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Striped Ricotta Fagottini with Garlic and Fennel Confit Purée

A light and simple potsticker pasta, with a little colourful flair and a heartening, flavourful confit purée on the side.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Resting Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: Cheese, Eggs, Fagottini, fennel, filled pasta, garlic, Pasta, potsticker, Ricotta, spirulina
Servings: 4
Calories: 980kcal

Ingredients

Pasta Dough

  • 250 g plain flour
  • 150 g 00 flour
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp green spirulina

Confit Purée

  • 160 ml olive oil extra virgin
  • 160 g fennel chunky slices (optional, reserve some of the finer fronds for plating)
  • 2 heads garlic separated and peeled
  • 1 sprig fresh rosemary

Pasta Filling

  • 300 g fresh ricotta
  • 40 g pecorino Romano finely grated
  • 1 egg

To Cook and Plate

  • 120 ml olive oil extra virgin
  • 2 cups water
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • edible flowers optional

Instructions

  • To prepare the dough, form a well with all of the dry dough ingredients, except for the spirulina. Add the eggs and 1 tbsp of olive oil into the centre and bring together into a loose shaggy mass.
  • Take half of the dough and blitz it in a food processor with the green spirulina. You shouldn’t need more than 1 minute to achieve an even colouration in the dough.
  • Knead both lumps of dough, the plain and green, separately for 10 minutes. You can either knead one in each hand, or seal one in cling wrap while you knead the other. Rest both for 30 minutes, wrapped tightly, away from heat and any direct sunlight.
  • While the dough rests, prepare the confit purée. Bring the oil up to medium heat in a frypan deep enough to submerge the confit ingredients, and then add the fennel, garlic, and rosemary. Drop the heat to low and cook for around 45 minutes, until everything has softened. Allow to cool, before blending until smooth. Season to taste.
  • Next, return to the pasta, and roll each dough in turn through a pasta machine. Beginning on the thickest setting, pass it through folding over itself a few times, and then gradually step it through to a medium-thick thickness. Chop the sheets into manageable lengths of around 30-40 cm.
  • Using a fettuccine attachment, cut both colours of pasta into long strips. If too thick for the fettuccine cutter, use a pasta bike on its narrowest setting, or slice by hand. Separate out flat on a lightly semolina-dusted wooden board.
  • On baking paper, arrange alternating strips of fettuccine side by side, to form a striped pattern of regular pasta sheet width. If the inner edges aren’t sticking to each other, lightly wet a finger and carefully run it down one of the edges before pushing the two back together. Trim any jagged narrow edges.
  • Dust the upper side of the new sheet with semolina, then flip over, peel the baking paper off, and dust the other side. Pass through the pasta machine, stepping through to a medium-thin thickness. Use a pasta bike (or knife) to cut into squares of 6-7 cm.
  • Mix together the filling ingredients with a fork, and then place a grape-sized dollop into the centre of each square. Bring the corners together in pairs, pinching the very tips but leaving the top and edges open. Draw those same pinched corners together to meet above the filling, and press together to form a pyramid. Seal the remaining open edges. Transfer to baking paper lined, lightly semolina dusted oven tray until ready to cook. Refrigerate uncovered for up to 24 hours if necessary.
  • Fry the pasta in batches (flat side down), using around 2 tbsp of oil at a time, in a medium-hot pan until the undersides are brown and crispy. Add 1/2 cup of water, cover, and cook for a further 3-4 minutes until all of the water has been absorbed or evaporated.
  • Plate the pasta with dollops of confit purée, any retained fennel fronds, a drizzle of oil left over from cooking the pasta, and a few (optional) edible flowers. Finish with a fresh crack of black pepper, if desired.

Notes

For an extra hit of flavour, substitute 100g of the ricotta for 100g of olives, pitted and puréed. Add a little extra pecorino if too wet.

Nutrition

Calories: 980kcal | Carbohydrates: 87.8g | Protein: 30.2g | Fat: 57.8g | Saturated Fat: 13.4g | Cholesterol: 238mg | Sodium: 316mg | Potassium: 497mg | Fiber: 4.2g | Sugar: 1.1g | Calcium: 396mg | Iron: 7mg
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