Tagliatelle With Sage Pesto Served With Crispy Grana Padano
Tagliatelle With Sage Pesto Served With Crispy Grana Padano
I love the colour of this dish and I have really enjoyed creating this recipe for Grana Padano as part of my Tastemaker partnership. The earthy green pesto with creamy Grana Padano Riserva is beautiful at this time of year and the crispy sage leaves give a lovely nod to Autumn. But it is the Grana Padano Riserva crisps that are really the star of this dish. Aged for over 20 months, Grana Padano Riserva has a beautifully complex and rich flavour. The taste is more mature and works perfectly for these crisps, creating an almost toasty flavour that is incredibly moreish. I recommend doubling the recipe and serving extra’s on the side as I can guarantee your guests will be wanting more. You can plate this up individually or serve it in a big serving platter or bowl. I love the drama that a big platter brings to the table and it makes for less work for you in the kitchen too. This is delicious for a dinner party but equally fab for a family dinner too.
This recipe is sponsored by Grana Padano.
Ingredients
| Serves 4 |
For the tagliatelle
400g Tipo 00 flour
4 large eggs
or
500g of fresh homemade tagliatelle (or 350g dried tagliatelle)
For the pesto
75g blanched hazelnuts, roasted in an oven set to 180 for 8-10 mins
1 small bunch of sage, tough stems removed (plus extra leaves for crisping)
1 bunch of basil
75g finely grated Grana Padano Riserva
1 garlic clove, crushed
Juice of one lemon
Good pinch of sea salt
Olive oil
For the Grana Padano crisps
50g Grana Padano Riserva, finely grated
For the crispy sage
A handful of sage leaves
Olive oil for frying
A kitchen towel-lined plate
Method
To make the pasta place the flour on a large flat surface. Create a well in the middle and crack in the eggs.
Using a fork to gently whisk the eggs. Then slowly begin to mix in the flour, a little at a time. Continue until all the flour and egg has incorporated and you have a loose dough.
Knead the dough for about 15 minutes until it is smooth and elastic and bounces back slightly when pressed. (You could also use a stand mixer if you have one. Attach the dough hook, add the flour and eggs and let it beat on a low setting for about 5 mins.)
Wrap the dough in cling film or beeswax wrap and allow it to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Divide the dough into 4 pieces. If you have a pasta rolling attachment or machine use this to roll out the dough, setting it to the widest setting and folding the dough each time you run it through (about 4/5 times). Then gradually begin to reduce the setting, flouring the pasta dough with 00 flour each time you run it through the machine until you’ve reached the narrowest setting.
If you do not have a machine don’t worry. Clear a space and lightly dust the surface with 00 flour. You want a lot of space to roll it out until it’s as flat as a playing card.
Fold the pasta dough over itself and using a knife or pizza cutter cut strips of tagliatelle (roughly 3mm thick). Or if using the machine run it through the tagliatelle cutter setting.
Dust the tagliatelle with flour and cook right away or hang the pasta pieces over a hanger to keep them from deforming.
To make the pesto combine all the pesto ingredients and just 2 tbsp of olive oil in a food processor. Pulse until well broken down with a little bite. Transfer to a bowl and slowly add olive oil until you reach desired consistency. Taste for seasoning and set aside.
Preheat your oven to 200 degrees fan setting. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment or reusable silicone baking mat.
Place a heaped tablespoon of the grated Grana Padano Riserva onto the baking mat or parchment and gently pat it down with your fingers. Repeat with the remaining Grana Padano Riserva, making sure you leave at least 2cm between each circle.
Bake for 3-5 minutes until crisp and golden. Keep an eye on them to ensure that they don’t burn!
For the crispy sage, place 1cm of oil into a medium-sized saucepan. Bring the oil to a medium to high heat. You’ll know it’s ready when you can drop a sage leaf into it and it sizzles.
Add the sage leaves to the saucepan and cook for about 10-15 seconds until they are just starting to darken in colour. Remove the sage leaves using a fork or a slotted spoon and transfer to a kitchen towel-lined plate.
Cook tagliatelle for 3 minutes (or according to packet instructions). Drain but reserve a few tablespoons of the pasta water.
Stir through the pesto. Spoon the tagliatelle onto individual plates or a serving dish. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil, freshly ground black pepper and place the crispy sage and break over the Grana Padano Riserva crisps. You can add some roughly chopped roasted hazelnuts too if you like.
Serve with extra Grana Padano Riserva to grate over the top and any additional Grana Padano Riserva crisps for nibbling.
For more pasta recipes try Winter Greens And Grana Padano Spaghetti or this Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca.
