Fiocchi di Neve... (Snowflake shaped fresh pasta with a fantastic roasted tomato sauce!)

Christmas time... I sometimes wish I could recapture the past, but I also like to have a foot here, in my present, and experiment with just being "me" And Anna is someone who likes to experiment and try new things.

This holiday I made pasta, like my mum used to make, without any eggs or fuss, using just water and semolina, just like she used to do. The recipe was simple... I just needed to add olive and creativity, to make my own, fantastic dish. And here is the recipe:

Fiocchi di Neve

con Pomodori al Forno

e Basilico

(Fresh Pasta Snowflakes

with Delicious Roasted Tomato, Garlic and Basil Sauce.)

TRULY FANTASTIC!

Serves

2 or 3

For the pasta:

Ingredients:

 300g semolina

some plain flour

warm water

pinch of salt

For the roasted tomato "sauce"

Ingredients:  

300 g plum or cherry tomatoes

5-6 garlic cloves

a few very generous lugs olive oil

a generous handful fresh basil

salt

black pepper

grated pecorino or

Parmesan Cheese

I made pasta, like my Mamma used to make, without eggs, or fuss. I placed my semolina (you can use plain flour if you like, but I like the firm texture of semolina!) on a surface, made a well in the centre, added warm water and some salt and kneaded till I got a firm, but soft dough. If the dough felt too "wet", I added some plain flour.

I left my dough to rest for about 40 minutes, then, with the help of a rolling pin, I rolled it out, a few small pieces at a time, till I got  thin layers of dough. As it was Christmas time, I used a cookie cutter, to make snowflake shaped pasta.

When all my dough was used, I sprinkled a lot of flour all over my lovely snowflakes, and set aside.

 

I was now ready to prepare my tomatoes. I cut each of them horizontally and placed onto a baking dish. I then chopped my garlic and tore my beautiful, sweet smelling basil and distributed all over my tomatoes. I finished the whole thing off with a generous lug of olive oil, all over my tomatoes, followed by salt.

My tomatoes were roasted in the oven (180 C) until roasted. My kitchen was "invaded" by a wonderful aroma in no time at all I knew my dish would be an absolute winner!

Half an hour later... I cooked my pasta in boiling, salted hot water, until soft, but firm, I drained, and reserved some of the water.

 My pasta was added to the roasted tomatoes, gently stirred... some gorgeous freshly grated Parmesan was sprinkled all over the dish. A tiny amount of the pasta liquid was added, and... it was HEAVEN! I felt so proud of my creation, as it really tasted wonderful!

 Please try this dish as it really is exceptional! If you wanted to add capers or anchovies, I think they would "marry" well with the fresh tomatoes and basil!