Taglioline with chopped mussels, chili and garlic

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the fresh pasta:
150g 00 flour
150g semola rimacinata
3 XL (aka jumbo) eggs

For the mussels:
1kg live mussels
3 tbls evoo
1 stalk celery
1 small onion, sliced
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 sprigs fresh oregano
1 cup white or rosé wine

To assemble:
50g butter
Pinch saffron
4 cloves Garlic, finely minced
2 tsp. Fresh red chili, minced (or more if you like spicy!)
2 sprigs Oregano, leaves picked and chopped
1 lemon, zest and juice reserved
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley

To garnish:
Olive oil
Parmiggiano reggiano, grated (optional but I definitely added it)

Method:

Mix the flours together and tip onto a clean workbench. Crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk them together with a fork. Make a well in the mound of dough and add the eggs to the center of the well being careful that the egg doesn’t tip over the edge of the flour and spill out. Slowly at first, begin whisking the egg with the fork and slowly incorporating flour a little at a time. As the egg thickens you can start to add more flour at a time. When it’s really thick, drop the fork and instead use a bench scraper and your hands.  When a dough starts to form, knead it with your hands for about 5 minutes until you have a mostly smooth dough that springs back to the touch when poked. Wrap it in cling film or a lightly damp tea towel and leave at room temperature for at least 2 hours.  Roll it through a pasta machine and roll it down to approx a #4 out of 10 (thicker than you might think!). Dust it lightly with 00 flour and then cut into fine tagliolini either with a sharp knife or using the pasta machine attachment. Hang the pasta on a pasta drying rack or a clothes rack to dry a bit before cooking.

Place a large pot over high heat on the stove. Rinse your mussels and de-beard them, if needed. Add olive oil to your pot and when hot, add in the onions, celery and crushed garlic and sautee until they start to brown. Add in the mussels and the wine and quickly cover with a tight fitting lid. Steam the mussels open for approximately 3 minutes, shaking the pot every minute or so to move the mussels around. Uncover the pot and look at the mussels. If they are open, they are done. If most are not open, give them another minute or two of cook time until they are all open.  Place a sieve over a bowl and pour the mussels over the sieve to capture the liquid from the mussels and the mussels in the basket. Reserve the liquid and when the mussels are cool enough to handle, remove them from the shell, discarding the shells and mirepoix and chop them finely on your chopping board. Set aside.

Bring a pot of salted water to the boil.

Heat another large pot over medium heat and add half the butter and sautee the saffron, garlic, chili, oregano and lemon zest in the butter, allowing that to sizzle for a minute or two. Add in the reserved mussel liquor (approximately 2 cups) and bring to a simmer. Allow it to simmer and reduce an bit until your pasta is ready.

Cook your pasta in the boiling water for 2-3 minutes until al dente and then drain but first, reserve about 1.5 cups of pasta cooking water.

Vigorously toss the pasta with the sauce and turn the heat to high. Add in the chopped mussels, lemon juice, remaining butter and chopped parsley and taste for seasoning and adjust with salt as needed. Allow this to simmer together until the sauce is coating the pasta in a silky robe. Divide in bowls and serve immediately with a drizzle of olive oil and optional parmiggiano.