Fusi with peas, tomatoes and cinnamon (Fusi coi bisi, pomodoro e cannella)

Fusi (or fuži) are the typical pasta of Istria, typically eaten with a sugo containing chicken, hare, partridge or other game, or with truffles. Paola Bacchia loves them with any sauce that you would eat with pasta, and usually opts for a simple vegetarian one, made from pantry ingredients.

Fusi with peas, tomatoes and cinnamon (Fusi coi bisi, pomodoro e cannella) Credit: Paola Bacchia

• serves

  4

• prep

  50 minutes

• cook

  45 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

"Whatever ingredients you use, the shape is the important part. I use the handle of my narrowest wooden spoon to make them. A trimmed wooden dowel would also work. Their shape can be one of two: either an equilateral triangle, folded over the end of a wooden spoon, so it looks a bit like origami, or a square that is rolled onto the same wooden spoon, and ends up looking like a delicate tube with sharp angles on the ends, a bit like penne, or smooth Tuscan garganelli. The latter are a much more common shape and are so much easier to make."

Ingredients

For the pasta

• 400 g '00' pasta flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp white wine
• 80–100 ml tepid or room-temperature water
• superfine semolina, for dusting

For the sauce

• ½ brown onion, finely diced
• 2–3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 garlic clove, finely diced
• 600 g good-quality whole peeled tinned tomatoes
• 200 g (1½ cups) frozen baby peas
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 handful parsley leaves, chopped
• grated parmesan, to serve

Resting time: 30 minutes

Instructions

1. To make the pasta, place the flour on your work surface in a mound and make a well in the centre. Crack the eggs, along with olive oil, white wine and 80 ml of the water, into the well. Start whisking the liquid gently with the tines of a fork, incorporating a bit of flour at the same time. Keep whisking, making an ever-widening circle as you incorporate more flour. The mixture will eventually become too thick for you to use the fork, so start using your fingertips, working the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until you have used up most of the flour and a ball of dough forms. You may need to add a bit more of the water or extra flour to get the right consistency.
2. Knead for about 10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic. Place on a plate, cover with an upturned bowl and allow to rest for at least 30 minutes.
3. After your dough has rested, dust your work surface with semolina. Cut off half the dough and keep the rest covered.
4. Roll out the dough portion with a rolling pin until it is thin enough to go through the widest setting of your pasta machine. Thread it through the rollers of the machine, turning the handle to make the rollers move. Allow the pasta sheet to drop from the machine. Fold the thinned sheet in half, dust it with semolina if it is sticky, and give it a quarter turn, before threading it through the machine again. The quarter turn means that the pasta is going through the machine in a different direction and is essentially being kneaded. As you continue to fold, roll and turn the dough, the gluten will start to work, and it will become firmer and smoother. Repeat as many times as needed to make the dough lose much of its stretch (usually five or six times) and look somewhat glossy. Try to keep the dough in a rectangular shape, especially at the end of this process; you may need to use the rolling pin to help you shape it.
5. Once the dough has become firm and glossy, start turning the dial of the machine so the rollers are closer together, rolling the dough thinner each time. You no longer need to give the dough a quarter turn, and you will only need to roll it once through each setting. Dust the pasta sheets with semolina if the dough sticks to the machine as it goes through.
6. Roll out your pasta dough until it is thin, but not too thin – usually the third-last setting on your pasta machine.
7. Using a large knife, carefully cut the pasta sheets into 5–7 cm squares. I vary the size of the squares depending on the width of the pasta sheet, so that I don't waste too much pasta. As long as they are all the same, it doesn't really matter. Many people make smaller fusi, with a 4 cm edge, but I prefer them a bit larger. Dust the squares with semolina as you stack them, then cover with a clean tea towel or napkin before you start rolling.
8. With your dowel or narrow wooden spoon handle, roll up a square of pasta from one corner, making sure you do not roll it too tightly. It should loosely wrap around the dowel, and the opposite point of the square should now be pressing lightly on the centre of the pasta roll. Press the corner down quite firmly so that it sticks. You should not need water to seal the pasta tube. Cover the prepared fusi with a clean tea towel or napkin while you roll out the rest of your pasta.
9. To make the sauce, place the onion and olive oil in a large frying pan over medium–low heat. Add a pinch of salt and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and, when fragrant, add the tomatoes plus 60 ml (¼ cup) of water.
10. Simmer for about 20 minutes, then add the peas. Cook for a further 5 minutes or so, until the peas are cooked through. Add the cinnamon, salt and pepper to taste, and stir in half the parsley.
11. Drop the fusi into a large saucepan of salted boiling water and cook until just before done to your liking – this will only take a couple of minutes, depending on the thickness of your pasta.
12. Drain the pasta, reserving a few tablespoons of the cooking water. Toss the drained pasta in the sauce and stir through, adding a bit of the reserved pasta cooking water if the sauce is a bit too thick.
13. Serve immediately, sprinkled with the remaining parsley and plenty of parmesan.

Note

• Fresh pasta dries out quickly, so it is best covered with a clean tea towel (at room temperature) and used within several hours of being made. You could also store it in a cool spot, such as the fridge, for up to a day, well dusted with super-fine semolina, and in a single layer – preferably in a wide (not tall) sealed container.

Istria: Recipes and stories from the hidden heart of Italy, Slovenia and Croatia by Paola Bacchia, published by Smith Street Books (RRP $55.00). Photography by Paola Bacchia.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

"Whatever ingredients you use, the shape is the important part. I use the handle of my narrowest wooden spoon to make them. A trimmed wooden dowel would also work. Their shape can be one of two: either an equilateral triangle, folded over the end of a wooden spoon, so it looks a bit like origami, or a square that is rolled onto the same wooden spoon, and ends up looking like a delicate tube with sharp angles on the ends, a bit like penne, or smooth Tuscan garganelli. The latter are a much more common shape and are so much easier to make."