Ingredients
| TOMATO WATER | |
| 1kg very ripe tomatoes | |
| 2 teaspoons sea salt | |
| 1 shallot | |
| 2 cloves garlic | |
| 1 handful basil leaves | |
| 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar | |
| 1 teaspoon sugar | |
| TORTELLONI | |
| 250g ricotta (I used Massimo’s) | |
| grated zest of 1 lemon | |
| 15g (approx ¼ cup) finely grated parmesan | |
| ½ cup basil leaves, finely chopped | |
| 2 eggs, lightly beaten | |
| 200g ’00’ flour (or use plain flour) | |
| semolina flour, for the tray | |
| BASIL OIL | |
| 1 handful basil leaves | |
| ½ cup extra virgin olive oil | |
| TO SERVE | |
| 1 batch tomato water | |
| 5-6 tortelloni per person | |
| 4-5 mixed tomatoes, roughly chopped | |
| 1 small handful basil leaves | |
| 1 batch basil oil |
Soup doesn’t need to be just for winter. A lightly clean broth can be good hot or cold, especially when paired with fresh tomatoes and some homemade pasta (but you could use wonton wrappers if you prefer).
Instructions
| 1. | TOMATO WATER |
| 2. | Put all the ingredients in a blender and pulse to a coarse paste. |
| 3. | Line a sieve or colander with a double layer of muslin and put over a large bowl. |
| 4. | Pour in the tomato mix and refrigerate overnight (don’t be tempted to squeeze the tomatoes as you won’t get a clear broth). |
| 5. | Set aside the broth until ready to use. |
| 6. | The strained tomato paste isn’t used in this recipe but you can cook it with some olive oil to make a thick tomato paste. |
| 7. | TORTELLONI |
| 8. | Combine the ricotta, lemon zest, parmesan and basil and season well with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until required. |
| 9. | To make the pasta, combine the eggs and flour in a food processor and pulse to a crumb. |
| 10. | Put onto a lightly floured bench and knead until smooth, adding extra flour if needed. |
| 11. | Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. |
| 12. | On a floured bench, use a pasta machine to roll out the dough. |
| 13. | Run the dough through the rollers three times on each setting (running the dough through, folding it over and running it through again) until you get to the second finest setting, dusting with flour if it seems sticky. |
| 14. | Cut the dough into 6cm rounds using a pastry cutter and put ½ teaspoon of filling onto each round. |
| 15. | Brush the edge of the rounds with a little water and fold over into a half circle, ensuring there are no air pockets, then join the two edges around the filling. |
| 16. | Put onto a tray lined with baking paper and sprinkled with semolina flour. |
| 17. | This should make around 60 tortellini, which is more than you’ll require, but these freeze well. Just put the tray into the freezer until frozen, then put into airtight containers until required. Add a few minutes extra to the cooking time. |
| 18. | BASIL OIL |
| 19. | Pour boiling water over the basil leaves and leave for 10 seconds until just wilted, then immediately drain and put into iced water. |
| 20. | Squeeze out excess water and purée with a stick blender with the olive oil. |
| 21. | Allow to steep in the fridge for an hour or so and strain through a piece of cheesecloth. |
| 22. | Keep refrigerated until required. |
| 23. | TO SERVE |
| 24. | If serving warm, heat the broth gently and ladle into bowls (otherwise just ladle into bowls). |
| 25. | Cook the tortelloni in boiling, salted water for 3-4 minutes until bite tender, remove with a strainer and divide between the bowls. |
| 26. | Scatter over the fresh tomatoes and basil leaves and drizzle with a little of the basil oil. |
Recipes & food styling Ginny Grant / Photography Aaron McLean / Styling Jessica Hemmings
Leave a Reply