Our pals at Rio Vista Olives sent us the incredible oil that we cook with in this post. Like everything that we recommend on our blog, we use and love their products, and hope that you will too!
The Story
Happy International Pasta Day! The first, in fact, since Pasta et Al began. This week we’ve mixed a little nostalgia into our pasta: figs, anisette, and the lolly bowl!
One of the most enduring memories that I have of my Nonna’s house is actually my Nonno’s liqueur cabinet, filled with mysterious and intricate glassware, and the intoxicating smell of anisette. Always competing for my fickle loyalty was my great aunty, who would keep a box of those rectangular Italian lollies at the ready to bribe us with. And my mum loves figs! So little Al and I are very excited to present our latest creation, fig and anisette caramelle.
The Pasta
With figs finally appearing at the markets, and Rio Vista Olives having just sent us a bottle of their Merchant Spice Agrumato, we already knew that it was time to make this happen. And then, serendipitously, I happened to try The Canberra Distillery’s Canberra Fog. Aside from being a delicious little anisette in its own right, the story behind it took me back to my childhood. Though where they hark back to the copper stills of migrant Snowy Mountains hydro-power scheme workers, my memories are of the somewhat illegal stills operated by my migrant orchardist uncles, and that incredible scent of grappa floating through the air of the Perth hills every Sunday morning.
This recipe sounds a bit tricky, but we promise you that it’s quick, easy, and fun! Start off by mixing up the rich egg yolk dough. In place of water we’ve used anisette. It’s only a small amount, but this pasta is all about building subtle, interesting flavour, and there’ll be a little more in the filling. As always, give that 10 minutes of kneading, and then rest it for half an hour.
Next, caramelise the open sides of the figs in the spiced oil (or regular extra virgin olive oil if you don’t have any) with the rosemary. Then just blend the figs with the anisette and stick it in a piping bag! Refrigerate to help it firm up.
Now for the fun bit. Once you’ve rolled out the dough to a medium-thin thickness (6 on the machine), cut it into small squares of around 6cm. Pipe a small line of the fig paste along one edge, stopping around 2cm short of each side. Then roll them up over the filling. To form, carefully pinch the ends together, drawing the dough around the filling to create a rectangular centre. Done!
Cook your pasta until al dente at its thickest, then drain and toss in oil before serving. Finish it off with a crumble of gorgonzola dolce and freeze-dried raspberry, then send a photo straight to Ma.
We always love to see people making our recipes, so if you give it a go, send us a pic! Remember that you can always change out ingredients, swap doughs, and of course make your very own pasta shapes, particularly with a recipe like this. Just have fun doing it!
Buon appetito, yours in pasta,
– Al & Al.
Equipment
- Air tight container for resting
- Frypan
- Food processor
- Piping bag with medium round tip (alternatively, you can use a teaspoon)
- Pasta roller and cutter (if not using a rolling pin and knife)
- Pastry/pasta cutting wheel
Ingredients
Pasta Dough
- 140 g 00 flour
- 40 g semolina
- 6 egg yolks
- 30 ml anisette liqueur we used The Canberra Distillery’s Canberra Fog
- 1/4 tsp olive oil extra virgin (we used Rio Vista Olives’ Merchant Spice Agrumato)
Pasta Filling
- 4 fresh figs quartered
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 1 tbsp olive oil extra virgin (we used Rio Vista Olives’ Merchant Spice Agrumato)
- 30 ml anisette liqueur we used The Canberra Distillery’s Canberra Fog
To Serve
- 20 g gorgonzola dolce crumbled
- 1 tsp freeze dried raspberry crumbled
Instructions
- Combine all pasta dough ingredients and knead for 10 minutes. Transfer to an airtight container, and leave to rest for 30 minutes, away from heat and direct sunlight.
- Prepare the filling by frying the rosemary and fig quarters in the olive oil on medium-high heat, cut sides down, turning until lightly caramelised on all sides, about 2 minutes. Add the anisette to deglaze, and cook for a further 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and allow to cool, discarding the rosemary and blending the figs into a paste. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a medium round tip, and refrigerate to firm up.
- Chop the dough in half, and roll through a pasta machine at the widest setting a few times, folding over itself in between passes. Step through to a medium-thin setting of 6.
- Cut the dough into squares of approximately 6cm, and then pipe a small line of filling into each, close to one edge and stopping about 2cm short of the sides. Roll the pasta up over the filling, and then gently pinch each end around the filling to form into caramelle. Store on lightly floured baking paper lined trays until ready to cook.
- Cook the pasta in lightly salted boiling water until al dente at the thickest join, 8-10 minutes, before draining and plating with a drizzle of olive oil. Sprinkle the gorgonzola and dried raspberries over the pasta to finish.
