A Valentine's recipe that you will want to repeat, for your loved one, pasta pals or just for yourself. Totally delicious and totally luxurious with the silky soft burrata.
Serves 2
Ingredients:
2 banana shallots
2 tbsp capers (I prefer to use baby capers)
olive oil
4 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
pinch of salt
pinch of sugar
black pepper
1/2 tsp aleppo pepper
250g Isle of Wight Organic Tomato Passata
150g french beans, trimmed
200g Northern Pasta Co Gigli
small bunch of basil
1 burrata
Method:
1. Finely slice both the shallots lengthways.2. In a large shallow pan heat a good glug of oil over a high heat. Add half of the shallots and the capers.
3. Fry for 4-5 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. Spoon out of the pan onto some kitchen roll to absorb any excess oil. Set aside, but keep warm.
4. Return the pan to a medium heat and add a little more oil.
5. Finely slice the garlic cloves.
6. Add the remaining shallots and garlic to the pan and cook gently for 5 minutes or so. You want them to be golden brown, soft and sticky.
7. Add the vinegar to the onions, alongside the salt sugar and a generous amount of cracked black pepper. Add the Aleppo pepper.
8. Stir through then add the passata. Simmer over a medium low heat for a few minutes then add the beans.
9. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil.
10. Add the pasta and cook for 5 minutes or until just al dente. Whilst the pasta is cooking, scoop a ladleful of the pasta water into the sauce and stir well.
11. Remove the sauce from the heat so the beans stay crunchy. Pick half of the basil leaves and add to the sauce. Season to taste.
12. Once the pasta is just cooked, strain the water (reserving some more if the sauce needs to be loosened a little more) and stir the pasta through the sauce.
13. To serve, spoon the pasta onto a large platter. Top with spoonfuls of the burrata. Sprinkle over the crispy capers and shallots then drizzle with olive oil.
Pick the remaining basil leaves on top and add a crack of black pepper.
14. Enjoy with a loved one!
