Coast of the Gods biricci con asparagi, pomodori, aglio selvatico e dolcelatte

Name: Coast of the Gods biricci con asparagi, pomodori, aglio selvatico e dolcelatte
Total time: 900 s
Yield: 2 people
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 125 g biricci pasta; 1 vegetable stock cube (see recipe); 150 g (7 chunky stalks) fresh asparagus; 1 shallot; 50 g wild garlic; 75 g (around 5 halves) sun-kissed tomatoes; 1 tbsp olive oil; 1/4 tsp chilli flakes; 100 ml white wine; sea salt; 50 g dolcelatte cheese

Laura @FeelBetter

Milton Keynes, England

It’s asparagus season and the fields are full of spears standing at attention like soldiers. I return from the farm shop armed with a handful of freshly picked asparagus and wild garlic. I add sun-kissed tomatoes I slow cooked in the air fryer yesterday, a homemade stock cube and rummage for some complimentary ingredients, biricci pasta, sea salt, chilli flakes and a chunk of Northern Italian cheese dolcelatte which is oozy and desperately trying to escape from the pantry.

Biricci was originally remnants but nowadays it is an artisan pasta made with the best durum wheat semolina which is bronze drawn and slowly dried. This gives the pasta an amber colour, small ridges and ruffled edges, ideal for holding not just a sauce but chunks of vege.

It is from the Vibo Valentia province of Calabria in Italy, just a short hop across the Straits of Messina from Sicily. This area is known for its rugged mountains and spectacular coastline including the scenic ‘La Costa degli Dei (Coast of the Gods). Here the cuisine is bold and spicy and so I have given this dish some oomph.

It’s full-on flavour; the subtle earthy grassiness of the asparagus is boosted with the wild garlic and punch of chilli and the wine infused dolcelatte intensifies the flavour of the sun-kissed tomatoes which are all snuggled up in pillows of biricci pasta. It’s not namby-pamby by any stretch of the imagination. Serve with a glass of Calabrian wine made from Greco Bianco or Gaglioppo grapes. #CA2025

Laura @FeelBetter

Milton Keynes, England

Saved

Ingredients

15 minutes

2 people

125 gbiricci pasta
1vegetable stock cube (see recipe)
Vegetable Stock (Bouillon) Cubes
150 g(7 chunky stalks) fresh asparagus
1shallot
50 gwild garlic
75 g(around 5 halves) sun-kissed tomatoes
1 tbspolive oil
1/4 tspchilli flakes
100 mlwhite wine
sea salt
50 gdolcelatte cheese

Saved

Steps

15 minutes

1

Bring a large pot of water to the boil and add the stock cube. Add the pasta and cook according to instructions, around 10 – 12 minutes, until al dente.
2

In the meantime, prep the vege. Discard any woody bits of the asparagus, shave the stalks, then cut into bite-size pieces. Peel and finely chop the shallot. Chop the wild garlic stalks finely and roughly chop the leaves. Finely chop the sun-kissed tomatoes.
3

Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Add the asparagus, shallot and stalks of the wild garlic and chilli flakes. Turn down the heat, add a splash of wine, season with a few grinds of salt, stir, cover and cook the asparagus for 3 - 4 minutes.
4

When the pasta is ready, drain (reserving a ladle of the pasta water). Add the pasta to the cooked asparagus along with the wild garlic leaves and sun-kissed tomatoes. Stir in the cheese and a ladle of pasta water. Once the cheese has melted, serve.
5

Sun-kissed tomatoes: Cut good quality tomatoes in two. Sprinkle with dried mixed herbs and sea salt and dehydrate in an air fryer or oven on 60 degrees C for around 10 hours.