Category: Features

In part 2 of “The Perfect Pasta” series, we bring you guys TWO more pasta recipes from Singapore’s best Italian chefs. You can now wow your family and friends by making your own Tortelli pasta, or treat your date to a plate of homemade crab meat penne in tomato sauce that’s sure to make them swoon.

Penne Polpa Di Granchio by Chef Marco Ishan Curro from Pasta Fresca Da Salvatore

Penne Polpa Di Granchio is Pasta Fresca’s signature seafood-based pasta. This delectable dish is tossed with a tomato sauce that’s made with peeled San Marzano tomatoes and soft, flaky crab meat that help to add texture. To brighten the dish up, a sprinkle of white wine is added, enhancing the pasta’s overall flavour.

Recipe for Penne Polpa Di Granchio

Ingredients (serves 4):

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 280g soft crab meat
• 60g chopped garlic
• 600g tomato sauce (peeled San Marzano tomatoes)
• 200g cherry tomatoes
• 20g chopped parsley
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 600g fresh penne pasta
• White wine

Directions

1. Heat the pan with the olive oil.
2. To the pan, add a teaspoon of chopped garlic and saute until golden brown.
3. Add the soft crab meat and stir-fry for about 30 secs. Sprinkle with white wine.
4. Add the tomato sauce and cook for about 5 minutes, then add cherry tomatoes.
5. At this point, you can add salt and pepper to taste, before finishing with freshly chopped parsley.
6. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in boiling water with salt for 2-3 minutes until al dente. Then, drain and toss into the pan with the sauce.
7. Cook for 30 secs on high fire before serving.

Tips:

• When cooking a tomato-based dish with white wine, the key is not to use too much wine. This will make the dish too sour and overpower the sweetness of it. Just a sprinkle will do!
• Do not season your pasta sauce too early. This is a common mistake. You will only know what is missing when the flavours of all the ingredients come together. You can then start adding your seasonings, right before you toss in the boiled pasta. This is the best method as it will allow you to adjust your seasonings according to taste.

Find Pasta Fresca da Salvatore at 833 Bukit Timah Road, #01-02/03, Royalville, Singapore 279887.
Earn 2X Chope-Dollars with code TASTYBLOG at the following locations:

• Pasta Fresca da Salvatore (Boat Quay)
• Pasta Fresca da Salvatore (Bukit Timah)
• Pasta Fresca da Salvatore (Siglap)

Tortelli by Chef Marco Manocchio from Dolce Vita

Tortelli is a type of stuffed pasta that can be made into several different shapes such as square (like ravioli) and a semicircle (like anolini). In this recipe, Chef Marco Manocchio teaches you how to make pasta from scratch using just three ingredients – plain flour, egg yolks, and semolina flour! Fill them with a homemade ricotta filling and saute them with your favourite pasta sauce, and you have a meal that’ll impress.

Recipe for Tortelli

Ingredients for the pasta dough:

• 3 egg yolks
• 300g plain flour
• 200g semolina flour

Directions to make the pasta dough:

1. In a mixing bowl, add in all the ingredients and mix well to form a dough.
2. Chill the dough in the refrigerator overnight.

Ingredients for the pasta filling:

• 50g butter
• 50g flour
• 70g milk
• 20g parmesan
• 50g ricotta cheese
• 50g spinach
• Salt, pepper, and nutmeg

Directions to make the filling:

1. In a pan over low heat, melt the butter, stir in the flour, and cook it for two minutes.
2. Next, add the milk and stir to incorporate the paste into the milk. This is similar to how you cook a bechamel sauce.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg according to taste.

Directions for assembly of the Tortelli:

1. Take the dough out from the fridge and place it on a lightly floured, clean and flat surface. Knead dough until smooth and elastic before rolling it out using a rolling pin. You can use a pasta machine/roller to help you.
2. Using a cookie cutter with a diameter of 8 to 10 cm, cut out dough rounds.
3. Dust each cutout with semolina flour before stacking them on top of one another. Cover the cutouts with cling wrap to avoid drying out the dough.
4. Allow the filling to cool before putting it into a piping bag. Pipe the cooled filling onto the middle of each cutout.
5. Start folding the tortelli. First, dip your finger into some water and dampen half an arc of the tortelli.
6. Fold your tortelli into half and seal it from one side to another to avoid air pockets from forming in the tortelli.
7. Finally, dampen the two ends of the tortelli and bring them together. Give them a good pinch to combine both ends.
8. In a pot of boiling water, cook your tortelli for about 2 minutes, or until they float. Your tortellis are done!
9. Serve with your favourite marinara sauce or broth.

Tips:

• When rolling out the pasta dough, ensure that they are neither too thick nor too thin. The dough should be just about thin enough such that you are able to roughly see the outline of your hand when you place it beneath the dough.
• If you don’t have a piping bag, you can put the filling onto the middle of the cutouts using two spoons.

Find Dolce Vita at 5 Raffles Avenue, Marina Square, The Mandarin Oriental, Singapore 039797.
Earn 2X Chope-Dollars with the code TASTYBLOG.

Be it a simple plate of aglio olio or an indulgent carbonara, pasta is an Italian staple that never fails to satisfy our tummies. In this article, master chefs from Singapore’s all-time favourite Italian restaurants share their pasta recipes and tips with us. Get ready to pull out your pans and cook up a storm!

1. Pasta alla Nocerina by Chef Marco De Cecco from Capri Trattoria & Pizzeria

If you’re a fan of truffles, this recipe for Pasta alla Nocerina will be right up your alley. Tossed with handmade fresh sausages and perfumed with the addition of truffles, this pasta is finished with a touch of cream to dial up the indulgence.

Recipe for Pasta alla Nocerina / Pasta with Sausages and Truffles Cream Sauce

Ingredients:

• Pasta
• Fresh sausages
• Truffle Paste
• Cream
• Shallot
• Rosemary
• Butter
• Parmesan
• Salt & Pepper

Directions

1. Put water in a saucepan and bring it to a boil.
2. Put the saucepan over medium heat, add butter, rosemary and onion. Cook for 3 minutes before adding the sausages. Mix and continue cooking for another 3 minutes.
3. Add some white wine and mix until evaporated. Then, add salt, pepper, cooking cream, truffle paste and mix them together. Reduce the heat and cook for 5 minutes.
4. Place pasta in boiling water to cook as per instructions. Be careful not to overcook it; keep it al dente. After the pasta is done, drain and pour it into the pan with the sauce. For the finishing touch, add some Parmesan cheese and mix well. Serve warm and garnish with additional rosemary.

Tips:

• To add the sausages to the pan, break them into flakes of mincemeat before frying them.
• Allow the sausages to brown before adding the white wine.
• If the cream dries up too much, you may add a bit of milk.

Find Capri Trattoria Pizzeria at 3 Binjai Park, Singapore 589819.
Earn 2X Chope-Dollars with the code TASTYBLOG.

2. Squid Ink Pasta by Chef Lino Sauro from Gattopardo Ristorante di Mare

Messy but absolutely delectable, squid ink is used to colour and flavour foods, giving pasta dishes a sexy black hue. Extracted from the ink sacs of ocean squids, the ink imparts dishes with a rich and briny flavour reminiscent of the ocean.

Recipe for Squid Ink Pasta for two

Ingredients:

• 150g squid ink pasta
• 50g cherry tomatoes
• 6g chilli padi
• 8g mirepoix (a combination of diced vegetables sauteed in butter, then used as an aromatic flavouring base for sauces, soups, and stews)
• 8g nduja (spicy pork sausage)
• 60g white wine
• 20g cuttlefish
• 200g mussels
• 120g fish stock
• 120g red prawn bisque
• 30g extra virgin olive oil
• 20g pistachio sauce
• 5g toasted pistachios

Directions:

1. Sweat vegetables (mirepoix) in a pan over medium heat.
2. Add the nduja and mussels before deglazing the pan with white wine.
3. Remove mussels once they open and add in the liquids.
4. Toss in cooked pasta and sauté until a desired sauce consistency.
5. Return the mussels to the pan and drizzle in the olive oil.
6. Now brush your plate with pistachio sauce and plate your pasta. Garnish it with freshly toasted chopped pistachios.

Tips:

• To make the mirepoix, dice up some onions, carrots and celery uniformly in a ratio of 2:1:1.
• To make the pistachio sauce, you may refer to this recipe from SAVEUR. However, if that is too much work, then feel free to skip it.

Find Gattopardo Ristorante di Mare at 34/36 Tras Street, Singapore 079026.
Earn 2X Chope-Dollars with the code TASTYBLOG.

3. Uncle’s Ettore Pesto by Chef Simone Vespasiani from Trattoria Nonna Lina

Originating in Genoa, Italy, pesto sauce is commonly used to accompany pasta dishes. The traditional Italian pesto is made with basil, pine nuts, parmesan, garlic, and quality olive oil. To get the best results, it should be made using a marble mortar and wood pestle as the marble mortar can be chilled to prevent the oxidation of the basil. The grinding also helps to tear the leaves instead of cutting them up. This helps to perfectly extract the essential oils in the basil, giving you a tasty, aromatic pesto in a beautiful green colour.

If you’re a fan of Uncle’s Ettore Pesto pasta from Trattoria Nonna Lina, you might want to sit up for this. Chef Simone dishes out a few tips for you to get that perfect pesto, together with a recipe for you to try at home!

For an original Uncle’s Ettore pesto, the secret is in using the right ingredients and tools, therefore you need:

• Organic basil leaves (use small leaves for better taste)
• Young, organic garlic
• 30-month old Parmigiano Reggiano
• Matured pecorino cheese
• Pine nuts
• Quality extra virgin olive oil

Recipe for Pesto Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoon of pine nuts
• 2 bunches (about 1 and 1/2 cup of leaves) of fresh basil
• a pinch of rock salt
• 2 tablespoon of parmesan cheese, grated.
• 1 tablespoon of pecorino cheese, grated.
• 4 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil DOP

Directions:

1. Remove the stems from the basil leaves and wash the leaves with cold water. Place them carefully on a canvas to dry. Ensure that they are well-dried before preparing the pesto.
2. Put a clove of garlic in the mortar, ensuring that you remove any inner green bits which are the less digestive parts of the garlic. Add 1/3 of the pine nuts and using an up-down motion with the pestle, crush the mixture until it reaches a creamy consistency. Scoop out the garlic cream from the mortar and put it aside. You will use it later.
3. Put the remaining pine nuts in the mortar, add 2/3 of the basil leaves and a few grains of rock salt. Rock salt is needed as it helps to break the basil leaves during the grinding process. It also prevents oxidation. However, take care not to add too much salt!
4. Begin by using a rotating movement to smash the basil leaves against the interior walls of the mortar. The basil leaves should be torn up instead of pounded. This helps to release the essential oils contained in the internal veins of the leaves. Continue pounding until a homogenous cream is obtained. Add the remaining leaves, a little more rock salt grains, and continue smashing.
5. After the last batch of basil leaves are mixed in, add the garlic cream that was previously left aside, a little at a time, tasting in between additions.
6. Add the cheeses, mix, and taste. Add salt if necessary.
7. Finally, add the oil, stirring the mixture gently to prevent the oil from creating an emulsion.
8. To store the pesto, ensure that your pesto is always kept under a light layer of oil to prevent oxidation.
9. To make pesto pasta, simply cook your preferred pasta as per the recipe directions and transfer to a serving bowl. Add the pesto before slowly streaming in some pasta water and mixing through to emulsify your sauce. Serve.

Tips:

• Use a sweet garlic and always remove the green tip inside.

• Use a seasoned Parmesan cheese. Besides giving the dish a more intense flavour, it helps to prevent the pesto from sticking to the bottom of the plate when the pasta is seasoned.

• Don’t forget to taste every step of the way and adjust accordingly as different batches of garlic and basil do not taste the same. If the pesto is too salty, reduce the amount of parmesan cheese and/or add less salt to the pasta water.
• Make the pesto as quickly as possible to prevent it from oxidizing.
• For a crunch in your pesto, add more pecorino and some walnuts.

No pestle and mortar? You can use a food processor instead! Here are some tips from Chef Simone on using it.

• Chill your food processor bowl and blades in the fridge prior to use.
• Use the food processor intermittently to prevent the blades from creating too much heat.
• The ingredients used are the same, but it is recommended to double their amounts when using a food processor.

Find Trattoria Nonna Lina at 61 Cantonment Road, Singapore 089757.
Earn 2X Chope-Dollars with the code TASTYBLOG.