Cooking Together Italian – Recipes
We hope you loved your Cooking Together experience. You’ll find your recipes below, ready to bring to life and enjoy all over again.
Prawn Panzanella Salad
For a vegetarian alternative use halloumi or a sliced portobello mushroom
Serves: People
Ingredients
- 1 Peach or nectarine stone removed and cut into segments
- 60 g Cherry tomatoes about 6 cut in half
- 1/2 Red pepper diced
- 1/2 Cucumber diced
- 1 Lemon
- 90 g King prawns or halloumi, sliced
- 5 g Fresh basil 1 tbsp
- 1 Red onion small, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
- Sea salt to taste
- Cracked black pepper to taste
Method
- Place a frying pan over high heat, and add a splash of olive oil
- Cook the peaches quickly until caramelised, remove and cool down
- Mix all the salad ingredients, and season with salt and pepper.
- using the same pan, fry the prawns for 3-4 minutes until they turn pink and firm.
- Serve on top of whipped ricotta and with some piadina bread
Whipped Ricotta
Serves: People
Ingredients
- 125 g Ricotta half a pot
- 1 clove Garlic mashed or grated
- 30 ml Double cream 2 tbsp
- 1 Lemon zest and juice
- 10 g Fresh thyme 2 sprigs
- Sea salt to taste
- Cracked black pepper to taste
- Extra virgin olive oil splash
Method
- Grate the garlic and place it in a mixing bowl with all the other ingredients
- Whisk until well combined and aerated
- Spread on the bottom of a plate, topped with your panzanella
Piadina Bread
Serves: People
Ingredients
- 95 g Plain flour
- 40 g Milk
- 2 tsp Extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
- Sea salt to taste
- Cracked black pepper to taste
Method
- Mix the flour, salt and bicarbinate soda together in a mixing bowl. Add the oil mix whilst slowly adding the milk. Continue until the dough is sticky but the milk is absorbed.
- Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes until smooth and springy, then cover and rest the dough for 10 - 30 minutes.
- Place a frying pan on a medium heat to preheat whilst you roll the bread. Divide your dough into 2 pieces and roll into thin, round flatbreads.
- Turn the heat up to medium-high and add a small amount of oil. Cook bread until golden brown on both sides
Amatriciana Sauce with Burrata
For a vegetarian alternative use Arley's plant based pancetta
Serves: People
Ingredients
- 100 g Guanciale or Arleys Vegan pancetta
- 1 Banana shallot finely diced
- 2 clove Garlic Minced or grated
- 50 g Pecorino Romano
- 400 g Chopped tomatoes
- 50 ml Dry white wine
- 1/2 tsp Chilli flakes to taste
- 1 Burrata
- Sea salt to taste
- Cracked black pepper to taste
- 10 g Rocket optional to garnish
Method
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Trim the thick skin from the bottom of the guanciale and discard or freeze (can be used to flavour soups). If preferred, trim some of the dark seasoned layers on the top then cut the guanciale into ¼-inch thick cubes or strips.
- Heat a large pan on a medium heat and add the guanciale. Fry it until the fat starts to melt and it becomes crispy.
- Once crispy, add onion and garlic, followed by white wine and simmer to reduce the liquid by half. Add the tomatoes and break them up with the side of a wooden spoon or spatula then add the red pepper flakes. Simmer the sauce for 10 minutes.
- While the sauce is simmering add the pasta to the boiling salted water and cook until al dente (see packet instructions and reduce the time by 2-3 minutes). Reserve ½ cup (125ml) of pasta water.
- Once the pasta is cooked add it to the tomato sauce and toss (add a splash of reserved pasta water if needed, see notes). Add the grated pecorino cheese and toss everything together until the pasta is well coated in the sauce then serve.
- Serve with burrata and extra virgin olive oil on top.
Pasta Dough & Rolling Methods
The rule of thumb is 1 egg, 100g flour and scale up. The dough for cooking together experiences is pre made for you
Serves: People
Ingredients
- 2 Medium Egg
- 200 g 00 flour plus extra for dusting
Method
- Place 00 flour onto a large wooden board and shape into a volcano with a large hole in the centre, then crack the eggs and pour them into the middle.
- Using a fork, lightly beat the eggs, then mix in the flour a little at time to obtain a consistent ball of dough.
- Work the dough with the heel of your hand for 10–15 minutes, or until the mixture is smooth and very elastic. Wrap the dough in cling film and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Divide the dough equally before rolling, wrap the extra dough back in the cling film so it doesn’t dry out.
- Flatten the dough to a rough square so that it fits through the pasta machine at its highest setting. Roll it through & fold it back over it to itself. Rotate it through 90 degrees and repeat this a few times to release the gluten which increases the elasticity of the dough and prevents cracking & tearing. Now reduce the thickness of the machine 1 click at a time until you reach the 2nd to last setting.
- At this stage the pasta can be covered and stored in the fridge under cling film. You can also freeze individual portions, making sure they are well wrapped up.
Tagliatelle Rolling
- Roll the pasta dough to the 2nd to last setting using the rollers, the ideal length is 40-50cm. Dust the cutting attachment and run the dough through, pile in small mounds ready to cook. Use the wide part on the attachment for tagliatelle and the narrow for spaghetti.Have a large floured board or tray ready and place loosely gathered bundles of tagliatelle onto it. Repeat the process for the remaining pasta dough.
- To cook the pasta, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. About 100g per person is good, shake off any excess flour. Drop your tagliatelle into the water, Cook for 2 minutes, Drain, season and combine with the sauce of your choice before serving.
Tortellini Making
- Cut a small piece from the rested pasta dough, keeping the remaining dough covered to prevent it drying out.
- Flatten the dough slightly, then pass it through the widest setting on the pasta machine. Fold into thirds and pass through again. Gradually reduce the settings, rolling until the pasta is approximately 1mm thick.
- Lay the pasta on a lightly floured surface and cut into squares approximately 6cm wide. Work with a few squares at a time, keeping the rest covered so they stay soft and easy to seal.
- Place approximately ½ tsp of your prepared filling in the centre of each square. Avoid overfilling, as this makes the tortellini difficult to seal.
- Fold one corner over to meet the opposite corner, forming a triangle. Gently press around the filling to remove any trapped air, then firmly seal the edges. If the pasta feels dry, lightly dampen the edges with a little water before sealing.
- With the triangle’s point facing upwards, bring the two bottom corners together around your fingertip. Overlap the corners slightly and pinch firmly to join, creating a small ring. Gently ease the tortellini off your finger.
- Place on a lightly floured tray in a single layer, leaving space between each piece. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. Refrigerate if you are not cooking them straight away.
- Bring a large pan of salted water to a gentle boil. Add the tortellini in batches and cook until the pasta is tender and the filling is cooked through. Lift out carefully using a slotted spoon and gently combine with your sauce, adding a splash of pasta cooking water if needed. Serve immediately.
We hope you enjoyed the class!
If you have any feedback about the class or questions for chef get in touch. Email: lovetocook@foodsorcery.co.uk
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