As we approach winter I want to talk about one of my true passions and a favourite hobby when I’m not working – pasta.
I find it so therapeutic yet also one of the hardest challenges in my kitchen. Naturally, we make all our own pasta from scratch – all types, shapes and sizes, from thin strands of spaghetti, little thumb turners like orecchiette, to stuffed bundles of flavourful joy like tortellini and ravioli, and the intricately layered.
The joys of pasta are endless; recently we really pushed it with striped pasta, using squid ink flavouring to give the striking stripe effect, then filling it with a salt cod mousse and a raw egg yolk, to create a little surprise when cutting it open.
When I make pasta at the restaurant, I show all the team in the kitchen how to make it by hand – it creates the best raw dough. I find making it slightly more satisfying than bread, partly because you can really feel the gluten pulling and working whilst kneading, and, after a short half an hour resting, you really see the labour of love quickly when rolling it through the pasta machine.
Obviously pasta isn’t a Scottish product or technique but the ingredients we use to showcase the skill most certainly are. One of our personal favourites, and most popular at the restaurant, is our Lanark blue cheese-stuffed tortellini, served with a rich green, iron-rich broccoli, roasted chestnuts and finished with some crispy pan-fried purple-sprouting broccoli pieces.
At the Newport we always want to showcase Scottish produce in all shapes and forms and one way we have done this in the past is making small changes in the recipe, substituting 00 flour for Scottish-grown meals such as bere and pease, resulting in a more interesting flavour and texture.
Chef’s Tip:
I have two tips this week – an easy one for when you roll your pasta out. Commonly, people use flour – don’t! Use semolina instead to stop your pasta becoming too dry too quickly and ensuring your pasta machine stays clean and runs fluidly.
The second tip is that anything can go into your stuffed, filled pastas if the mix isn’t too wet. Why not try steaming some spinach, dry very well, then fold through some crowdie cheese and sweetcorn to make a light but delicious filling.
www.thenewportrestaurant.co.uk
