Forget the Penne: Italian chefs share their pasta recipes

Great Italian Chefs serve up some handpicked pasta recipes that will put your spaghetti to shame

This ravioli from Michelin-starred chef Lorenzo Cogo is served best with Medium and round red wine (Great Italian Chefs)

This feature was originally posted on Great Italian Chefs. Take a look at their recipe collection for lots of great Italian pasta recipes.

Ravioli with garden trimmings, chamomile, tequila and almond milk​

Ravioli is an incredibly versatile pasta that can be made with a huge variety of fillings. Michelin-starred chef Lorenzo Cogo uses garden trimmings to fill ravioli for this delicious starter, which changes depending on the ingredients available to him. To make this dish even more special, the chef recommends a few slices of black truffle to add a luxurious, earthy richness.

Pasta dough

75g of 00 flour

25g of semolina

5 egg yolks

Filling

200g of beetroot leaves, spinach leaves, turnip leaves (or other garden trimmings), blanched

2.4g of agar agar

salt

pepper

Almond milk

200ml of soya milk

80g of almonds, peeled

tequila, to taste

salt

Garnish

20 chamomile flowers

linseed oil, to drizzle

To make the pasta dough, sift the flour and semolina onto a clean table and make a well in the centre. Pour the egg yolks into the well and with your hands, gradually mix in with the flour and semolina and knead all of the ingredients until you obtain a smooth, springy texture. Wrap the dough in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, make the ravioli filling by puréeing the vegetables in a blender until smooth. Adjust with salt and pepper and mix in the agar agar. In a small saucepan, bring the mixture to the boil. Remove from the heat and pour the purée into a 2.5cm deep non-stick baking tray. Leave to cool in the fridge for about 1 hour, then cut into 3cm rounds.

Remove the pasta dough from the fridge and sprinkle a clean table with a light dusting of flour. Using a rolling pin or pasta machine, roll the dough into thin sheets of pasta. Place rounds of the vegetable filling in spaced intervals along a sheet of the pasta. Place another sheet of pasta on top of the first and press out any air pockets around the filling. Cut out the ravioli with a round pasta cutter and leave to dry on a floured surface.

To make the almond milk, purée the almonds and soy milk in a blender. Pass the mixture through a fine sieve and add a few drops of tequila and a pinch of salt.

Cook the ravioli for about 3 minutes in a large saucepan of salted, boiling water, carefully remove the ravioli with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl. Gently dress with the extra virgin olive oil.

To plate, divide the ravioli between serving plates and cover with a spoonful of almond milk. Season with salt and pepper and a drizzle of linseed oil. Finish with the fresh chamomile and, if available, a few slices of black truffle.

This recipe from Lorenzo Cogo was originally posted on Great Italian Chefs. Take a look at their recipe collection for more pasta recipes.

Squid ink pasta is available from Italian delis, or you can make it from scratch (Great Italian Chefs)

Squid ink pasta with mussels, calamari crackling and mozzarella purée

In this stunning starter by Rosanna Marziale, squid ink is used throughout the cooking process to create a dramatic, black hue. Squid ink pasta is available from Italian delis, or you can make it from scratch by simply adding four teaspoons of squid ink to the egg and flour mixture when forming a basic pasta dough.

Calamari crackling

225g of squid tubes and tentacles

260g of tapioca flour

canola oil, for deep frying

5g of squid ink

Mussels with squid ink tagliatelle

320g of squid ink pasta, preferably tagliatelle

200g of mussels, washed

150ml of white wine

1 shallot, chopped

1/2 lemon

extra virgin olive oil

salt

black pepper

Mozzarella milk

200g of mozzarella cheese

To serve

cherry tomatoes, oven baked.

To begin, make the calamari crackling dough. Place the squid tentacles, tubes and ink in a food processor until it reaches a smooth purée. Add the tapioca flour and pulse the mixture until evenly combined. Divide the dough between two large vacuum bags. Using a rolling pin, spread the dough to the edges of the bags and roll to a uniform thickness of approximately 2mm thick. Seal both of the bags and place in a steamer large enough to hold them easily. Gently steam 25 minutes. Carefully open the bags and remove the dough. Lay the sheets on dehydrator trays.

Dehydrate the sheets for several hours at 65°C until the dough is completely dry and brittle – it will take on a shiny matte appearance and be easily broken into pieces. When the dough is dry, remove it from the dehydrator and break the sheet into 4cmx8cm pieces. This recipe makes more calamari crackers then are needed for the dish, but any extra dried crackers may be kept in their dry state in a zip lock bag for several weeks.

When ready to cook the crackers, heat a deep saucepan of canola oil to 177°C canola oil, for deep frying. Slide the crackers, two at a time, into the oil. The cracker will sink to the bottom of the oil and then begin to puff and expand. Fry the crackling until it is completely puffed and there are no dark spots of unexpanded cracker dough.

Remove the puffed cracklings from the oil and drain on a paper towel-lined tray. Sprinkle with salt while still hot from the fryer.

To make the mozzarella purée, blitz the mozzarella and its water to a thin purée, adding more water if necessary. Set aside in the fridge.

Now cook the mussels. Heat a large pan with a dash of olive oil and sweat the shallots. Add the mussels and white wine and cover with a lid. Leave to steam for 2–3 minutes, or until all of the shells have opened. Drain the mussels and reserve their liquid. Remove most of the mussels from the shells, keeping a few in their shells for presentation.

In a large pan of boiling water, cook the pasta until al dente for approximately 4–5 minutes. Drain the pasta and add to a large, wide-based pan with the reserved mussel liquid and continue cooking for a further 4 minutes. When the liquid has reduced and the pasta is cooked, stir through the mussels and season with salt, pepper and lemon juice.

To serve, dot the mozzarella purée around the plate and make a nest with the pasta. Add the tomatoes and reserved shellfish and serve.

This recipe from Rosanna Marziale was originally posted on Great Italian Chefs. Take a look at their recipe collection for more Italian seafood recipes.