Serves 4
For the Pasta Dough
- 200g ’00’ Pasta Flour
- 2 Medium Eggs
- Large Pinch of Salt
For the Pesto
- 30g Picked Basil
- 1 Clove of Garlic, peeled
- 1 Tbsp Sunflower Seeds
- 3 Tbsps Parmesan
- ¼ Red Chilli, without seeds
- 3 Tbsps Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Pinch of Salt
For the Garnish
- Extra Parmesan Cheese
- 1 Tbsp Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Method
For the pasta. Place the “00” flour in a small bowl. Make a well in the middle, and then place the eggs in the middle of the well. Add a pinch of salt to the mixture. Using a fork stir the egg and gradually bring in the flour a little at a time until you form a messy dough. Use your hands to press the dough together and need on a clean surface for a couple of minutes until smooth and firm. Add a little water if too dry, or extra flour if too wet.
Using a pasta machine make sure the thickness setting is on highest and should be No.10 on most machines. Roll your dough through this setting and then fold the dough in half. Pass it through again and then fold it in half again and follow this procedure 10 times until you have a very smooth dough. Now roll the dough through each setting until you get down to No 2 1/2 or 2 . Your pasta should be very thin now. Cut on the tagliatelle attachment, and flour generously or dry on rack. Cook in a large pan of boiling salted water. Reserve some cooking water.
For the pesto. Crush the garlic. Then place the garlic and all remaining pesto ingredients in a blender, and blend on a low speed. Keep stopping and scrapping down to ensure the pesto doesn’t get too hot and is evenly blended. End result should be creamy and emulsified. Store in fridge, covered with a little more olive oil.
To finish. Off the heat , place the pesto in a large bowl and add pasta and a little of the cooking water. Toss until evenly coated, and plate. Grate come fresh parmesan over the pasta, and sprinkle over some pumpkin seeds. Serve immediately.
