Jamie Cooks Italy
By Jamie Oliver
Corteccia
Hot smashed broccoli, pecorino, garlic & anchovy pasta
1 hr 30 mins
Not Too Tricky
serves 4
About the recipe
Corteccia, meaning ‘tree bark’, is also known as cavatelli, which comes from an Italian word meaning ‘little hollows’. It’s a great hands-on one to make with kids, and each unique piece is gnarly, bumpy and perfect for catching sauce. Served with this hot pesto, I have to say it’s one of my wife’s all-time favourite pasta dishes. I’ve also given you an alternative sauce combo in the tips – one all the kids go mad for. Have fun with it.
Ingredients
400g durum wheat flour or fine semolina flour, plus extra for dusting
400g sprouting broccoli or cime di rapa
olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
4 anchovy fillets in oil, from sustainable sources
1 pinch of dried red chilli flakes
40g pecorino or Parmesan cheese, plus extra to serve
extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon
Top Tip
You want 100g of flour per person, so feel free to flex this recipe up or down to suit you.
Method
1. Pile the flour onto a clean surface and make a well in the middle.
2. Gradually add 200ml of warm water, using a fork to bring the flour in from the outside until it forms a dough.
3. Knead on a flour-dusted surface, switching between fast and slow kneading, for 10 minutes, or until smooth and pliable. Wrap in a piece of greaseproof paper, then a clean damp tea towel and leave to relax for 30 minutes.
4. To shape the corteccia, break marble-sized pieces off the dough and roll them into small, thin sausage shapes.
5. One at a time, lay your fingers on top, then press down and drag the pasta back towards you to curl and create your shape, gently flicking the pasta pieces off your fingers so you don't squash them.
6. Trim the broccoli, halving any larger stalks lengthways so they cook evenly.
7. Put a pan on a medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, then peel, slice and add the garlic, followed by the anchovies and chilli flakes.
8. A couple of minutes later, add the broccoli and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper, then a splash of water to break the frying.
9. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, then remove the lid for another couple of minutes. Tip the broccoli mixture onto a large board and finely chop it.
10. Finely grate over the cheese, drizzle over 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice, then mix, taste and tweak to your liking.
11. Cook the pasta in a pan of boiling salted water for 4 minutes, or until al dente.
12. Retaining a little cooking water to emulsify the sauce, drain the pasta, return to the pan, toss in the broccoli pesto, then taste again for balance.
13. Finish with extra virgin olive oil and an extra grating of cheese.
ALTERNATIVE SAUCE
1. Follow the recipe above, but add 2 finely sliced leeks (or you could use onions, spring onions, or shallots) to the garlic and chilli in step 7, then swap out anchovies for a tin of tuna, adding it when the leeks have softened.
2. Use regular broccoli, and add 1-2 heads, finely sliced, letting it all cook down gently for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring and adding splashes of water occasionally.
3. Finish with cheese and lemon, as above, then mash into a rustic sauce.
- You can use plain or strong white flour if that’s what you’ve got.
- We’re bigging up broccoli here, but you could certainly swap in asparagus, courgettes or even cauliflower in its place.
- Use any tinned fish. Anchovies, tuna or mackerel would all work well.
- On cheese, you’ve got the vibe now, swap in what you’ve got here in place of the Pecorino or Parmesan, good old Cheddar will do the trick.
- If you want to make your pasta more uniform in size, roll bigger chunks of the dough into long thin even sausage shapes, cut into 2cm lengths and shape as per the instructions above.
- Leave your pasta on a large tray to dry out really well until hard – for up to 2 days – then store in an airtight jar, popping a sprinkle of dried rice grains at the bottom to soak up any moisture. It should keep well for a few weeks.
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