Jerusalem artichoke with Scarpinocc with grana padano

in collaboration with grana padano

For me, pasta offers a source of comfort especially when you spend time making it yourself. The process is one that never fails to relax yet excite me. A methodical approach is required. You need to be organised, willing to cover everything in flour and be patient. It takes time! The journey from flour and eggs to golden sheets of pasta and then finally to little flavourful bundles is one to be celebrated. 

Once you’ve mastered the process, the world is your oyster. Swap in and out seasonal produce, zests or spices - the possibilities are endless. We’re just coming into the Jerusalem artichoke season so this recipe should be saved and used numerous times until they dwindle in March.

For this recipe (and most pasta recipes I make) I let Grana Padano Riserva do the seasoning. I also always serve a generous hunk at the table for dinner guests to indulge in alongside their pasta. 

There’s nothing that delights me more than serving these lovingly-made pasta parcels to dinner party guests. I swear you can taste the time that goes into them. They’re utterly delicious and once prepared in advance, will take moments to cook if you’re hosting. 

Feeds – 4 

Preparation time – 35-45 mins

Resting time – 30 mins

Cooking time – 5mins

Ingredients

For the pasta:

·       400g ‘00’ flour 

·       A generous sprinkle of salt

·       4 large free-range eggs or 240g of egg yolks

·       A glug of olive oil

·       Semolina (to avoid the pasta sticking, once rolled)

For the pasta filling:

·       500g Jerusalem artichoke, thoroughly cleaned

·       A generous glug of olive oil 

·       A sprinkle of sea salt flakes

·       2 bay leaves

·       1 bulb of garlic, wrapped in foil and roasted (I use half)

·       25-30ml double cream

·       30g Grana Padano Riserva, finely grated

·       Zest of ½ lemon

·       Black pepper

Serve with:

·       50g butter

·       4 sprigs of thyme

·       Several turns of freshly ground black pepper

·       Extra Grana Padano Riserva 

Instructions:

For the pasta:

·       Begin by making up your pasta. Note: this will need to rest and be refrigerated for 30 minutes ahead of rolling

·       Pour the flour out on your work surface, mix through the salt and make a well in the middle

·       Add in your eggs and using a fork begin combining the flour and the eggs. Once you have a rough ball shape, use your hands to bring it together and then knead the dough for 5 minutes. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and place it in the fridge for 30 minutes

·       Cut your dough into 3 pieces, wrapping up anything you’re not rolling out

·       Using a rolling pin, roll out a little dough so it’s thin enough to be passed through the largest setting of your pasta machine. Pass through once, fold in two then begin to pass through each setting twice until you reach the penultimate setting. I like to keep the pasta a little thicker. Repeat until you have used up all the pasta

·       Cover pasta with a tea towel until ready to use so it doesn’t dry out

For the pasta filling:

·       Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius

·       Evenly chop the Jerusalem artichoke into chunks, evenly coat with oil, add the bay leaves, season then roast until golden and soft for around 45-50 minutes

·       Wrap your garlic bulb in foil and place in the oven, cooking until soft for around 30 minutes. Remove and set to one side

·       In a food processor combine the Jerusalem artichoke, half a bulb of roasted garlic and cream and blitz until you have an even and smooth-ish paste

·       Next, add the Grana Padano Riserva, season with black pepper, add lemon zest and allow the mixture to cool fully ahead of using it 

To make the Scarpinocc:

·       Cut your strips of pasta into even-sized rectangles, roughly around 4cm x 3.5cm

·       Cut one rectangle that you can use as a template. Leave all rectangles laid out in a line

·       Either spoon or pipe even dollops of the filling along the bottom of each rectangle, around 2cm long

·       Next roll the pasta longways to create a tube around the filling then pinch the edges together between your thumb and index finger. Next press the centre of the tube to form a small indentation or well.  Store on parchment with plenty of fine semolina to avoid sticking

·       Cook in a large pan of salted, boiling water (not too vigorously) until they float to the top (1-2 mins)

·       In a large frying pan melt your butter and add the thyme. Add in the scarpinocc and coat them in the flavoured butter

·       Serve with a little extra Grana Padano Riserva