Fresh Orecchiette Pasta with Saffron Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

1 onion
1 chilli
A handful of flat leaf parsley
A pinch of saffron threads
1 fennel bulb
1 lemon
250g cherry tomatoes
250g fresh orechiette pasta
20cl soya cream

Prep: 15 mins | Cook:15 mins

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Method

1. Fill a large pan with water and bring up to a boil. Peel and finely chop the onion. Finely chop the chilli, flicking out the seeds and white pith for less heat (or leave them in, if you prefer). Finely chop the parsley, keeping the leaves and stalks separate. Grind the saffron threads in a pestle and mortar to make a powder.

2. Warm a frying pan over a medium heat. Drizzle in 1 tbsp oil. Add the onion and fry gently for 8 mins, stirring often, till soft, but not coloured.

3. While the onion fries, make the fennel salad. Halve the lemon and squeeze 1 tbsp juice into a salad bowl. Add 1 tbsp olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Whisk well and set aside.

4. Trim the ends from the fennel bulb, then cut it in half. Thinly slice it. If you have a mandoline, you can use that to thinly slice it. Add the fennel to the bowl. Halve the cherry tomatoes and add half of them to the fennel (keep the rest for later). Toss together and set to one side.

5. When the onion has softened, add the chilli, chopped parsley stalks and the remaining halved tomatoes to the pan. Cook and stir for 3-4 mins till the tomatoes have just begun to soften.

6. While the tomatoes cook, add a large pinch of salt to the pan of boiling water. Tip the orecchiette into the pan and simmer for 4 mins till tender. Scoop a mugful of water out of the pan (mind your fingers, or use a ladle) then drain the pasta.

7. When the tomatoes have softened, dust in the saffron and stir for 30 secs. Pour in the soya cream and stir well.

8. Tip the drained orecchiette into the sauce. Stir well, trickling in a little of the pasta cooking water you saved earlier till you have a smooth sauce that lightly coats the pasta. Taste the pasta and add more salt or pepper, if you think it needs it.

9. Spoon the pasta into warm shallow bowls, sprinkle over the chopped parsley leaves and serve with a wedge of lemon and the fennel salad.

10. Love Your Leftovers
The pasta will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge in airtight tubs. Divide the pasta between tubs, seal and store. Reheat in the microwave or on the hob, with an extra splash of water or stock, till piping hot.