Squid ink pasta with prawns, nduja and tomato
Make a statement at your next dinner party with our mouth-watering and theatrical, homemade squid ink pasta. Our exquisite eggs make for the silkiest dough, ‘nduja sausage creates a spicy sauce base to accompany juicy prawns, and tangy cherry tomatoes and lemon zest add a refreshing lift to the dish.
Method
Place the flour in a large mixing bowl and make a well in the centre, then add the egg yolks and squid ink. Beat the yolks and squid ink to combine, then use a dinner knife to gradually mix the liquid into the flour, to form a rough dough.
Lightly dust a clean work surface with flour and knead the dough for 5-10 minutes, until firm and springy. Shape into a ball and wrap in cling film then allow to rest in the fridge for 1 hour.
After the resting time, unwrap the dough, cut in half and dust with a little fine polenta.
Run the pasta dough through the widest setting on your pasta machine and gradually run it through the next three or four finer settings.
Fold into three and start again at the wider setting, running down through the thickness settings. Fold and roll a few more times until you get to the second from thinnest setting, with a lovely, smooth, well-rolled sheet of pasta.
Add the linguine cutter to the pasta machine and cut your pasta. Hang or shape into nests on a polenta-dusted tray and repeat with the remaining pasta dough.
When you’re ready to cook, place a large frying pan on a medium heat and a large pan of water on to boil.
Add a tablespoon of olive oil to the pan, followed by the ‘nduja sausage meat, using a wooden spoon to break it down into small pieces. Once it begins to brown, add the garlic, and turn down the heat, then sauté for 5 minutes.
Remove the garlic from the pan, turn up the heat and add the prawns, white wine, cherry tomatoes, lemon, and chilli flakes. Sauté for 5 minutes, until the prawns are lightly golden and just cooked through. Turn off the heat and add the garlic cloves back into the pan.
Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook for 2 minutes, until just cooked, and save a little pasta water in a mug.
Using tongs, transfer the pasta to the frying pan and place the pan on a high heat, then toss everything together with a little pasta water to loosen and season.
Transfer the pasta to bowls and grate over a little Parmesan to serve.
Ingredients
200g tipo 00 pasta flour, plus extra for dusting
3 large Clarence Court hen egg yolks
2 tablespoons squid ink
Olive oil
Fine polenta
100g ‘nduja sausage, squeezed from the skins
2 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
200g large, raw, peeled prawns
100ml white wine
100g cherry tomatoes, halved
Zest of 1 lemon
Chilli flakes
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Freshly grated Parmesan to serve