Julia Busuttil Nishimura is a phenomenon because her cookbooks do exactly what they say on the tin. Ostro is a perfect introduction to the Melbourne author’s cosy, comforting style. A Year of Simple Family Food puts seasonal, family-friendly eating in the spotlight. Around the Table pays tribute to slow weekend meals with loved ones. Her highly anticipated new one, Good Cooking Every Day? Well, it’s all in the name.
In it, the beloved Melbourne author doubles down on her signature moves. Leave the shopping list at home and buy what’s in season. Match dishes for the moment, whether it’s a weeknight dinner or a special occasion. And if you’re making pasta, make it fresh if you can – like this spring-y number featuring stracci, a shape we don’t often see on Australian tables.
“Stracci, also known as stracce and sagne stracce, literally means ‘rags’ and is found across many regions in Italy, such as Liguria, Tuscany, Lazio and the Marche,” she writes. “While stracci is the perfect vehicle for a meaty tomato sauce, I also love it in early summer with young zucchini and their flowers.”
She says dried pasta is totally fine for this, and you’re not restricted to stracci’s ragged ribbons, either. So use any shape you like. She also recommends using a puntarelle cutter for the zucchini prep. “It juliennes the zucchini perfectly and very quickly. You can simply use a knife to hand cut them if you don’t have one.”
Like a lot of Busuttil Nishimura’s best recipes, this one springs to life with just a couple of ingredients. “A little crème fraîche and some pecorino, and it is a pure treat.”
Julia Busuttil Nishimura’s Stracci with zucchini (and their flowers)
Serves 4
Preparation time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, whole and unpeeled
1 red chilli, dried
500g young small zucchini, julienned using a puntarelle cutter or a knife
2–3 tbsp crème fraîche
1 tbsp unsalted butter
Small handful of basil leaves
20g Pecorino Romano, grated, plus extra to serve
6 male zucchini flowers, stamens removed, torn
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
Sea salt and black pepper
For the pasta dough:
400g tipo 00 flour
Good pinch of sea salt
4 eggs
Semolina flour (semola rimacinata), for dusting
Method
To make the pasta dough, tip the flour and salt onto a clean work surface and mix to combine.
Create a well in the centre and crack in the eggs.
Gently whisk the eggs with a fork, then slowly bring in the flour and mix to incorporate. When the dough becomes stiff, use your hands to mix until the dough has mostly come together.
Knead for 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic. Cover with an upturned bowl and rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
Divide the dough into four equal portions. On a lightly floured work surface and working with one piece at a time (cover the remaining dough with the upturned bowl), roll the dough into a rough disc around 1cm thick.
Roll the dough through a pasta machine through the widest few settings. Fold the dough into the centre from both of the shortest sides, like you’re closing a book, then rotate it 90 degrees. Repeat this a few times through the first few settings to encourage the pasta to form a sheet and help make the pasta strong.
Now roll the dough continuously through the settings until the pasta is around 1mm thick. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.
Using a fluted pasta cutter, cut the pasta dough into rough 4cm diamonds or squares. Dust with the semolina flour and set aside on a tea towel dusted with semolina flour.
Warm the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat, add the garlic and chilli and fry until aromatic, then remove from the oil using a slotted spoon. Add the zucchini and cook for 6–8 minutes or until softened a little.
Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of salted boiling water until just before al dente, 1–2 minutes.
While the pasta is cooking, add the crème fraîche, butter, basil and a ladleful of pasta cooking water to the zucchini.
Transfer the pasta directly to the pan with a slotted spoon or sieve, add the Pecorino Romano, zucchini flowers, lemon zest and more pasta cooking water, if needed. Toss to create a luscious sauce.
Season to taste and serve with more grated Pecorino Romano.
Extracted from Good Cooking Every Day by Julia Busuttil Nishimura (published by Plum, $44.99.) Photography by Armelle Habib.
Find 10 more of Julia Busuttil Nishimura's best recipes here.
