Wholemeal rag pasta with asparagus, pancetta, goat’s cheese & toasted almonds

SERVES 4 PREP + COOK TIME 1 HOUR

24 thin slices pancetta

2 bunches asparagus, cut into thirds ⅓ cup (80ml) extra virgin olive oil

180g goat’s cheese, cut into 1cm pieces ¼ cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped coarsely ½ cup (40g) flaked almonds, toasted rind of 1 lemon, finely chopped 2 tablespoons lemon juice

PASTA

2½ cups (400g) strong wholemeal flour 4 free-range eggs

6 free-range egg yolks

1 PASTA Tip the flour onto a workbench or a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Whisk eggs and egg yolks together and pour them into the well, then incorporate them into the flour using a fork. You may need to add an extra yolk if the dough is too dry. Knead the dough for 10 minutes until it is shiny and firm to the touch. Alternatively, you can start the dough in a food processor, just pulse the flour and eggs together until the dough combines. This doesn’t need much pulsing. Then tip it out on the board and knead by hand. This is a stiff dough which you’ll knead for 10 minutes until the dough is shiny and firm to the touch. Form the dough into a rectangle, then wrap it in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2 Cut the dough into slices, all the same thickness. Flatten with a rolling pin, making the leading edge a little thinner. Using a pasta machine, feed a piece of dough through the widest aperture 8–10 times until shiny and silky, folding the ends in over each other between each rolling.

3 Pass the dough through each of the remaining settings 3–4 times until you reach the second-last setting, then cut it into rags (I tend to cut mine on the slant into 5 centimetre squares) and spread out on clean tea towels until required. This prevents the pasta rags from sticking together or drying out too fast. If it will be a while before you start cooking, dampen the tea towels (don’t leave it longer than an hour, though – the pasta is best cooked soon after making).

4 Preheat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan-forced). Place the pancetta onto a baking tray, spreading out, then bake for about 5 minutes or until crisp, remove and set aside (you may need to do this in batches so you don’t overcrowd the baking tray).

5 Place a medium pan of water over a high heat, bring to the boil. Add the asparagus and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, then drain and drizzle with a little of the olive oil. Place the asparagus into a large mixing bowl with the pancetta, goat’s cheese, parsley, almonds and lemon zest, set aside.

6 Cook pasta rags in a large pot of boiling salted water. This should take 2–4 minutes after the water has returned to the boil, depending on how thin pasta has been rolled. Drain pasta, then place in the large bowl with asparagus, drizzle over lemon juice and remaining extra virgin olive, mix together and season to taste, serve.

Not suitable to freeze.