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tomato & ricotta pappardelle
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Tomato & Ricotta Pappardelle With Pangrattato

This tomato & ricotta pappardelle is simple yet delicious! A flavourful bowl of pasta, topped with a crunchy, homemade pangrattato.
Prep Time45 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Total Time1 hour 30 minutes
Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 4 People
Author: Ben Racey

Equipment

  • Pasta Machine
  • Rolling Pin
  • Dough Scraper
  • Baking Tray
  • Large Saucepan
  • Jug Blender
  • Food Processor
  • Frying Pan
  • Tongs

Ingredients

Pappardelle

  • 300 g "00" Flour
  • 2 Large Eggs
  • 6 Egg Yolks
  • Semolina To Dust The Pasta

Tomato Sauce

  • 3 tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1 Large White Onion Peeled & Finely Diced
  • 3 Cloves Garlic Peeled & Thinly Sliced
  • ¼ tsp Chilli Flakes
  • 1 tbsp Tomato Paste
  • 1 400g Tin Chopped Tomatoes
  • 2 tsp Caster Sugar
  • 2 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
  • 50 g Fresh Basil

Pangrattato

  • 3 Slices White Bread Crusts Removed
  • 2 Cloves Garlic Peeled & Thinly Sliced
  • 2 tbsp Olive Oil
  • 30 g Grated Parmesan
  • 1 tbsp Chopped Parsley
  • ½ Lemon Zested

To Serve

  • 4 tbsp Ricotta

Instructions

Pappardelle

  • In A Food Processor
    Place the flour, eggs & yolks into a food processor & pulse until a rough dough forms. Transfer dough to a work surface (a wooden chopping board is best) & knead until you have a smooth dough, this will take a good 20 minutes. Wrap in clingfilm & leave to rest in the fridge for at least an hour (overnight is best).
  • By Hand
    Tip the flour onto a wooden chopping board & make a well in the middle. Add the eggs & yolks into the well & beat together with a fork.
    Next, use your fork to gradually bring in enough flour from the outside of the well to form a thick mixture. Use your hands to incorporate the rest of the flour, to form a rough dough.
    Continue kneading the dough by hand until smooth, this will take around 20 minutes. Wrap in clingfilm & leave to rest in the fridge for at least an hour (overnight is best).
  • Take the dough out of the fridge & cut into 4 pieces.
  • Dust a worksurface with semolina then roll a piece of dough into a 5mm disc, with a rolling pin.
    Make sure to keep the other 3 pieces of dough covered with clingflim.
  • Using a pasta machine, roll the pasta out through the thickest setting then fold in half & roll through the machine again. Repeat this 3-4 more times or until you have a rectangle of pasta, the same width as the machine.
  • Next, roll the dough out to the 3rd thinnest setting (on most machines this will be no.7), making sure to roll the dough through each setting twice.
    If the pasta is looking like it might stick to the machine, dust it with more semolina.
  • Cut the sheet of pasta into 3 equal pieces (each piece being around 25cm long).
  • To shape into pappardelle, dust a sheet of pasta with semolina then fold in half widthways. Fold the dough in half again then cut into 1" wide ribbons.
  • Repeat with the rest of the pasta sheets then unroll the ribbons & arrange into a neat pile on a baking tray that has been dusted with semolina. This is one portion.
  • Repeat the above process with the remaining 3 pieces of dough. Cover the pasta tray with clingfilm until ready to cook.
    If you're making the pasta in advance, store it in the fridge.

Tomato Sauce

  • Pick the basil leaves from the stalks & set aside. Don't throw the stalks away, we'll use them for the sauce.
  • Place a large saucepan over a medium heat & pour in the olive oil. Give the oil a couple of minutes to heat up then add in the diced onion & a pinch of salt.
  • Fry the onion for 5-6 minutes, until soft then stir in the grated garlic, chilli flakes & the basil stalks. Cook for another minute then stir in the tomato paste.
  • Cook the tomato paste out for 30 seconds then add in the tin of tomatoes, the sugar & balsamic vinegar. Fill the empty tomato tin with cold water then add into the sauce.
  • Turn the heat down to low, season the sauce generously with salt & freshly cracked black pepper then cook out for 20-30 minutes, until thick. Making sure to stir regularly.
  • Stir in half of the basil leaves then remove the sauce from the heat.
    Save the remaining basil leaves for when we serve the pasta.
  • Leave the sauce to cool slightly then blitz in a jug blender until smooth.
    At this point the sauce can be used immediately or cooled down & stored in the fridge for up to 3 days,

Pangrattato

  • Tear the bread into small pieces & add into a food processor with the garlic. Blitz into fine breadcrumbs.
  • Place a large frying pan over a medium heat & pour in the olive oil. Once hot, add in the breadcrumbs, season with salt & pepper then stir to coat.
  • Fry for 4-5 minutes, stirring regularly until the breadcrumbs are golden brown & crispy.
  • Stir in the parmesan & cook until melted, 1-2 minutes.
  • Tip the breadcrumbs onto a tray & leave to cool completely.
  • Next, blitz the breadcrumbs up again in the food processor then stir in the chopped parsley & lemon zest. Set aside until ready to serve.

To Serve

  • Bring a large pan of salted water to a rolling boil.
  • In the meantime, add the tomato sauce into a pan & place over a low heat, to warm through.
  • Next, add the pappardelle to the boiling water & cook for 2-3 minutes, the pasta should still be al dente.
  • Using a pair of tongs, transfer the pappardelle to the sauce along with a ladle of pasta water.
  • Toss the pasta in the sauce, adding more pasta water if the sauce needs loosening off then stir in the remaining basil leaves & take off the heat.
  • Transfer the pasta into 4 bowls then top each with a tbsp of ricotta, a crack of black pepper & a generous sprinkling of the pangrattato.

Notes

Make sure to give the pasta dough at least 15-20 minutes of kneading & at least an hour in the fridge before rolling out.
You can use any 00 flour for this pasta recipe. I like to use Caputo's.
A good tin of chopped tomatoes will make all the difference to this sauce. I find that Mutti works best. 
Once made, the pappardelle can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 days or frozen for up to a month. To store in the freezer, place the portions of pappardelle on a tray, freeze until firm then transfer to freezer bags.
Feel free to use ready made pappardelle if you would prefer. You will need 100g - 150g of raw pasta per portion.