DA MARIA PRESENTS HOUSEMADE PASTA

Since the inception of Maurice Terzini and Adrian Reeds first collaboration in November 2016, Da Maria Bali has highlighted it’s food prowess by introducing simple Italo Dining to Petitenget’s high street.

This July Da Maria introduce their house made pasta program with a variety of pastas on the menu available everyday.

In house, fresh pasta made daily has always been a priority for executive Chef Steven Skelly and this July we focus on Da Maria’s various ways to present classic Italian dishes. Seafood always plays a role in Italian cooking with the Spaghetti Vongole with seaweed butter and white wine and Strozzapreti with king prawns, cherry tomatoes, chili and basil.

Pappardelle with braised beef shin ragu and parmesan, along with Braised Lamb Ravioli with radicchio, pecorino and rosemary will satisfy the carnivores whilst the vegetarians aren’t forgotten with the Gnocchi Alla Sorrentina with its’ soft pillows perfect to share and the Spinach Fettucine with pinenuts, zucchini and chili.

PAPPARDELLE

This flat wide noodle shape takes its name from the Italian verb ‘pappare” which means “gobble up” or to stuff oneself. The sauce is a classic osso bucco braise. Veal shin is lightly floured, then sealed in hot oil and braised with red wine, root vegetables and tomatoes. After 6 hours of slow cooking the meat is stripped from the bone, shredded and folded back through the sauce. The bone marrow is blended back through the sauce to add richness and a shine to the sauce. The dish is finished with parsley and parmesan.

TAGLIATELLE VERDE

We make this vivid green pasta by blanching English spinach in salted boiling water and blending to a smooth puree. This is then folded into our egg yolk only pasta dough. Tagliatelle is derived from the Italian word ‘tagliare” which means to cut.

The dish begins with pine nuts being toasted in olive oil, deglazed with white balsamic vinegar and strips of zucchini are steamed in this acidic base. Fermented chillies and seaweed salt complete the dish.

RAVIOLI

We use a mixture of lamb shoulder and leg for this braise. The lamb is browned in hot oil, then deglazed with red wine vinegar. Then caramalised onions are added and then braised in red wine. At the end of the 4 hours, we wilt raddichio leaves and pecorino cheese before the little ravioli’s are filled. The sauce is a rosemary infused butter emulsion with the heart of raddichio steamed through it. 

STROZZAPRETI

There is a lovely old tale of how priests would stuff themselves on this hand twisted macaroni- esque shape. So quickly in fact that they would even choke themselves. The recipe we use has no eggs so this is our go to vegan pasta. The current dish has roasted cherry tomatoes, king prawns and fermented chili paste.

SQUID INK FETTUCINI

To make this jet black pasta, we use squid ink imported from Italy. It is a basic egg yolk pasta dough but the addition of the ink adds a beautiful shine to the pasta. The current dish using this pasta has steamed local clams combined with a house made spiced salami paste. The sauce is the clam stock butter seasoned with lemon and parsley. 

SPAGHETTI VONGOLE

A classic dish from all over Italy, particularly Campania where it has a long history. Live clams are fried in hot olive oil flavoured with garlic. The clams steam open creating the base for the sauce. White wine, parsley  and lemon juice are added to the clams, followed by freshly cooked spaghetti.