Corzetti pasta with marjoram pesto
Corzetti Pasta with Marjoram Pesto
PASTA
330g plain flour, plus extra to knead
70g semolina, plus extra to dust
1/2 tsp fine sea salt, plus extra to cook the pasta & season
4 free-range or organic eggs
PESTO
Pinch of sea salt, plus extra to taste
1 garlic clove, peeled (half a clove if you aren’t crazy for garlic)
50g pine nuts
25g picked marjoram leaves
150ml mild extra virgin olive oil (Pendolino Dolce is perfect), plus extra to drizzle
50g pecorino
50g Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus extra cheese to serve
Method
For the pasta, combine the flour, semolina and sea salt in a bowl. Place the mixture on a work surface or large wooden board. The flour should form a peaked mound. With your hand, make a well in the centre of the mound so that it resembles a volcano. The well needs to be big enough to house the eggs. Break the eggs into the well.
With your hand or a fork, gently break up the eggs, then slowly incorporate the flour into the egg mixture. Once fully combined, knead a little more flour into the dough if it feels a little wet and sticky.
Set the dough aside and clean the workspace. Dust some flour onto the work surface and continue kneading the dough for further 5 minutes. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and set aside in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, for the pesto, place the sea salt and garlic in a mortar and pestle and crush to make a paste. Add the marjoram, a handful at a time, and continue to crush until the marjoram also becomes a paste. Add pine nuts and continue to crush until the nuts have been broken into very small pieces and are evenly distributed through the paste. Continue until the nuts are the consistency of the rest of the paste and the mixture is well combined. Drizzle over the olive oil and mix thoroughly until incorporated. Add both of the cheeses and stir through to combine. Set aside.
Remove the pasta dough from the fridge and cut into 6 even pieces. Working with 1 piece at a time, roll dough into 1-2mm thick sheets. Using a 6cm circle cutter, cut out the corzetti and press with a traditional corzetti tool (if you don’t have the traditional corzetti tool, you could use a biscuit cutter).
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 6-7 minutes. Strain, reserving 1 tbs pasta water, and place pasta in serving bowls. Drizzle over extra oil to coat the pasta, then add the pasta water and pesto and mix to coat. Season with extra sea salt to taste.
Serve immediately with a drizzle of extra virgin olive and a sprinkle of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, if desired.