I’m a chef – and you made pasta all wrong! How to make incredible Italian dishes

Pasta is one of the ultimate comfort foods – and nothing beats fresh stuff. It is pre-made pasta very tasty.

And while enjoying it in a good Italian restaurant, chef here Luke holder — who runs eatery Hartnett Holder & Co at the Lime Wood hotel in New Forest with Michelin-starred Angela Hartnett — reveals how to make pasta at home good enough to serve to paying guests.

He also offers advice on making great ready-made pasta dishes, including top tips for spices, sauces and which supermarkets to buy the best ingredients from.

When it comes to making fresh pasta — usually a mixture of eggs and flour — Luke says how many eggs you use depends on how decadent you’re feeling.

He tells MailOnline Travel, “Depending on how decadent you feel determines the amount of egg and yolks you should use. We use a rough guideline of nine egg yolks to 200g of pasta flour as a guideline.

“We use a very northern Italian fresh pasta – the further south you go, the less eggs are used in pasta, using only durum wheat flour and water used in southern Italy – which is very rich in texture and gives you a much more malleable pasta if you want to make a filled pasta like a ravioli or agnolotti.

“Knowing what you want to make before you start is important because some dishes are better made with dried non-egg-based pasta, such as spaghetti vongole.”

‘When making fresh pasta, an important tip is to make sure that once you’ve got the dough together you let it rest for 45 minutes to let it relax, otherwise when you put it through the machine it will, have a tendency to spring back, tightening the dough. .

“If you’re making a filled pasta with fresh egg yolk-based dough, you don’t need to add water or egg wash to seal the pasta. It should be moist and rich enough to come together naturally.”

And wait with the flour while you run the pasta through the machine.

Luke says, “If the dough is sticky, lightly dust it with flour each time before putting it through the machine. The most common mistake when making fresh pasta is getting it stuck to the machine’s rolling blades. Dust lightly but often and make sure your pasta machine is firmly attached to the work surface, otherwise rolling the pasta becomes practically impossible.’

And what are the do’s and don’ts for ready-made pasta dishes?

Luke says, “There’s a lot of folk law to make sure dried pasta doesn’t stick together.

‘I often hear the advice to add olive oil to the water or to flavor the pasta after cooking. That’s all nonsense to me.

“The key is to make sure your pasta water is well seasoned and tastes like seawater. Herbs is a state of being and not an action!

“Make sure you cook your pasta in plenty of water — the more water, the better.” Think three to one, water to pasta.

“Once you add the dried pasta to rapidly boiling water, keep stirring — keep stirring until the water comes back to a boil. This will prevent the pasta from sticking.

“Always remember that no matter what sauce you’re going to serve with your pasta, it’s always a great addition to save some of the pasta’s boiling water.”

And what about the all-important sauce?

Luke says, ‘Adding tomato paste is a common mistake. Don’t – it just makes the sauce thick and heavy.

‘Add a splash of good quality red wine vinegar – and if at all possible, high quality canned tomatoes, especially San Marzano tomatoes DOP, as they are grown on volcanic soil and have a great flavour. Personally I always add chilli flakes to the onions, garlic and olive oil before adding the vinegar.’

Is there anything Luke does in his professional kitchen that an amateur doesn’t?

He says, “Save your parmesan peels and add them to the boiling water of the pasta or make a parmesan stock by boiling the peels in water for three hours and use that to add to your sauces or to reduce the pasta.”

‘At the end we add a dash of garlic oil – fresh garlic grated in olive oil – at the end, that lifts the whole thing.’

And what are the favorite brands that home cooks should be buying for supermarket pasta dishes?

Says Luke, ‘For me it’s always worth spending money on good quality aged Parmesan, high quality canned tomatoes and delicious anchovies – all three items will transform your pasta dishes and take a lot of work out of your hands.

“They also stay in your pantry until you need them.”

“Avoid cheap quality anchovies. Here are the reasons why people don’t like anchovies! And never replace Parmesan cheese with other cheeses. There is nothing that can replace Parmigiano Reggiano!

‘The Parmesan cheese with the best value for money on the market today is undoubtedly three years old from Lidl. At £14.50 per kg it’s a real bargain. Aged Parmesan is such a treat and will add the undeniable joy of umami when paired with Ortiz anchovies and with those Rega San Marzano DOP canned tomatoes, you’d be hard pressed to make something that doesn’t taste absolutely delicious.’

Hartnett Holder & Co bee Limewood celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. In honor of this milestone, Angela and Luke will host a year-round guest chef series featuring some of HH&Co’s oldest chef friends. The series’ first dinner will take place May 16 with acclaimed chefs Nathan Outlaw, Valentine Warner and Neil Borthwick. The next dinner will take place on September 13 with chefs of a similar caliber yet to be announced alongside Angela and Luke.

HH&Co is also entering into a partnership with Saucer Patch to create a limited edition HH&Co menu box, which will be available exclusively nationwide this summer.