Maltagliati with artichoke cream, crispy bacon and pecorino cheese

Method

For the fresh egg pasta

• 1

  Place the flour on a board. Make a well in the centre and crack the 4 eggs into it. Then beat the eggs with a fork and use the tips of your fingers to mix them with flour until everything is combined.

• 2

  After kneading, wrap the dough in clingfilm or in a cloth. Leave it to rest for about one hour.

• 3

  Cut the dough into four pieces and roll your pasta. If you are using a pasta machine, you need to work it through the settings on the machine, from the widest down to the penultimate. It must be very thin. Lightly dust the pasta with a little durum wheat semolina before cutting it into irregular rhombuses to make the maltagliati.

For the artichoke cream

• 1

  Clean the artichokes and soak them in water and lemon juice. Cut the artichokes in half, then slice them thinly, and remove the choke if there is any.

   

• 2

  Chop the shallot; put 50 ml of  Terra di Bari P.D.O. Extra Virgin Olive Oil in a pan and wilt the shallot. Then add the artichokes, sauté them for a few minutes and cover with water. Add some salt and cook for 15 minutes.

• 3

  Cut the bacon into small strips, place them on a baking tray, and bake them or cook them under the grill until crispy.

• 4

  Boil the maltagliati in a large pot with salted water.

• 5

  Once the artichokes are cooked, set one third aside for the garnish.

• 6

  Use the cooking water from the pasta to blend the remaining artichokes until you get a smooth and not too thick cream.

• 7

  Chop the mint and, when the pasta has cooked, mix everything together. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Food plating

Place the maltagliati in the centre, the artichokes around, the crispy bacon on top together with some slivers of pecorino cheese, a drizzle of Terra di Bari P.D.O Extra Virgin Olive Oil and a few mint leaves.