RECIPE: Cappellacci with Pappa al Pomodoro

Recipe for 2 portions:

pasta dough:

100g Wildfarmed Flour (T55)

1 whole egg

filling:
1 can of tomatoes 400g

200 g breadcrumbs

1 clove garlic

2 tablespoon olive oil

salt

sauce:

6 cherry tomatoes(red and yellow)

2 tablespoon olive oil

fresh basil leaves

salt

To make your pasta dough, crack the egg into a bowl and add the flour, then mix with a fork until smooth. Once it is not too wet, take the dough out of the bowl and start kneading on a wooden top. The dough must be soft and elastic but not too wet, so keep adding flour if needed. Try and make it into a ball, then wrap it in cling film and put in the fridge for half an hour so that it can rest.

To roll your pasta, you have two options: by hand with a rolling pin or with the help of a machine. You need to make sheets of pasta of about 1mm thickness.  With the help of a round ravioli/cookie cutter, cut the pasta sheet and fill each circle with half a spoon of the filling.  Spray lightly the whole surface with water as to keep your pasta sticky.  Grab one circle at a time and fold it into a half moon shape, sealing with the help of your fingers so as to press any air bubbles out. Finally, take the two corners and pinch them together.

In the meantime, in a pan add the olive oil and garlic and let it slowly brown, then add the tomato plums and let simmer slowly until it looses all of the water and takes the consistency of a paste.  Season with salt and add some shredded basil. Let cool down. Add the breadcrumbs as to make the paste thicker and easy to use as a filling.

Fresh cappellacci cook in 2/3 minutes in salted boiling water. While boiling, in a pan saute’ the cherry tomatoes cut in halves. Add the cooked cappellacci to the pan with a splash of pasta water and bring everything back to the simmer. Move the pasta around a lot and that will help activate the starch. The starch and the oil should emulsify with the pasta water and remaining liquid from the tomatoes and create a glossy sauce to coat the pasta. Finish with some fresh basil leaves and breadcrumbs.

Wine pairing suggested by Luca Dusi of Passione Vino, London:

Ribolla Gialla Collio Doc 2021, Tenuta Stella (Friuli Venezia Giulia)