Year: 2021

Capunti with Broccoli and Black Beans

Capunti with Broccoli and Black Beans

Pasta that looks like beans! This week’s capunti are made with a classic flour and water dough; no pasta sheets, no filling, just hand-shaped pods of goodness. You might remember that way back we made casarecce and pici with similar doughs. Like them, the lack of egg in our capunti makes for a creamy, smooth texture. Poke a few little hollows in the middle to catch the sauce, and you’ve got a simple and tasty little pasta.

Beef and Beetroot Cappelletti with White Beans and Roasted Vegetables

Beef and Beetroot Cappelletti with White Beans and Roasted Vegetables

We’re finally, reluctantly, ready to accept that the temperature’s cooling down for another year. At least where we are. And that means it’s time for some seasonal pasta. This week we’ve got beetroot-striped beef-filled cappelletti sitting on top of a thick white bean and roasted garlic purée, with some cute roasted baby root vegetables to accompany them. It’s roast-themed pasta! And it’s actually, seriously, delicious.

Spaghetti alla Chitarra with Capsicum and Homemade Tuna in Oil | Spaghetti alla Chitarra con Tonno e Peperoni Rossi

Spaghetti alla Chitarra with Capsicum and Homemade Tuna in Oil | Spaghetti alla Chitarra con Tonno e Peperoni Rossi

This week we’re bringing you a family classic, a simple and delicious dish that was on regular rotation when I was a kid. Tuna and capsicum pasta can be as straightforward as a couple of capsicums, a tin of tuna, and some dried pasta. Despite this simplicity, or perhaps because of it, it makes for an unexpectedly satisfying meal and a perfect option for a quick dinner.

Homemade Tomato Passata | Passata di Pomodoro Fatta in Casa

Homemade Tomato Passata | Passata di Pomodoro Fatta in Casa

Tomato day. This week it’s something so exciting and close to my heart that it was hard knowing where to start. In fact, it’s so deeply enmeshed with who I am that I juggled joy and a hard lump in my throat as I tried to put it into words. After almost two decades, we’re bringing back tomato day!

Short-Rib Ragu | Ragù di Costine di Manzo

Short-Rib Ragu | Ragù di Costine di Manzo

As much as we love a light pasta dish, there is something incomparably comforting about a slow-cooked, thick tomato sauce. It’s been a while since we featured a good old ragu, so this week we’re cooking up a pot of short ribs. Nothing tricky, nothing fancy, just a nice long sit in the oven.

Wild Olive Pappardelle | Pappardelle di Olivette Selvatiche

Wild Olive Pappardelle | Pappardelle di Olivette Selvatiche

My Ma used to whip up a great beef steak ragu every now and then, nice and simple, with tomatoes and olives. We’d often lift the steak out at the end and eat it with a salad, stirring the sauce through our pasta. I’d forgotten about this little gem of a dish for years, but it recently came to me out of the blue, and so naturally we decided to dream up a Pasta et Al version.

Wattleseed and Peppermint Gum Malloreddus with Sea Celery and Macadamia Pesto

Wattleseed and Peppermint Gum Malloreddus with Sea Celery and Macadamia Pesto

The Italian-Australian experience, and all that it brings with it, is really the only ‘Italian’ that I’ve ever known. My brother and I grew up with an Italian mum (first-generation Australian) and an English-Australian dad, spending most of our early years in the care of a thoroughly Calabrian Nonna who arrived in that rich 50s boom. To this day, the only Italian that sounds right to me is her comfortable, lazy southern drawl, and the only Italian-English accent that makes sense comes from that same familiar dialect.

Lemon and Poppy Seed Scarpinocc with Citrus-Infused Olive Oil

Lemon and Poppy Seed Scarpinocc with Citrus-Infused Olive Oil

We couldn’t let Valentine’s Day coincide with pasta day without creating something a bit special for our favourite person. My long-suffering better half, little Al’s lovely Ma, is the genius cake-extraordinaire behind Forty-Two Cakes. So as a little tribute to her, we’ve taken cake flavours and turned them into pasta!

Cocoa Fettuccine with Mascarpone and Walnut Sauce | Fettuccine al Cacao con Crema di Noci e Mascarpone

Cocoa Fettuccine with Mascarpone and Walnut Sauce | Fettuccine al Cacao con Crema di Noci e Mascarpone

This week’s dish is short and sweet, figuratively. Otherwise it’s long and savoury. Every now and then we get asked about cocoa pasta, so this week we’re sharing our go-to recipe for cocoa fettuccine, served with a mascarpone and walnut sauce, and topped with toasted buckwheat.

Asparagus and Mascarpone Cappellacci in Red Cabbage Broth | Cappellacci Ripieni di Asparagi e Mascarpone in Brodo di Cavolo Rosso

Asparagus and Mascarpone Cappellacci in Red Cabbage Broth | Cappellacci Ripieni di Asparagi e Mascarpone in Brodo di Cavolo Rosso

One of little Al’s favourite things is our weekend trip to the markets. We’ve got a routine now, that starts with a snack and a coffee – decaf macchiato for him, double espresso for me, followed by the butcher, deli, and wholefood shop, before finishing with the fruit and veggies at the grocer. Little Al talks about it all week and tells anyone who’ll listen.


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