A much-loved dish from Italian restaurant One Ford St in Sydney’s Balmain.
Ingredients
Shellfish stock
Pasta dough
Method
Main
1.For shellfish stock, heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, add carrot, celery, shallot and garlic and sauté until very tender (8-10 minutes). Add tomato and prawn shells and heads, and cook until shells just start to turn pink (2-3 minutes). Add 1½ litres water, bring to a simmer over high heat, then reduce heat and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes, then blend with a stick blender and strain through a fine sieve into a large frying pan, pressing to extract all liquid (discard solids). Simmer stock until reduced by three-quarters (35-40 minutes).
2.Meanwhile for pasta dough, mix flour, eggs, yolks, oil and 2 tsp fine sea salt in a large bowl until combined, then knead on a lightly floured bench until smooth and elastic (5 minutes; or mix and knead dough in an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook). Wrap dough in plastic wrap and leave to rest for 30 minutes.
3.To make a basil oil, pound basil with a mortar and pestle until finely crushed, then stir in olive oil to form a thick, smooth paste. Season to taste.
4.Divide pasta into 4 pieces. Working with a piece at a time, and keeping remaining covered, roll in a pasta machine, starting on the widest setting and roll and fold until smooth, then reduce settings notch by notch as you roll until 1mm thick. Lightly dust with flour and cut into uneven rectangle shapes. Set aside on a tray.
5.Blanch broad beans (1 minute; see cook’s notes) and peel.
6.Bring stock to a simmer, add prawns and broad beans and simmer until just cooked (2-3 minutes). Cook pasta in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until al dente (about a minute). Drain, add to sauce and toss until well coated. Serve drizzled with a little basil oil and topped with basil leaves.
White spelt flour is available from select health-food shops.
Notes
