Pasta with zucchini flowers and buffalo ricotta

Serves 6

Prep time 25 minutes (plus dough resting and pasta drying time)

Cook time 1 hour

INGREDIENTS

• 16 zucchini flowers, sliced thinly diagonally, flowers reserved with stamens discarded 
• Buffalo ricotta, to serve
  
  

PASTA DOUGH

• 400g 00 flour
• 2 eggs
  
  

• 1 cup (firmly packed) spinach leaves
• 60g lightly roasted walnuts
• 160ml (2/3 cup) extra-virgin olive oil, or to taste
• 1 bunch basil, leaves picked and washed
• ¼ cup finely grated pecorino

METHOD

1. For pasta dough, combine flour, eggs and 110ml chilled water in a KitchenAid stand mixer fitted with a dough hook and knead on low speed until a smooth elastic dough forms (10 minutes). Wrap in plastic wrap and set aside to rest (30 minutes).
2. Divide dough into six pieces and working with one piece at a time, dust with flour and roll out using the pasta attachment of a KitchenAid stand mixer. Once rolled, cut pasta using the larger size pasta cutter attachment, and hang pasta over rods to dry slightly (1-2 hours).
3. For walnut pesto, blanch spinach in a saucepan of boiling water until bright green (10 seconds). Remove using a slotted spoon, refresh in iced water and then drain very well, squeezing out all moisture. Coarsely chop, then combine in a KitchenAid blender with remaining ingredients and blend on medium-high speed until smooth, adding a little extra oil to thin to your liking. Season to taste and set aside.
4. To serve, bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add pasta and cook until pasta is al dente, adding sliced zucchini just at the end of cooking to blanch (2-3 minutes). Drain pasta and zucchini, then divide among bowls, top with a good spoonful of pesto, crumble buffalo ricotta over to taste and scatter with zucchini flowers and extra basil on top. Toss well before eating.