Cherry tagliolini, seaweed and watermelon skin

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The ruby red cherry is the star of this elegant starter from Lorenzo Cogo. He weaves a vivid cherry purée through his unusual sweet and savoury tagliolini pasta recipe and also marinates the sweet, juicy fruit with an alcoholic liqueur. Both the cherries and watermelon skin need to be marinated overnight, so start the day before serving to ensure they are ready.

First published in 2016

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Pasta dough

Marinated cherries

  • 200g of cherries, stones removed
  • 150g of sugar
  • 500ml of water
  • 250ml of neutral alcohol, 95%

Pickled watermelon skin

  • 200g of watermelon, skin and rind only, sliced into strips
  • 500ml of apple vinegar
  • 300g of caster sugar
  • 1 star anise
  • 1 clove
  • 1 juniper berry
  • 1 slice of orange zest

Hibiscus sauce

  • 5g of hibiscus flowers, dried
  • 250ml of water
  • 2.5g of kuzu

To serve

Equipment

  • Pasta machine

Method

1
To make the marinated cherries, heat the sugar and water together in a pan over a low heat. When the sugar has completely dissolved, pour in the alcohol and bring to the boil
  • 150g of sugar
  • 500ml of water
  • 250ml of neutral alcohol, 95%
2
Pour the hot liquid over the cherries then leave to cool to room temperature. Place in an airtight container in the fridge and leave to infuse overnight
3
Meanwhile, make a pickling syrup for the watermelon skin. Place the vinegar, sugar, spices and orange zest in a pan and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Remove from the heat and leave to cool
  • 500ml of apple vinegar
  • 300g of caster sugar
  • 1 star anise
  • 1 clove
  • 1 juniper berry
  • 1 slice of orange zest
4
Add the slices of watermelon skin to a separate pan and cover with cold water. Place over a medium heat and bring to the boil
  • 200g of watermelon, skin and rind only, sliced into strips
5
Simmer the skin for 10 minutes, then drain and transfer to the pan of cooled pickling syrup. Cover and leave to pickle overnight
6
On the day of serving, make the pasta dough. Add the flour to a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the whole egg and yolks and start to mix into the flour
7
Bring the dough together with your hands, transfer to a clean work surface and knead briefly. Add the cherry purée and knead again to create a smooth, evenly coloured dough. Wrap tightly in cling film and rest in the fridge for 1 hour
8
While the pasta is resting, make the hibiscus sauce. Add the water to a small pan and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Remove from the heat and add the hibiscus flowers
  • 250ml of water
  • 5g of hibiscus flowers, dried
9
Leave to infuse for 10 minutes, then pass the liquid through a fine sieve into a clean pan. Decant 2 tablespoons of the liquid into a small bowl and stir in the kuzu to dissolve
  • 2.5g of kuzu
10
Place the pan of hibiscus water back over a medium heat and bring to the boil. Add the dissolved kuzu gradually until fully combined, then keep warm until ready to serve
11
Pass the rested pasta dough through a pasta machine, gradually decreasing the thickness setting each time until the pasta reaches a 2mm thickness. Use a blade attachment (or cut by hand) to cut the pasta into strips of tagliolini (slightly thinner than tagliatelle)
12
Bring a large pan of water to the boil and blanch the pasta for 2 minutes then drain. Drain the pickled watermelon skin and mix through the cooked pasta along with the seaweed
  • 100g of seaweed, washed well
13
Drain the marinated cherries and chop into small pieces. Divide these between serving bowls and twirl a nest of the pasta on top
14
Drizzle over with hibiscus water and garnish with a few edible flower petals to serve
First published in 2016

At just thirty-one years old, Lorenzo Cogo is the youngest Michelin-starred chef-owner in Italy. His creative, instinctive way of cooking has made him one of the most exciting figures in modern Italian cuisine.

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