Julia Busuttil Nishimura’s recipe for orecchiette with slow-cooked tomato and ricotta. Photograph: Armelle Habib View image in fullscreen Julia Busuttil Nishimura’s recipe for orecchiette with slow-cooked tomato and ricotta. Photograph: Armelle Habib Australian food and drink Three simple vegetarian spring pasta recipes from Julia Busuttil Nishimura The cookbook author shares a trio of lighter pasta recipes for the warmer months ahead
Prefer the Guardian on Google Orecchiette with slow-cooked tomato and ricotta (Pictured above)
When I lived in Italy, I would eat versions of this pasta every week. Sometimes without ricotta, sometimes with ricotta and sausage, or ricotta and zucchini. I love how sweet the tomatoes become when they cook ever so slowly, and almost confit in the oil. Buy the ripest and reddest tomatoes you can find.
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil , plus extra for drizzling 500g cherry tomatoes Handful of basil leaves 3 garlic cloves , roughly chopped Sea salt 400g orecchiette 200g firm full-fat ricotta Parmigiano reggiano , grated, to serve (substitute with rennet-free parmesan for vegetarians)
Read more Place the olive oil, tomatoes, basil and garlic in a large frying pan, add a good pinch of salt and set over the lowest heat. Gently cook, adding a few splashes of water to stop the sauce drying out, if needed, for 35 to 40 minutes or until the tomatoes have completely collapsed and the sauce is thick.
Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of salted boiling water until just before al dente. Use a sieve to transfer the pasta directly to the sauce, reserving the pasta water.
Add the ricotta to the pasta, along with some of the reserved pasta water, and stir to incorporate. Continue cooking the pasta, adding more pasta water as needed to help loosen the sauce, until al dente.
Season with salt to taste and serve topped with plenty of grated parmigiano and a generous drizzle of olive oil.
View image in fullscreen Spaghetti with broad beans and basil pesto. Photograph: Armelle Habib This recipe is really a classic pesto alla genovese, with broad beans to give a creamy texture and flavour. While fresh broad beans hold their shape better once cooked (more robust and less waterlogged), frozen ones are totally acceptable too. This makes quite a bit of pesto, so you can reserve a little for another meal, if you prefer; however, I tend to use the full amount as I love the pasta well coated.
350g podded broad beans 400g spaghetti Extra-virgin olive oil , for drizzling Grated pecorino romano , to serve (substitute with rennet-free pecorino-style cheese for vegetarians)
For pesto alla genovese 1 garlic clove , peeled 70g pine nuts 2 bunches of basil , leaves picked 30g parmigiano reggiano , grated (for vegetarians, substitute with rennet-free parmesan) 30g pecorino romano , grated (for vegetarians, substitute with rennet-free pecorino-style cheese) 80ml extra-virgin olive oil (⅓ cup) Sea salt
Blanch the broad beans in a saucepan of boiling water. Refresh in cold water and drain. Double-pod half the beans and set aside for serving. Reserve the single-podded beans for the pesto.
For the pesto alla genovese, halve the garlic and remove the green shoot from inside, if present. Place the garlic, pine nuts, basil, cheeses and single-podded beans in a blender or food processor. Pulse until you have a fairly smooth paste.
Drizzle in the olive oil, season with salt and continue to blitz until smooth. Transfer to a large serving bowl.
Cook…