3 OZ OF PASTA RECIPES

Steps:

• Brown meat in the olive oil in a large Dutch Oven or stock pot.
• Finely chop olives and green peppers. I use a food processor so I also chop the diced tomatoes. Add to the pot.
• Stir in the seasonings.
• Combine the tomato paste and water. Stir into the pot.
• Simmer covered until the green peppers are soft giving the flavors time to meld.
• Cook the spaghetti just past the al dente point. Strain and rinse. Set aside.
• Remove from heat and mix in the cooked spaghetti.

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4.
  2. In a tray, roast the squash whole for 1 hour. Add the ricotta and roast for another 30 minutes, or until the squash is cooked through.
  3. Halve it in the tray, discarding the skin and seeds. Pick, finely chop and add the basil leaves, then mash it all with the ricotta, scraping up any sticky bits from the tray. Taste, season to perfection, and cool.
  4. To make the pasta dough, put the eggs and flour into a food processor and whiz into a ball of dough. Knead on a flour-dusted surface until smooth. Cut in half, wrap in clingfilm and rest for 30 minutes.
  5. Flatten one piece of dough by hand. Run it through the thickest setting on a pasta machine, then take the rollers down two settings and run it through again to make it thinner.
  6. Now, fold it in half and run it back through the thickest setting again, repeating this a few times for super-smooth dough. Start rolling the sheet down through each setting, lightly dusting with flour as you go. Turn the crank with one hand while the other maintains just a little tension to avoid any kinks or folds.
  7. Take it right down to 1mm, then lay the sheet flat and stamp out circles with a 12cm cutter.
  8. Working quickly, spoon 1 heaped teaspoon of filling into the middle of each, lightly brush the exposed pasta with water, fold into half-moon shapes over the filling, gently pressing to squeeze out any air, and seal. Repeat with the second ball of dough.
  9. Warm the sauce in a pan over a medium heat, and in batches cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling salted water for just 2 minutes.
  10. Toss the pasta with the sauce and rocket and serve with finely grated Parmesan, finished with a few drips of extra virgin olive oil.