Method
Pea & Spinach Sauce
Bring a sauce pan to a gentle heat and add olive oil
Gently sweat diced onions for 5 mins until soft and translucent
Add the chopped garlic and cook for a further 2 mins
Add 250ml hot stock and bring the heat up to medium
Blanch the peas & spinach in the liquid for 3 mins
Squeeze the juice of half a lemon into the mixture
Scoop everything into a blender and add a handful of both fresh mint & basil
Blend into a smooth consistency and immediately chill & refrigerate so that the sauce keeps its vibrant green colour (unless you are using it right way, then keep it warm)
Cooking the rigatoni
Cook the pasta to the instruction in heavily salted water
Bring the water to a rolling boil and once boiling add the salt (a very generous pinch or 1 tbs should suffice)
The rolling boil makes sure the pasta cooks evenly throughout
Reserve a jug of the pasta water before draining
Combining pasta & sauce
Gently warm the green sauce in a pan – about 1 large ladle per portion
Add the cooked pasta, a splash of the pasta water, a grind of black pepper to taste, and stir
Place the coated green pasta onto a warm dish and top with more of the green sauce from the pan
Spoon the stracciatella into the middle of the pasta
Scatter with some lightly crushed hazelnuts
Zest a bit of lemon & give a good splash of olive oil over the dish
Peas and thanks x
Theo’s Tips
If you can’t get Stracciatella don’t stress, you could go with buratta, creme fraiche, goats cheese or simply with parmesan. Or omit to make it vegan.
