Pistachio fettuccine, mortadella emulsion and leek powder

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This unique pistachio pasta recipe from Francesco Sposito is made from a pistachio flour from Bronte. Paired with a meaty mortadella emulsion and charred leek powder, this is a dish of complex, earthy flavours.

First published in 2015

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Pistachio pasta dough

  • 50g of pistachio flour, preferably Bronte
  • 75g of 00 flour
  • 75g of semolina flour
  • 7 egg yolks
  • 2 egg whites

Mortadella emulsion

  • 225g of mortadella
  • 125ml of water
  • 10g of cornflour
  • 15g of glucose
  • 3g of lemon juice

Leek powder

  • 2 leeks, large

To plate

  • 50ml of vegetable stock
  • 100ml of extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 tsp pistachio nuts, chopped
  • edible flowers

Equipment

  • Cooking thermometer
  • Pasta machine
  • Blender
  • Hand blender

Method

1
For the pistachio pasta, mix together the three kinds of flour and make a well in the middle. Whisk the eggs, add them to the flour and mix until you obtain a smooth and consistent mixture. Place the dough in the fridge for approximately 2 hours
  • 50g of pistachio flour, preferably Bronte
  • 75g of 00 flour
  • 75g of semolina flour
  • 7 egg yolks
  • 2 egg whites
2
Roll out the dough with a pasta machine until it is approximately 3mm thick, then cut into thin strips to make fettuccine. Arrange them in a nest and let them dry for a couple of hours before cooking
3
For the mortadella emulsion, heat the water to 50°C and stir in the cornflour until dissolved
  • 125ml of water
  • 10g of cornflour
4
Add the remaining emulsion ingredients to a blender then pour in the cornflour solution. Blitz to a smooth paste, then transfer to a bain marie and keep at a consistent temperature of 40°C
5
Cook the leeks in a dry frying pan over a high heat, turning them until they are very burnt and charred. Cut away the charred exterior part with a knife and pass it through a sieve, collecting the black powder that comes through
  • 2 leeks, large
6
To serve, heat the olive oil and vegetable stock in a pan and blitz with a hand blender to emulsify
  • 50ml of vegetable stock
  • 100ml of extra virgin olive oil
7
Cook the pasta in boiling salted water for 2 minutes, then drain and mix with the oil and vegetable stock emulsion
8
On a flat, square plate, make three small quenelles of mortadella emulsion. Add pinches of leek powder around the plate, and finally place the fettuccine in the centre. Add drops of the emulsion that you mixed with the pasta, and garnish with chopped pistachios and flowers
First published in 2015

Francesco Sposito became Italy’s youngest two-star chef at the age of thirty-one, cooking his unique reinterpretation of Naples cuisine, with modernist international flair.

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