Recipe & photography by Ed Barrow.
Ingredients
3 banana shallots, skin left on and halved
Large sprig of fresh thyme, leaves only
30g of salted butter
1 tsp of dried chilli flakes
1 garlic, finely chopped
150g of Northern Pasta Co Gigli
40g of finely grated Parmesan
Lemon, juice only
Method
Start by preheating the oven to 200/180fan. Arrange the halved shallots skin side down on a roasting tray. Drizzle well with olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. Sprinkle over the thyme leaves then place into the oven. Roast for 25-30 minutes until they have softened down and started to caramelise around the edges a little.
Meanwhile, place a large pan of well salted water on to boil for the pasta.
After the shallot has had 20 minutes place the butter into a sauté or frying pan and place on a low heat. Leave until melted then add the garlic and chill flakes and gently cook in the butter for 5 minutes.
Add the Gigli to the boiling water and cook for 5 minutes until al-dente.
Remove the shallot once softened and caramelised and leave to cool for a few minutes until you can touch them. Remove the skins from the shallots then finely chop half the shallots and add to the garlic and chilli butter.
Drain the pasta, saving back some pasta water once cooked. Add the drained pasta to the pan along with a good splash of pasta water. Sprinkle over the Parmesan and squeeze a little lemon juice. Season well with salt and pepper then toss together over the heat until everything is well combined. Divide between 2 bowls and finish with reserved shallots and some extra Parmesan over the top.
