Piccolo tomatoes, sweet pickled onions, ricotta cavatelli, basil
This light pasta and Piccolo tomato dish from Stuart Collins is a perfect summer supper. It takes a few days to make the tomato consommé, but it's almost all hands off time, and a delicious sweet and tart side for the rich, ricotta cavatelli.
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
Tomato consommé
- 750g of Piccolo tomatoes, halved
- tomato stalks, from the tomatoes above
- 25g of onion, cut into large pieces
- 25g of celery, cut into large pieces
- 25g of leek, cut into large pieces
- 25g of carrots, cut into large pieces
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 38g of basil
- 2.5g of celery salt
- tomato juice, enough to cover
To clarify
- 250g of egg white
- 10g of tomato purée
- 10g of basil
- 1 handful of ice cubes
Basil seeds
- 30g of basil seeds
Sweet pickled onions
- 100g of pearl onions, peeled and cut into slivers
- 50ml of water
- 150ml of red wine vinegar
- 40g of cane sugar
- 10g of salt
Semi-dried tomatoes
- 20 Piccolo cherry tomatoes, stalks reserved
- rapeseed oil
- salt and pepper
Basil and ricotta cavatelli
- 65g of basil leaves
- iced water
- 180g of ricotta
- 1 egg, beaten
- 250g of 00 flour
- 35g of Parmesan, grated
- 5g of salt
Garnish
- micro basil, viola flowers and mustard frills
- extra virgin olive oil
Equipment
- Dehydrator
- Vacuum bag and machine
- cavatelli machine
Method
Place all ingredients for the tomato consommé into a pan. Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes
- 750g of Piccolo tomatoes, halved
- tomato stalks, from the tomatoes above
- 25g of onion, cut into large pieces
- 25g of celery, cut into large pieces
- 25g of leek, cut into large pieces
- 25g of carrots, cut into large pieces
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 38g of basil
- 2.5g of celery salt
- tomato juice, enough to cover
Place into a colander and pass through muslin cloth. Leave to drain overnight
Return the strained consommé to the heat and bring back to a gentle boil
Whisk in all the clarification ingredients, stir, then bring back to the boil and allow to simmer gently for 20 minutes
- 250g of egg white
- 10g of tomato purée
- 10g of basil
- 1 handful of ice cubes
Remove from the heat and carefully pass through a muslin cloth and chill
Cover the basil seeds in some of the chilled consommé and leave to bloom overnight in the fridge
- 30g of basil seeds
For the pickled onions, heat the water, vinegar, sugar and salt until simmering and ensure dry ingredients have dissolved
- 50ml of water
- 150ml of red wine vinegar
- 40g of cane sugar
- 10g of salt
Pour the pickling liquid onto the onion and allow to cool to room temperature. Once cool, vacuum pack to compress the pickle and leave overnight
- 100g of pearl onions, peeled and cut into slivers
For the semi-dried tomatoes, drizzle the tomatoes with rapeseed oil. Season with salt and pepper
- 20 Piccolo cherry tomatoes, stalks reserved
- rapeseed oil
- salt and pepper
Dehydrate at 60°C for 7 hours
For the cavatelli, bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Blanch the basil for a few seconds until soft, and then transfer to iced water
- 65g of basil leaves
- iced water
Blend the blanched basil until smooth
Remove from the mixer and knead on a bench until smooth. Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour
Once chilled, roll out until 1 cm thick and cut into 1 cm strips. Dust with flour and roll into round, thin sausages
Pass the pasta dough through a cavatelli maker, and dust the pasta in some more flour
To serve, bring a large pot of water for cooking the cavatelli
Poach the cavatelli for 3 minutes or until cooked through, then transfer to a plate
Top the cavatelli with the semi-dried tomatoes, spoonfuls of basil seeds, the pickled onion, flowers and leaves, then drizzle over the oil
- micro basil, viola flowers and mustard frills
- extra virgin olive oil
Serve with the warm consommé on the side, for pouring over
Get in touch
Please sign in or register to send a comment to Great British Chefs.
You may also like
SITES
