Tortellini in brodo with cime di rapa

Last week dicey farming conditions created a “courgette crisis”, sparking newspaper headlines and shopper fury at empty supermarket shelves. Never has the humble courgette been so in demand, and the people of twitter rejoiced when new stocks finally arrived. For me this highlighted the gloomy state of eating in this country, and the frankly bonkers casual reliance on supplies of a summer vegetable in the middle of January. Despite the bleak weather, the winter months throw up some amazing produce, bang in season right now and much more perky than a sad box of zucchini that’s had to be flown in from who knows where. Surely people can have a little imagination and use what’s being harvested locally right now, which would surely be better for the food and farming system as a whole? January is clearly proving to be a ranty month for this blog, what with the torrent in my last post. I wonder what’s going to be on the receiving end of my food wrath next week. 

 
Back to the recipe, something inspired by some decent food telly of late. I’ve been really enjoying the latest series of Rick Stein’s Long Weekends, providing the perfect blend of holiday escapism and his reassuring kind of food commentary that hasn’t changed in decades. You know what you’re getting with half an hour with Rick. It’s certainly nothing new, with a focus on fish and markets, yearnings for Padstow and countless swimming clips, but sometimes it’s nice to switch off rather than another programme on this year’s food fad, or another revelation that my favourite food is going to be the end of me. In one episode, Rick was in Italy wolfing down tortellini handmade effortlessly by a brilliant bunch of ancient women, and I had to have a go at making some myself. Served swimming in broth, it looked the perfect thing to combat the icy weather of late.
 
I was pleased to see some beautiful cime di rapa when picking up ingredients from my excellent local greengrocers in North London. These greens are often referred to as ‘turnip tops’, and are similar to very fine broccoli in taste and texture. Although it can be quite hard to track down outside of the capital, kale, chard or sprouting broccoli can be used perfectly as a substitute and should be widely available right now. Beaten with ricotta, parmesan and prosciutto, it makes a lovely rich filling for dinky little pasta dumplings. The broth made from chicken bones and shallots is simple and warming, the type that often provides just what’s needed when feeling the brunt of these cold months. Adding the parmesan rind is a great tip that I picked up a few years back, and it’s worth freezing them for such an occasion.
 
Serves 4
 
Ingredients:
 
For the pasta:
 
200g ‘00’ grade pasta flour, plus a little extra for dusting 
2 medium eggs, plus 1 extra for brushing 
A pinch of fine salt 
1 tbsp olive oil
 
For the filling:
 
1 large bunch of cime di rapa 
100g ricotta cheese 
8 slices of prosciutto, chopped 
1 small garlic clove, grated 
20g parmesan, grated
 
For the brodo:
 
600-800g chicken bones or wings, cut into small chunks 
3 shallots, halved lengthways with the skin left on 
3 garlic cloves, crushed 
2 bay leaves 
6 sprigs of thyme 
1 glass of white wine 
The rind from a piece of parmesan (optional)
 
To finish:
 
Grated parmesan 
Extra virgin olive oil 
A handful of cime di rape


Start by making the brodo. Heat a glug of olive oil in a large saucepan until hot. Season the pieces of the chicken carcass and brown well on all sides, in batches if necessary. Remove to a side plate, then add the shallots cut-side down. Fry for a minute or two, until well caramelised. Return the chicken to the pan along with the garlic and herbs and cook for a further minute. Add the wine and reduce by half, then cover with 2 litres of water. Drop in the parmesan rind and a pinch of seasoning. Cover with a lid and gently simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. When the broth is cooked, strain through a sieve into another large saucepan, and discard the now spent bones and vegetables. 

 
To make the pasta dough, tip the flour into a large bowl and combine with the salt. Make a well in the middle, then crack in the eggs and pour in the olive oil. Use a fork to whisk the eggs and oil, gradually incorporating the flour until a dough is formed. Transfer to a clean surface and knead well for 8-10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic in texture. Wrap with cling film and pop in the fridge to rest for at least 30 minutes.
 
Whilst the pasta is resting, make the filling. Fill a large saucepan with water and bring to the boil. Sprinkle in a generous pinch of salt. Fill a large bowl with ice-cold water. When the water is boiling add all of the cime di rapa to the pan and simmer for 2-3 minutes, until the stalks are just tender. Use tongs to transfer the cooked greens to the cold water to halt the cooking process, then drain. Separate out roughly a handful to use as a garnish later and set aside. Squeeze as much of the water from the remaining leaves and stalks as possible, then transfer to a food processor. Add the garlic, parmesan, prosciutto and some seasoning and blend well, until everything is finely chopped. Spoon in the ricotta and pulse a couple more times to combine. Scrape the mixture into a bowl. 

 
Use a pasta machine to roll out the rested dough until it reaches the thinnest setting, using the spare flour to dust if necessary. Lay the finished sheet across the worktop. Break the remaining egg into a bowl and whisk, then use a pastry brush to lightly cover the surface of the pasta. Dot small half-teaspoons of the filling at intervals along the sheet, allowing 6-8 per portion, then cut around with a small pastry cutter. Fold the pasta around the filling to form a half moon, sealing around the filling using your finger and thumb. Bend the two pointed corners back around the filling and press together to form a tortellini. Transfer to a well-floured plate and repeat with the rest.
 
Bring the strained brodo to the boil. Arrange the spare whole cime di rapa into the bottoms of each bowl.
 
Shake any excess flour from the tortellini, then lower into the brodo. Simmer for 2-3 minutes, then use a slotted spoon to transfer to the bowls. Top up with the broth, and drizzle over a little olive oil. Finish with a generous grating of parmesan and serve.

Pea, mint and almond tortellini with black pudding, crispy bacon and peashoots

Another day, another pasta recipe... I really am addicted to pasta, and could make and eat every day of the week. In this country is has a stereotypical association with stodgy student food, but it is so much more than that! With a little thought, you can make a lovely pasta dish out of pretty much anything that you’ve got in the fridge; and that’s exactly what I did with this recipe. 

Normally I leave making fresh pasta for weekends, or when I have a bit of time to cook something nice. It’s something that I like not to rush, and although with a bit of practice it’s quick to make, I find that taking my time with it makes the whole process lovely and therapeutic. On this occasion, I had made a batch of pasta a week before for a dinner party, and froze the cricket ball sized leftover dough. I didn’t really have a plan for it at the time, but it was too good to waste and definitely came in handy. All I had to do was take it out of the freezer the night before and it was all ready to roll out when I got home from work. 

I fancied making filled pasta again, and what I had in my fridge and freezer left me in no doubt as to what I wanted to put in it (or basically that was all I had in so had very little choice...). I had some peas in the freezer, and some bits left over from a previous breakfast and thought that they 

 go well together. Peas with bacon or black pudding is quite a classic combination with things like scallops or liver, so I was sure that it would work here too. Perhaps unsurprisingly it did, with the fresh and zesty peas contrasting beautifully with the salty bacon and the earthy black pudding. 

The best thing about it is that it is so easy to put together, and if you already have the pasta dough made then it’s so quick. Perfect for that night after work where you fancy something tasty but can’t really be bothered. For vegetarians, the basis of this recipe can remain the same, but the bacon and black pudding can be substituted with a nice tangy hard goat's cheese.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

For the pasta:

200g 00 Flour

2 medium eggs

1 tsp olive oil

Salt and pepper

For the filling:

250g frozen peas

125g good ricotta cheese

1/2 bunch mint leaves

2 spring onions, chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

2 tbsp ground almonds

2 tbsp finely grated parmesan

1 lemon, juice only

Salt and pepper

For the butter sauce: 

80g butter

3 slices of bacon, chopped into small pieces

Salt and pepper

To finish:

6 slices of black pudding 

1 handful peashoots

1 tbsp finely grated parmesan

First make the tortellini filling. Saute the spring onion and garlic until softened and add to a food processor with the ricotta, mint, ground almonds, parmesan, lemon juice and seasoning. Heat up a small saucepan of water until boiling and add the peas. Cook for a couple of minutes until tender and sweet before draining. Run the peas under cold water to stop the cooking and leave to dry off for a couple of minutes (tipping onto kitchen paper speeds this up). Add most of the peas to the food processor and blitz everything together until smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning and lemon, then stir in the few remaining peas for a bit of texture. Set aside until you are ready to fill the pasta.

Now make the pasta. Put the flour, eggs and a good pinch of salt in a food processor, and blitz until the mix looks like coarse breadcrumbs. Tip everything out onto a floured surface and knead together until the dough has an elastic texture but is not sticky. Knead in a little flour if necessary. Wrap in cling film and put in the fridge for half an hour to rest.

After half an hour, remove the pasta dough from the fridge. Using your pasta machine, roll the dough until it goes through the thinnest setting and you have a long, almost translucent sheet. Cut the pasta into 4” squares on a well floured surface, and spoon a large tablespoon of the filling into the middle of each square. Brush a small amount of water onto one half of the pasta sheet, and carefully fold diagonally to form a triangle with the pocket of filling sealed in. As you fold, push out any air that is trapped inside. Using a pastry cutter, cut around the folded triangles to make little neat semicircles. Holding one semicircle in one hand, gently form a dimple in the middle with your thumb and wrap the two corners around your thumb, then sealing with a little water. Sprinkle with a little flour and set aside in the fridge on some greaseproof paper until needed. Repeat until you have 6 tortellini (3 per person).

Heat up a saucepan on a medium-high heat with a little olive oil, and fry the bacon pieces until crispy. Remove and set aside, and remove any excess oil from the pan but do not clean. 

Fill a saucepan with water, season with salt and bring to the boil. 

While the water is boiling, cook the black pudding. Carefully cut the slices so that they are just bigger than the tortellini. Save the other bits to add to breakfast. Heat a non-stick frying pan with a little olive oil on a medium heat. Fry the black pudding for 3 minutes per side. 

Heat up the saucepan used for the bacon to a medium-high heat and add the butter. When the butter turns a light brown colour and is foaming, add the crispy bacon bits. Taste and season.

When the water has boiled, and the black pudding and butter sauce have 2 minutes to go, put the tortellini into the boiling water. Cook for 2 - 2 1/2 minutes before carefully removing with a slotted spoon. 

To plate up, arrange the black pudding on the plate and top each one with a tortellini. Spoon over a good amount of the bacon butter sauce, sprinkle with parmesan and finish with some peashoots.