Posts Tagged ‘Pasta’

Our incredible fresh pasta is made on site by Vittorio Maschio and his team. Many top Michelin-starred chefs regard it is as the finest in the UK, and thankfully, through Natoora it is always available direct to your kitchen! Our close connections with Vittorio Maschio fresh pasta means that you can get an inside look at how this superb pasta is made…

Vittorio and his team create the pasta using the finest ingredients; from the carefully selected Italian unbleached flour to the best quality eggs. Two types of flour are used to give the perfect elasticity, bite and structure and Italian eggs for that perfect yellow colour.

As a small producer, Vima uses bronze dies to extrude the pasta, a set of specially designed discs with different shaped openings.

As the pasta is passed through by hand, the bronze dies give it a rougher, powdery surface that holds sauce better. Industrial pasta is usually made with Teflon-coated dies which result in a poorer, smooth, slippery pasta.

The pasta is made the same day of the order – this means incredibly fresh and completely incomparable to the “long life” pasteurized pasta which dominates the fresh pasta market and the supermarket shelves. These pastas undergo a process of pasteurization, which sterilizes it through a process similar to the steaming. This process gives the pasta a very long shelf life (commercially very profitable) but strips it of its natural flavour and texture. It also stops the pasta from absorbing the sauce in the pan and reduces its natural elasticity.

The process involved in the production of this type of pasta creates something completely different to the real fresh pasta that Vittorio produces and that the top end of the market knows. This is, unfortunately, what the majority of us believe fresh pasta is and this is why Vittorio Maschio’s pasta will always try to be something different.

Try it today

“Forget Atkins. The best carbs in 2007 comes in the form of Vittorio Maschio” (The Sunday Telegraph)

“He knows that to make pasta is an art in itself” (Giorgio Locatelli).

“He makes the pasta I can’t…” (Giorgio Locatelli).

“Ingredients for both plain and stuffed pastas are natural and the flavours perfectly judged” (Rose Prince).

“London’s best fresh pasta…” (The Evening Standard)

“This is the best fresh pasta in London. Vittorio and his team are outstanding…” (Paul Gayler).

Tried and tested: fresh pasta, by Rose Prince

(The Telegraph, February 12 2011)

Rose Prince wrote such a lovely review of our fresh pastas in this weekend’s Telegraph. Both our oustanding handmade pastas from Vittorio Maschio and the ever-popular Fresh Pasta Co. were included in her “tried and tested” favourites. Read her lovely words below or the full article here.

“When I first met Vittorio Maschio, he was making pasta above a pizzeria in Battersea. Originally from Venice, he had perfected a pasta dough recipe and was doing well selling to chef Giorgio Locatelli and restaurants like The Ivy. He has since linked up with Natoora, the south-London-based Italian and French produce specialist that sells outstanding fruit and vegetables, as well as other specialities online.”

“Recently we ate a heavenly supper of tiny pouches filled with fresh buffalo ricotta and herbs, served in a rich chicken broth with a few gratings of Parmesan. For winter dinners I have ordered fat rounds of pumpkin ravioli, flavoured with amaretti biscuits, as sumptuous as a pasta dish can be, and bigoli, made with white pepper and the yellowest eggs, crying out to be clothed in a rich carbonara.”

Our fresh pasta is made daily by Vittorio Maschio and his team. Yesterday the perfect strands of long pasta appeared in Rose Prince’s recipe for “Long pasta with eggs and pork cheek” (The Telegraph). She says:

“For the pasta, choose either high-quality dried egg linguine types or very special, fresh pasta handmade in south London by Vittorio Maschio, available from natoora.co.uk, where you can also buy guanciale.”

This isn’t the first time this amazing handmade pasta has been recognised…

“London’s best fresh pasta” (Evening Standard)

“He makes the pasta I can’t” (Giorgio Locatelli)

It is no surprise then that along with being available to buy from Natoora, Vittorio Maschio’s fresh pasta is supplied to some of London’s very best chefs.

All VIMA’s fresh pastas are made by hand. They use bronze dies to extrude the pasta which gives the pasta a slightly rough, powdery surface and makes it bind really well to the pasta sauce. A myriad of shapes and sizes are available and are made using only the finest basic ingredients.

During my youth I was never really a fan of mushrooms. I remember going mushroom picking with my father on the Dolomites, it was such a hard job but I always loved the smell of the woods in the early mornings. But when at dinner time a reward was given to every other member of my family in the shape of hand made tagliatelle with the “picking” of the day, I was feeling rather unsatisfied.

It was only about a year ago, at the end of the summer, when I walked into one of the coldrooms in the Natoora warehouse and that beautiful smell of wild mushroom took my memory back so many years and tempted me so much that I could no longer resist. I got a generous portion for two and the same evening I cooked them for me and my wife.

It’s a shame it took me nearly 40 years but hey, I am now eating so many of them! This must be one of my favourite dishes for the autumn, especially if accompanied by a good bottle of red vino!

Tagliatelle with Wild Mushrooms

Serves 4

4 tbsp olive oil
1 chopped garlic clove
450g mixed wild mushrooms
Thyme
500g fresh tagliatelle
30g Parmesan
Black Truffle (optional)

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil (at least 5 litres).

Meanwhile warm a large pan with 4 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the garlic and cook for a minute. Then add the cleaned mixed mushrooms, a pinch of salt and a couple of branches of thyme off the stem, bring the pan to high heat and cook for about 3 minutes.

Now pour the fresh tagliatelle  into the boiling water and cook for no more than 2 minutes, drain the pasta and quickly add it to mushrooms pan, stir together for 30 seconds, add about gr 30 of parmesan cheese and dish out.

If using black truffle, with the help of a parmesan grater grate the black truffle on top of the dish and serve.

You can buy a recipe kit of these ingredients, including a recipe card here

Serves 4

1 pack fresh pasta sheets
500g caciotta
1 bergamot
4 carrots
1 leek
3 celery stalks
2 turnips
4 onions
1 bayleaf
5g whole peppercorns
salt and pepper
nutmeg (optional)
sprig of thyme

BUY ALL THE INGREDIENTS HERE

Finely grate the Caciotta using a Microplane or box grater into a bowl, season with a little freshly ground pepper and a small pinch of nutmeg if you wish. You should be able to clump the mixture together.

Lightly wet the pasta sheets so that they will later stick. Cut the pasta sheets in 4cm squares and fill each square with a small amount of Caciotta – about a pea sized ball. Fold over into a triangle, squeezing out all the air around the filling. Pinch the two side corners and join together (to make a little hat). Leave in the fridge.

Roughly chop the vegetables and add to 2litres of cold water. You can add a small amount of salt at this stage if you wish. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat to low and simmer gently for one hour. Strain so you are just left with the liquid and reduce further for 10-15 minutes. Taste and add seasoning if required, or continue reducing if you want to intensify the flavour.

Cook the pasta for 2 minutes, strain and then add to the broth for a final minute. Place the tortellini on your serving plate and ladle over some broth. Sprinkle with a few thyme leaves and finish by grating some bergamot on top with a very fine grater.

Recreate this fantastic dish at home with our recipe kit!

Learn how to make pasta dough from the master of pasta – Theo Randall! Theo kindly let us give you a preview of this easy to follow guide from his new cookbook “Pasta”.

Serves 4

150g tipo 00 flour
50g fine semolina, plus extra for dusting
1 large organic egg
3 large organic egg yolks

Place  all  the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until they form a yellow ball of dough. At this point, the dough should have a smooth, firm but slightly sticky texture, almost like plasticine. If it seems wet, add an extra teaspoon or two of flour. Divide the dough into 2 equal balls and immediately wrap them in cling film to prevent drying out. The dough will keep in the fridge for up to 10 days. You can freeze it but I wouldn’t recommend it, since it can discolour and lose a lot of moisture on thawing.

With the rollers of your pasta machine on their widest setting, pass a piece of dough through, then fold into 3. Give it a quarter turn and pass it through the machine again. Repeat this 5 or 6 times so the gluten in the pasta is thoroughly worked, then pass it through the machine to roll out, progressively narrowing the rollers by one notch each time. Make this as thin as you feel comfortable with. The more the pasta has been worked initially, the thinner you will be able to roll it. Make sure the pasta sheet is no more than 60cm long, otherwise it will be difficult to handle and it may break.

Now cut into your favourite shape, dust with semolina and leave covered in the fridge overnight.

This recipe has been taken from Theo Randall’s “Pasta”, a fantastic cookbook on all things pasta!

To celebrate the launch of Theo Randall’s “Pasta”, we are giving you the chance to win one of 10 exclusive signed copies! Click here for more information and to enter.

“This is one of my favourite books of the year, and a must-have for any pasta lover. Theo’s cooking is sublime” – Jamie Oliver.

“This restaurant served me the best meal I have eaten all year” – Jay Rayner, The Observer

We also have another exclusive recipe preview, from the ‘Tomato’ section of the book. It uses our deliciously sweet Datterini tomatoes. You can make this recipe with the very same tomatoes that Theo uses by ordering online with Natoora!

Pappardelle with Roasted Datterini Tomatoes, Taggiasche Olives and Basil

500g Datterini tomatoes
2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
75g Taggiasche olives, stoned
a small bunch of basil
3 tablespoons olive oil
250g fresh papparedelle (or dried egg pappardelle)
75g young pecorino cheese, grated
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cut the tomatoes in half widthways and squeeze out the seeds. Put the tomatoes in a bowl and toss with the garlic, olives, half the basil, torn into small pieces, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and some salt and pepper. Transfer to a roasting tin or an ovenproof dish and place in an oven preheated to 190C/Gas Mark 5. Roast for 20 minutes; the tomatoes will break up slightly but this is a good thing. Most importantly, their flavour will be concentrated. Remove from the oven and leave to stand for a few minutes.

Cook the pappardelle in a large pan of boiling salted water for 3-4 minutes, until al dente (or cook according to the packet instructions for dried pappardelle). Drain and add to the tomato mixture. Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, then rip up the remaining basil and add that too. Toss together until the pasta is coated in the tomato juices. Serve immediately, with the grated pecorino and some black pepper.

(Taken from Theo Randall, “Pasta“.)

Love Pasta?

You can buy fresh pasta online from the best pasta maker in London at Natoora. VIMA makes their pasta by hand, especially for your order and it is the same fresh pasta supplied to top London restaurants.

Or try making your own fresh pasta with our pasta dough kit.

Find more amazing pasta recipes in Theo’s new cookbook – you can win a signed copy if you enter our competition!

A classic Sicilian recipe

Ingredients

300g Large shaped pasta (like zita)
350g Fresh filleted sardines
200g Wild fennel
4 Anchovy Fillets
1/2 Sachet of Saffron
30g Pine Nuts
30g Sultanas
Flour to dust
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Onion
Salt
Breadcrumbs

Wash the fennel and boil in lightly salted water, drain and thinly chop, but keep the water on the side. Sautee the finely chopped onion and the anchovies in a pan with olive oil, then add the fennel, the sultanas (previously soaked in water) and pine nuts, then the saffron.

Cover and cook for 15 minutes.

Dust the sardines with flour and fry them, then drain on absorbent paper. Season with salt.

Cook the pasta in the fennel water, drain and add to half of the sauce.

Coat a large oven dish with olive oil, layer with pasta, then the sardine fillets, then some spoonfuls of sauce. Repeat until you run out of ingredients.

Toast some breadcrumbs with a little olive oil, sprinkle on top of the pasta. Finish off in a hot oven (200*C) for ten minutes, serve with a dry white wine.