Paccheri with tomato sauce and Parmesan

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This traditional pasta recipe comes from Vittorio, Enrico and Roberto Cerea's father. The paccheri pasta (large tube shapes) is served in a simple tomato sauce, made from both tinned and fresh tomatoes, and topped with Parmesan. If serving to vegetarians, swap the Parmesan for a suitable hard cheese that uses vegetable-based rennet.

First published in 2016

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Paccheri

  • 240g of paccheri
  • 1 garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 carrot, diced
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 stick of celery, diced
  • 200g of San Marzano tomatoes, diced
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 50g of Piccadilly tomatoes, or other baby plum tomatoes
  • 20g of butter
  • 40g of Parmesan, grated, plus extra to garnish
  • 1 bunch of basil
  • 125ml of extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
  • salt
  • pepper

Method

1
Add the olive oil to large pan and gently sauté the garlic, carrot, onion and celery together until softened. Add the diced tomatoes, some seasoning and the sugar and continue to cook for 35–40 minutes
  • 125ml of extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
  • 1 garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 carrot, diced
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 stick of celery, diced
  • 200g of San Marzano tomatoes, diced
  • salt
  • pepper
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
2
Once cooked, transfer to a blender and blitz until smooth. Pass through a fine sieve into a clean pan to remove any seeds
3
Add the Piccadilly tomatoes, stirring into the sauce to heat through
4
Cook the pasta in boiling water for 10–12 minutes, or until cooked through, then drain and stir into the tomato sauce
5
Add the butter and grated Parmesan, stirring until the sauce becomes almost creamy. Pick the basil leaves and stir most through the pasta
  • 20g of butter
  • 40g of Parmesan, grated, plus extra to garnish
  • 1 bunch of basil
6
Garnish with a few remaining whole leaves, a little more grated Parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil
First published in 2016

Roberto and Enrico Cerea were brought up by parents who devoted their lives to culinary excellence. Taking over the family restaurant, they earned its third Michelin star for their signature seafood dishes.

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