Grand recipes

Chef Guido de la Mora shares an interesting pasta recipe this month with a nod to cacao, one of Mexico’s gifts to the world.

Cocoa fettuccine with gorgonzola and nuts

Ingredients

For the pasta dough

• 100g 00 flour
• 60g durum semolina flour
• 40g cocoa powder
• 2 eggs
• 40 ml water
• 1.5 tsp extra virgin olive oil

For the sauce

• 50g walnuts
• 20g butter
• 200 ml heavy cream
• 140g gorgonzola cheese

Method

Combine all the ingredients to make the pasta dough and knead for 10 minutes. Transfer to an airtight container and rest for 30 minutes away from heat and direct sunlight. To form into pasta, separate the dough into four pieces and then roll each through the thickest setting of the pasta machine a few times, folding over itself in between each pass. Then adjust to a thickness of 5 and roll it through again, finally cutting it into sheets of approximately 30 to 40 cm. Roll each sheet through a fettuccine cutter, tossing the finished pasta in a small amount of flour before transferring to trays lined with baking parchment or hanging from a pasta rack until dry. Refrigerate uncovered for up to one week.
To make the sauce, set aside a few walnuts to garnish and grind the remainder into a paste using a mortar and pestle. Lightly toast the walnuts you set aside in a dry pan over a low heat for 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the walnuts from the pan and add the butter, gorgonzola, cream and walnut paste. Stir constantly for 30 to 60 seconds until the gorgonzola has melted and the sauce is thoroughly mixed. Bring a pan of lightly salted water to the boil and add the pasta, cook until al dente. Drain, retaining a little of the pasta water, and then stir into the sauce. Add the pasta water if the sauce is too thick. Serve with toasted walnuts and a couple of spoons of fresh gorgonzola.