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small wattleseed and peppermint gum malloreddus with sea celery and macadamia pesto

Wattleseed and Peppermint Gum Malloreddus with Sea Celery and Macadamia Pesto

A true meeting of Italian and native Australian flavours, this pasta is a subtle but proud celebration of food.
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Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Resting Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: australian native, basil, durum semolina, eggless, macadamia, malloreddus, mountain pepper, native mint, Pasta, peppermint gum, pesto, sea celery, seablite, Vegetarian, wattleseed
Servings: 2
Calories: 847kcal

Equipment

  • Air tight container for resting
  • Cavarola board, or gnocchi board

Ingredients

Pasta

  • 220 g durum semolina flour
  • 120 ml warm water
  • 1 tsp olive oil extra virgin (we used Rio Vista Olives' Nothin' But Classic)
  • 1 tsp wattleseed ground
  • 1/2 tsp peppermint gum dried and ground
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Pesto

  • 60 g roasted macadamias
  • 40 g basil
  • 2 tbsp olive oil extra virgin (we used Rio Vista Olives' Nothin' But Classic)
  • 30 g pecorino cheese
  • 1 large clove garlic
  • 3 large sprigs sea celery
  • 2 large sprigs seablite
  • 4-5 leaves native mint leaves
  • 1 leaf mountain pepper

To Serve

  • 3-4 mountain pepper berries cracked
  • 6-8 native mint leaves

Instructions

  • Mix together the flour and salt, and then form into two equal flour wells. Add the wattle seed into one well, along with the water and oil. Bring it together into a ball, and then knead for 10 minutes before covering with cling wrap. Repeat with the river mint gum and the remaining dough ingredients, and then similarly seal in cling wrap. Leave both to rest for 30 minutes, away from heat and sunlight.
    durum semolina flour wells with ground wattleseed and peppermint gum
  • Cut each ball of dough in half, and roll them out into long, very thin sausages, no thicker than a pencil. Cover any dough that you’re not working on to prevent it drying out. Chop the sausages into small pea-sized pieces, shape into balls, and then use a cavarola (or gnocchi board), the back of a grater, or the underside of a fork to roll into malloreddus. The technique is to roll each piece away from yourself, providing just enough downwards pressure to imprint the dough as it folds over itself. Transfer to lightly-floured baking-paper lined trays, and refrigerate for up to one week, uncovered.
    close up of a wattleseed malloreddus being rolled on a custom cavarola
  • To make the pesto, add all ingredients into the mortar and pestle and pound until mostly smooth with some chunks, or to your desired consistency. For a greener colour, finely chop the leafy ingredients beforehand.
  • Drop the malloreddus into boiling water, and cook for 4-5 minutes or until al dente. Note that the larger you make your pasta, the longer they will take to cook (up to 20 minutes for grape-sized balls). You know they’re ready if still firm but showing no white dough when cut into. Drain, retaining a little of the pasta water, and toss into the pesto. If needed, add a little of the water back in to help the pesto and pasta emulsify. Serve with cracked mountain pepper berries.
    close up of small wattleseed and peppermint gum malloreddus with sea celery and macadamia pesto

Notes

Substitute dry Australian natives for similar amounts of dried basil and oregano, and fresh native ingredients for extra basil and/or parsley.

Nutrition

Calories: 847kcal | Carbohydrates: 80.1g | Protein: 22.8g | Fat: 49.8g | Saturated Fat: 9.6g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 1008mg | Potassium: 191mg | Fiber: 6.3g | Sugar: 1.6g | Calcium: 184mg | Iron: 3mg
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