The Perfect Pasta Pt. 2: Tips and tricks from Singapore’s Best Chefs

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.