Passport & Plate - Best Pasta In The World
United Kingdom | Wednesday, March 4, 2015 | 2 photos
Ingredients
Penne Regine pasta
Raw spinach
Garlic, minced
1 egg, beaten
A tiny pinch of nutmeg
Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, freshly grated
Breadcrumbs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Olive oil for shallow frying
Butter
Red chillies, finely chopped
Courgettes, coarsely grated
How to prepare this recipeFor the spinach balls:
1. Boil, but don’t overcook, the spinach in lightly salted water. Press it dry, break open the leaves and tear apart roughly.
2. In a bowl, mix together the torn spinach, garlic, egg, nutmeg and Parmesan.
3. Add about half of the breadcrumbs, to balance the moisture of the mixture. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Roll one ball and fry it, to test for consistency and taste. (If the mixture is too wet, the ball will fall apart during cooking, but too much bread content will lessen the spinach flavour.)
5. Add some more breadcrumbs or seasoning if needed.
6. Fry until golden. Set aside.
For the pasta:
1. In abundant salted water, boil the pasta until it’s al dente, perhaps 10-15 minutes. Drain and keep warm.
2. In a pan, melt the butter and heat the garlic and chillies.
3. Add the grated courgettes and fry for a minute or two.
4. Add the cooked pasta and toss in most of the grated cheese (leave some for serving). Season with salt and pepper.
For the friends:
1. In a deep plate or shallow bowl, serve the pasta sprinkled with spinach balls and the remaining Parmesan.
2. Enjoy with friends!
The story behind this recipeWhen I was an archaeology student in London, I met Tom and a perfect romance took off. When Valentine Day came along, Tom took me to a restaurant. It was taking me forever to decide, so Tom took matters in his hands and ordered the first thing off the menu for me. I was not too happy about it but then the dish arrived and I took the first bite.
Time stopped. Everything froze. What was happening in my mouth completely shattered my beliefs about pasta. This perfect marriage of tastes could not be done with more skill. Delicious courgette spiced up with chilli and melted in butter. Amazing, fresh spinach rolled into crunchy balls. The quality of pasta itself was unbelievable.
I tired to work out the recipe while I ate. I had to know how to prepare this myself! I used every occasion to go to that restaurant. Friends coming to visit from abroad? We went to my restaurant. Tom's birthday? We went to my restaurant. Girls' night out? We went to my restaurant. This recipe had to enter my personal cookbook. Finally, I nailed it.
But then things changed in my life. My relationship with Tom crumbled. I moved out from London, but not before I bought a pack of that extra special penne pasta. I came back home, unpacked my bags, and stuffed the penne bag deep in a cupboard. The spark that was driving me in London was gone. It was so hard to come to terms with the changes in me life...
Then one day, I read the article about World Nomads pairing up with Intrepid about a scholarship in Sri Lanka and all I could think about was the penne bag in my cupboard. So many memories and emotions were sealed in that bag of penne pasta... I could not get myself into opening it.
A couple of days ago I was having a coffee with my friend, Sophie, who is moving permanently to Australia next week and that awareness brought overwhelming feelings up to the surface. I got back home, opened the cupboard, turned on the oven and I made the pasta for her. Something amazing to remember me by...
