Francesco Mazzei, one of London’s best Italian chefs, will be joining us at the Chelsea Flower Show 2023. Francesco will be cooking a family favourite recipe in the working outdoor kitchen of our Hamptons Mediterranean Garden. Using fresh herbs picked directly from the garden, Francesco will celebrate the connection between home, food, and family through this special dish that he's been making with his loved ones since childhood.
When asked to describe his cooking, Francesco said that, “To this day, what really gets my heart beating, is the food I grew up with, from my home region of Calabria and the rest of southern Italy.”
Francesco will be demonstrating the art of al fresco cooking and entertaining at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show press preview on Monday 22nd May – as well as sharing his recipe below in the form of social media ‘cook-a-long’ in Hamptons’ Mediterranean Garden.
Follow us on social media for your chance to ‘cook-a-long’ with Francesco this June.
Cavatelli, n'duja, tomatoes and aged ricotta
Ingredients
60 grams n’duja250 ml tomato sauce
50 gr aged ricotta
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Basil leaves
For the Pasta dough
400 gr semola rimacinata flour, sifted
220 ml warm water
Pinch of sea salt
Method
For the pasta dough, put the flour in a bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour in the water then the salt. Using a fork, slowly swirl the flour into the water, beginning with the inner rim of the well, until a dough begins to form. Gather the dough into a mass, work into a ball, then knead for about 10 minutes, until smooth. Let the dough rest, covered with cling film or a clean tea towel for 2 hours.
Divide the dough in half, flatted and cut the portions into 2.5 cm-wide strips. Using the palms of your hands, roll the dough into ‘ropes’ roughly 1.5 cm thick. Lay these ropes on a lightly floured work surface and roll out to 0.5cm in diameter. Cut the rope of dough into 1.5 cm lengths. Lightly dust with flour and place on a floured tray, covered with a tea towel, while you repeat this process with the remaining dough.
To shape the cavatelli, lay a piece of dough on the surface and pull the dough toward you with two fingers using medium pressure. It should roll as you pull. The first few might be difficult and may not be beautiful, but don’t worry – shaping gets easier as you develop a feel for the dough. To stop the pasta going hard and enable you to keep it for longer I always blanch the cavatelli at this stage. Drop them into a pan of salted boiling water and as soon as they float lift them out with a slotted spoon. Mix them with a little olive oil so they don’t stick then put them into sealable packets in the fridge, if using shortly, or the freezer if you want to keep them.
When ready to serve, blanch the cavatelli in salted, boiling water until they float (you can also cook them straight from frozen), then drain, reserving a ladleful or two of the cooking water.
For the sauce, fry the n’duja in a pan set over a medium heat just until it melts. Add the tomato sauce, then two-thirds of the ricotta and mix well.
Toss the pasta with the sauce, adding a little of the reserved pasta water to loosen it. Spoon into heated serving dishes and serve with the remaining ricotta grated on top, the olive oil drizzled over and some fresh basil leaves.
Hamptons at the Chelsea Flower Show
Dreaming of a more Mediterranean way of life? Take inspiration from The Hamptons Mediterranean Garden or visit us at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
