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Fresh shiitake tagliatelle with a smoky tomato and black bean sauce

Fresh pasta is quick and simple to make if you have a pasta maker, but if you couldn't be bothered, just use dry pasta - the tomato sauce is robust enough to still hold it's own.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Fusion, Italian, Mediterranean, Mexican
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes

Equipment

  • pasta machine

Ingredients

Pasta

  • 150 g semolina
  • 2 eggs
  • 15-20 g dried shiitake or porcini mushrooms Blitzed up in a nutribullet or spice grinder into powder
  • 5 small zucchinis spiralized, julienned, or cut into strips with a veggie peeler

Sauce

  • 1 tbsp fennel seeds
  • 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
  • 5 g fresh turmeric, grated
  • 2 dried lantern chillis, torn up and seeds removed Or another smoky, mild red chilli
  • 50 g tomato paste one packet
  • 1 can plum tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp smoked paprika
  • 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 3 tbsp sundried tomato pesto
  • Pecorino romano, to serve

Instructions

  • Make the fresh pasta according to the recipe here. Add the shiitake powder to the flour. Microwave your zucchini spirals/strips for a minute or so, or blanch them in boiling water for a few seconds then drain and refresh.
  • Put a small pot or saucepan with a lid on a medium heat. Fry the fennel seeds, garlic, fresh turmeric and torn dried chili in as much olive oil as you're comfortable using until fragrant and the garlic is soft and crushable, about 3-4 minutes. Don't burn the garlic.
    Add the tomato paste, tinned tomatoes, smoked paprika, sundried tomato pesto, 1 tsp salt, 1 1/2 tsp sugar, a fair bit of fresh black pepper and 1/2 can of water, crush the tomatoes a bit, then add the black beans and let it bubble away while you get cracking rolling out your pasta. I like thickness no. 4 for tagliatelle, but do whatever you feel like.
  • Timing is important when dealing with fresh pasta - as soon as it's boiled you need to toss it with the sauce, otherwise you need to wash off the starch and serve it cold - so make sure your sauce is perfectly seasoned and ready to eat before throwing the pasta in the water!
    Your sauce needs to be slightly watery (not thick and reduced), since it will get absorbed into the pasta surface - if it's too thick just thin it down with a little water. Taste and adjust salt (if it tastes flat), sugar (if it's too acidic) and black or cayenne pepper (if it needs more spunk). If you're making the sauce way ahead of time, add the beans only in the last 10 minutes or so, otherwise they disintegrate.
  • Boil the pasta for a minute, or until al dente, and throw into a large serving dish with the blanched or microwaved zucchini, then cover immediately with the sauce, toss well, and serve with crumbled or grated pecorino.