Recipes, re-invented from cooking shows
Tagliatelle alla 'Nduja
Prep. Time:
Baking Time:
Total Time:
45 mins
20 mins
1 hour 45 mins
Serves:
4 servings
Ferdinando created this dish for MasterChef UK ™ Series 22. The judges praised his lovely ideas and great flavour profiles, singling out the burrata against the roasted yellow tomatoes as the plate's standout pairing. This Fix-It reconstruction protects that praised burrata-and-tomato core while cor...
Read more
Ingredients
FOR THE TAGLIATELLE:
250 g '00' flour, plus extra for dusting
2 large eggs plus 1 yolk, room temperature
1.5 g (¼ tsp) salt
20 g Suji (Semolina), for dusting the cut ribbons
FOR THE ROASTED YELLOW TOMATO & 'NDUJA SAUCE:
700 g yellow tomatoes (datterini or yellow cherry), for roasting
45 ml extra-virgin olive oil, divided
Salt, to taste
1 medium shallot, finely sliced
2 garlic cloves, sliced
60 g 'nduja (Calabrian; render for its fat)
30 g tomato purée (passata)
½ tsp (2 g) caster sugar, if tomatoes need balancing
120–180 ml reserved pasta water, the binding agent
TO FINISH:
~250 g burrata (2 balls) — do not warm
A few fresh basil leaves, torn
5–10 ml chilli oil, tempered, to taste
Pecorino or Parmigiano, finely grated, optional
EQUIPMENT:
Pasta machine (or a long rolling pin)
Bench scraper
Large pot for boiling pasta
Wide sauté pan
Roasting tray
Blender or food processor
Tongs and ladle
Method
STEP 1: MAKE & REST THE PASTA DOUGH
Mound the '00' flour and make a well. Add the 2 eggs, the extra yolk and the salt, and bring together into a firm dough. Knead 8–10 minutes until smooth and elastic, then wrap and rest 30–60 minutes. Resting fully hydrates the dough so it rolls thin without springing back — and a properly hydrated, properly cooked pasta is what kills the floury taste the critics flagged.
STEP 2: ROLL THIN AND CUT
Roll through the pasta machine, narrowing one setting at a time, down to the second-thinnest setting — you should almost see your hand through the sheet. Dust with semolina, fold and cut into tagliatelle, and toss into loose nests. Thin ribbons cook fast and evenly; thick ones go claggy and lumpy.
STEP 3: ROAST THE TOMATOES
Heat the oven to 220°C (425°F). Toss the yellow tomatoes with 1½ tbsp of the olive oil and a little salt; roast 18–20 minutes until collapsing and lightly caramelised. Reserve a few whole roasted tomatoes to plate beside the burrata.
STEP 4: RENDER THE 'NDUJA AND BUILD THE SAUCE
In a wide pan, warm the remaining oil and soften the shallot and garlic. Add the 'nduja and render over gentle heat until it melts into a rust-red, oily paste — this released fat carries the flavour and helps the sauce emulsify. Add the roasted tomatoes (minus the reserved few) and the purée; simmer 5 minutes. Blend smooth or crush by hand. Taste and balance with a pinch of caster sugar if the tomatoes are sharp, and salt as needed. Keep the chilli oil off the sauce — it is a finishing accent.
STEP 5: COOK THE PASTA AND EMULSIFY
Boil the tagliatelle in well-salted water for just 2–3 minutes. Before draining, save a mugful of the starchy water. Transfer the pasta straight into the sauce pan with a splash of that water and toss hard over low heat for a minute — the starch and the rendered fat pull together into a glossy sauce that clings to every ribbon rather than merely coating it.
STEP 6: PLATE, PROTECTING THE PRAISED ELEMENT
Twirl the pasta into nests on warm plates. Tear the burrata over the top and set the reserved roasted tomatoes alongside — the pairing the critics singled out as the dish's saving grace, so present it generously and untouched. Finish with torn basil, a restrained thread of tempered chilli oil and, if using, a little grated pecorino. Serve at once, while the cool burrata meets the warm pasta.
What next?
Tell us what you'd like and we'll send what you pick.
Video walkthrough
Simpler recipe version
Printable recipe
Weekly recipe digest
Instructions
FOR THE TAGLIATELLE:
250 g '00' flour, plus extra for dusting
2 large eggs plus 1 yolk, room temperature
1.5 g (¼ tsp) salt
20 g fine semolina, for dusting the cut ribbons
FOR THE ROASTED YELLOW TOMATO & 'NDUJA SAUCE:
700 g yellow tomatoes (datterini or yellow cherry), for roasting
45 ml extra-virgin olive oil, divided
Salt, to taste
1 medium shallot, finely sliced
2 garlic cloves, sliced
60 g 'nduja (Calabrian; render for its fat)
30 g tomato purée (passata)
½ tsp (2 g) caster sugar, if tomatoes need balancing
120–180 ml reserved pasta water, the binding agent
TO FINISH:
~250 g burrata (2 balls) — do not warm
A few fresh basil leaves, torn
5–10 ml chilli oil, tempered, to taste
Pecorino or Parmigiano, finely grated, optional
EQUIPMENT:
Pasta machine (or a long rolling pin)
Bench scraper
Large pot for boiling pasta
Wide sauté pan
Roasting tray
Blender or food processor
Fine sieve
Tongs and ladle
Heading 5
Ingredients
STEP 1: MAKE & REST THE PASTA DOUGH
Mound the '00' flour and make a well. Add the 2 eggs, the extra yolk and the salt, and bring together into a firm dough. Knead 8–10 minutes until smooth and elastic, then wrap and rest 30–60 minutes. Resting fully hydrates the dough so it rolls thin without springing back — and a properly hydrated, properly cooked pasta is what kills the floury taste the critics flagged.
STEP 2: ROLL THIN AND CUT
Roll through the pasta machine, narrowing one setting at a time, down to the second-thinnest setting — you should almost see your hand through the sheet. Dust with semolina, fold and cut into tagliatelle, and toss into loose nests. Thin ribbons cook fast and evenly; thick ones go claggy and lumpy.
STEP 3: ROAST THE TOMATOES
Heat the oven to 220°C (425°F). Toss the yellow tomatoes with 1½ tbsp of the olive oil and a little salt; roast 18–20 minutes until collapsing and lightly caramelised. Reserve a few whole roasted tomatoes to plate beside the burrata.
STEP 4: RENDER THE 'NDUJA AND BUILD THE SAUCE
In a wide pan, warm the remaining oil and soften the shallot and garlic. Add the 'nduja and render over gentle heat until it melts into a rust-red, oily paste — this released fat carries the flavour and helps the sauce emulsify. Add the roasted tomatoes (minus the reserved few) and the purée; simmer 5 minutes. Blend smooth or crush by hand. Taste and balance with a pinch of caster sugar if the tomatoes are sharp, and salt as needed. Keep the chilli oil off the sauce — it is a finishing accent.
STEP 5: COOK THE PASTA AND EMULSIFY
Boil the tagliatelle in well-salted water for just 2–3 minutes. Before draining, save a mugful of the starchy water. Transfer the pasta straight into the sauce pan with a splash of that water and toss hard over low heat for a minute — the starch and the rendered fat pull together into a glossy sauce that clings to every ribbon rather than merely coating it.
STEP 6: PLATE, PROTECTING THE PRAISED ELEMENT
Twirl the pasta into nests on warm plates. Tear the burrata over the top and set the reserved roasted tomatoes alongside — the pairing the critics singled out as the dish's saving grace, so present it generously and untouched. Finish with torn basil, a restrained thread of tempered chilli oil and, if using, a little grated pecorino. Serve at once, while the cool burrata meets the warm pasta.
Comments, or questions, for this recipe
Add a new comment