveryyoung,myparentswouldinvite

extendedfamilyandfriendsoverforlunchonSundays.

Theseluncheswouldincludea combinationof

homemadepastas,copiousamountsofsaladsanda

meatcoursewithlotsofvegetables.I willneverforget

kneadingthepastabyhand,thenrollingit overand

overagaintoformbeautifultagliatelle,fettuccine

and,ofcourse,ravioliandtortellini.

“Weweretime-poor,soeverythingwedidwassimple

yetdelicious:trueItalianfoodis characterisedby

simplicityandflavour.Wewouldstartthemealwith

salads– radicchioandfennel,orwitlofwithapple,pear

andGorgonzolawerefavourites– andprosciuttosliced

sothinlyit wouldmeltinyourmouth.Slicedtomatoes

witholivesandspringonion,drizzledwiththesweetest

oliveoil,freshoreganoandseasaltwasanotherregular.

Butthedishthatmostoftenspringstomindis the

simplestofhomemadetagliatellewitha freshtomato

sauce.Stracciatellacheeseormozzarellacouldthen

befoldedthroughtocreatea sublimecombinationof

richtomatoandstringsofmeltedcheese,causinghavoc

whentryingtotwirlit onyourfork.Thisversioncan

bemadea dayaheadif youlike.It’sa versatilerecipe

whereyoucansubstituteanymeat,chickenorgame,

andit workswellwitheitherdryorfreshpasta.

“Ourfamilyluncheswouldinevitablyrunintodinner,

aswewouldstartatabout2pmandfinishat10pm.

Sweetswerenotreallyserved,butrathercheese,fruit

andnutswitha digestivo.Sharingandpassingaround

variousdisheswhilespeakingloudlyovereachother

is whatI remembermostfondly.Allthechefsorcooks

inmyfamilywereself-taught,passeddownfrom each

generation to the next willing mad person.”

“Everythingwedid was

simple,yet delicious:true

Italianfoodischaracterised

by simplicity and flavour.”

PaolaToppi

Bar M, Sydney, NSW

96 GOURMET TRAVELLER

Pastawithragù

SERVES6-8// PREPTIME 30 MINS // COOK 1 HR 20 MINS (PLUS RESTING)

Pictured p94.

50 mlextra-virginoliveoil

50 gmbutter

1 onion,finelychopped

1 celeryheart,finelychopped

1 carrot,finelychopped

3 garliccloves,finelychopped

Pinchofdriedchilliflakes

(optional)

500 gmcoarselyminced

orfinelychopped

combinedporkand veal

100 mlwhitewine

50 mlMadeira

500 ml(2cups)tomatopassata

12 basilleaves

Parmesan,toserve

PASTADOUGH

250 gm(1⅔cups)“00”flour,

plusextrafor dusting

2 eggs

3 eggyolks

1 tbspextra-virginoliveoil

1 Forpastadough,placeflour

ona worksurface.Makea well

inthecentreandaddeggs,

eggyolks,oiland1 tspsalt

flakes.Combineandkneadto

a smoothdough(8-10minutes;

alternatively,processina mixer

fittedwiththedoughhook

attachment.)Coverandset

asidetorestfor 20 minutes.

2 Dividedoughinto4 pieces.

Workingwithonepieceata

time (cover remaining dough

withplasticwraptostopit

dryingout),rollthrougha pasta

machine,startingatthewidest

setting,thenreducingsettings

notchbynotchuntilpastais

2.5-3mmthick.Setsheets

asideona lightlyflouredtray

for 10 minutes,thencutinto

3cm-widepieces.Hangand

drypastauntilrequired.

3 Heatoilandbutterina wide

saucepanoverlowheat.Add

vegetables,garlicandchilliand

cook,stirringoccasionally,until

vegetablesaretenderbutnot

browned(6-8minutes).Increase

heattomedium,addmeatand

cook,stirringcontinuously,until

liquidevaporates(6-8minutes).

AddwineandMadeiraand

cook,stirringoccasionally,

untilalcoholevaporates

(4minutes).Seasontotaste

andaddtomatopassata,

basiland250mlwater.Bring

toa simmer,reduceheattolow

andcook,stirringoccasionally,

untilmeatis tender(1 hour).

4 Addpastatoa large

saucepanofboilingsalted

waterandcookuntilal dente

(2-3minutes).Removewith

tongsordrainina sieve,

thenaddtoragùandtossto

combine.Servetoppedwith

fresh finely grated parmesan.➤

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY PAOLA TOPPI (PORTRAIT).