Though there’ll always be a place in our hearts for a good spag bol, sometimes it pays to be a little more adventurous – as these knockout recipes show
RECIPES AND FOOD STYLING POLLYANNA COUPLAND PHOTOGRAPH KATE WHITAKER STYLING TONY HUTCHINSON
Lasagne sheets with celeriac sauce, olive tapenade and egg yolk
Serves 4 Hands-on time 40 min Specialist kit Fluted pasta wheel (optional)
Sheets of pasta don’t just have to become lasagne! In Liguria, they’re traditionally served tossed in pesto, but they’re great with any creamy, rich sauce. This silky celeriac pasta is brightened up by green olive tapenade, with a yellow confit egg yolk – inspired by London restaurant Bancone’s signature dish – adding a flourish of richness.
MAKE AHEAD You can make the egg yolks, tapenade and celeriac sauce up to 2 hours before. Gently reheat the sauce before adding to the pasta.
BE A BETTER COOK A confit egg yolk sounds seriously cheffy and difficult, but it’s actually very simple – you just need to be as gentle as you can with the yolks to ensure they don’t break when adding them to the oil. They’re an easy way to add an impressive finish to all sorts of pasta dishes.
TIMESAVER TIP You can leave out the confit egg yolks if you like – but it’s a great skill to master and well worth the extra 10 minutes.
DON’T WASTE IT Lightly beat the unused egg whites, then bag up, label and freeze for using in other recipes.
• 100ml olive oil, plus 1 tbsp or so extra for the tapenade
• 4 medium free-range egg yolks
• 300g celeriac
• 400g chicken or vegetable stock
• 50g pitted green olives
• 2 anchovy fillets, drained (optional)
• ½ tsp dijon mustard
• Handful flatleaf parsley, leaves picked and chopped
• Lemon juice to taste
• Knob of unsalted butter
• 30g parmesan or vegetarian equivalent, finely grated, plus extra to serve
• Dash cider vinegar
• 300g fresh lasagne sheets →
★ COVER RECIPE
Cavolo nero and confit garlic linguine with panko pangrattato
Serves 4 Hands-on time 30 min
BE A BETTER COOK To confit is a French technique which sees food submerged in fat (in this case oil) and cooked low and slow until soft. Cooking garlic like this transforms it into something mellow and sweet – and leaves you with a delicious garlicky oil to boot.
KNOW-HOW Japanese panko breadcrumbs are often regarded as the best you can buy. Due to the specific way they’re made (using a special flaky bread), they crisp up more than regular breadcrumbs. Thankfully, they’re now available in large supermarkets.
DON’T WASTE IT The leftover garlic
