Wild greens malloreddus
SERVES 4 // PREP TIME 1 HOUR // COOK 30 MINS (PLUS RESTING)
“I like to pick wild greens for this dish, such as dandelion, sow thistle, nasturtium or amaranth. Sometimes I go down to Bronte [in Sydney] and look for daffodil and mallow weeds,” says Anna Ugarte-Carral. You will need a malloreddus or gnocchi board for this recipe.
400 gm dark leafy greens, such as chicory, cavolo nero, mustard, rocket or kale, washed and trimmed, or wild greens (see above) 100 ml extra-virgin olive oil 2 onions, finely chopped 4 garlic cloves, finely grated 6 anchovies
100 gm butter, chopped
60 gm (¾ cup) finely grated
pecorino
60 ml (1/4 cup) lemon juice Chilli flakes, to serve MALLOREDDUS
500 gm semolina flour, plus
extra for dusting
2½ tsp salt 1 To make the malloreddus, using your hands, combine flour, salt and 210ml water in a bowl until mixture comes together. Turn out onto a work surface and knead until smooth and elastic (8-10 minutes). Sprinkle with a little water if dough is too dry. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to rest (1-2 hours).
2 Cut dough into 8 pieces.
Roll out each piece to a 60cm x 1cm-thick cylinder and cut into 1.5-2cm pieces. Toss with extra semolina flour to prevent sticking. Holding the malloreddus board with your non-dominant hand, take a piece of dough and push it down the board with your thumb. It will curl over itself into a small grub-like shape. Repeat with remaining dough. Toss in extra semolina flour. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days. 3 Reserve a handful of small leaves for serving (we used nasturtium leaves). Cook remaining greens in a large pan of boiling salted water until very tender (6-8 minutes). Drain, refresh in cold water and squeeze out excess liquid. Chop coarsely and set aside.
4 Heat oil in a frying pan over medium-low heat. Add onion, three-quarters of the garlic, anchovies and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, over low heat until onion and garlic are soft, sweet and starting to caramelise (15 minutes). Set aside.
5 Cook pasta in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until it floats and is al dente (3-4 minutes). Drain, reserving 250ml (1 cup) pasta water. To the same pan, add cooked greens, onion mixture, half the butter and 60ml (¼ cup) of reserved pasta water, mixing well to form a sauce. Add pasta and another 60ml (¼ cup) reserved pasta water, then gradually stir in cheese and remaining butter. Stir over a low heat until sauce is emulsified; do not boil. Add lemon juice and remaining garlic, and season to taste with salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper. Serve sprinkled with reserved small leaves, chilli flakes and more black pepper. Note If you don’t have time to make the malloreddus, use any dried short pasta such as fusilli or orecchiette.