Always dreamed of making fresh pasta? Let Laithwaites show you how! Our Italian Wine Buyer Leo and in-house wine expert Jennie, met up with Toni Sale, founder of The Pasta Academy for a pasta and wine masterclass. Toni brought his pasta making passion and experience to teach Leo, Jennie and all of you watching from home how to make two delicious, traditional Venetian pasta dishes, Bigoli in salsa and Casunziei.
But it doesn’t stop there. Because what goes with great pasta? Great wine of course!
We couldn’t let Toni or any of you making these dishes at home, serve the pasta without a glass of the good stuff. Leo and Jennie selected two special wines, with a very special story from Veneto to pair with Toni’s dishes.
Sit back, uncork and enjoy a journey to Veneto through food and wine in this very special masterclass. Find out the perfect wine pairings, and how you can make these exact dishes at home too.
Toni’s Recipes
Bigoli in Salsa
(Serves 6)
Wine Pairing
Il Sogno di Arianna Pinot Grigio
Ingredients
- For the dough – 500g Semola, 200g water, 1 egg & 10g salt
- For the sauce – 2 large onions, 150g salted sardine fillets (rinsed), 80g anchovy fillets, extra-virgin olive oil & flat parsley
Method
- Put 3 tbsp of extra-virgin olive oil in a wide pan and add the finely chopped onion, cover the pan and gently sauté the onions on a low heat, stirring and adding a small amount of hot water if necessary.
- After 15 minutes add the sardine and anchovy fillets and simmer on a low heat for about 1 hour until the sauce looks creamy.
- In a separate saucepan, add the bigoli to slightly salted boiling water, leave for approx. 5 minutes then drain and add to the sauce; combine the sauce and pasta.
Casunziei
(Serves 6)
Wine Pairing
Il Sogno di Arianna Chiaretto Rosato
Ingredients
- For the dough – 500g ‘00’ flour, 100g beetroot puree, 3 eggs & 10g salt
- For the filling – 200g boiled beetroot, 150g boiled potatoes, 250g ricotta & 20g chopped chives
- For the sauce – 100g butter, 100g Parmesan, 20g extra-virgin olive oil, 50g fresh sage, 20g chopped chives & 20g poppy seeds
Method
- Make the dough and mix all the filling ingredients together – you may wish to use a food processor for this.
- Roll the dough and cut out circles of about 8cm diameter. Place a teaspoon of filling in the centre of the circle and fold the circle into a half-moon shape. Seal the casunziei by pressing a fork gently around the edges. Cook the casunziei in slightly salted boiling water for about 5 minutes.
- Melt the butter and a touch of extra-virgin olive oil in a wide pan, add the sage and saute gently.
- Drain the casunziei, add to the pan with the butter and sage for a couple of minutes, making sure they are well coated with the sauce. Serve onto the plates and sprinkle with some grated Parmesan, chopped chives & poppy seeds.
