Emilie Pullar is the co-founder of local label Maaike, known for their use of prints (and for dressing prime minister Jacinda Ardern on election night 2020). She has also built quite the following with her foodie focused Instagram Burnt Butter Table.

Started as a form of meditation during Aotearoa's first lockdown, it now boasts over 11k followers with whom Emilie shares her love of pasta making and dessert. Here, she shares a delicious entry level recipe - yum!

Burnt Butter Table's cavatelli with roast tomato sauce

Have you ever been tempted to make pasta but something puts you off? You don’t have the right equipment or the whole thing just intimidates you? Well this recipe is for you!

I have always been completely food obsessed and when we had our first lockdown last year I started my Instagram page where I documented my pasta making. It has turned into a wonderful community where I can teach pasta making from a self-taught perspective which I think is sometimes easier than learning from the pros. I am no pro and you don’t need to be either, it’s about giving it a go and hopefully enjoying the process because we could all use a little meditation right now, this is mine.

Cavatelli, in my opinion, is the perfect entry level into pasta making. It is an extremely simple flour and water dough and is hand rolled, so no machine required. If you don’t have a gnocchi board, just use anything with a texture - a cheese grater works perfectly, just make sure you are going with the blade not against it! If they don’t look perfect and uniform, who cares, it is supposed to be rustic and they will still taste damn good.

The cavatelli are going to have a swim in a delicious roasted tomato sauce. Everything gets put into a roasting dish and into the oven before being blended - so easy.

And please, PLEASE do not skip the anchovies - you don’t taste them I promise, but they add a wonderful depth of flavour you just don’t get without them. The dish is finished with fresh basil and a big sprinkling of parmesan and is just a wonderfully simple and comforting plate of food.

Serves 2 - 3

‍Special equipment:

Kitchen scales
Gnocchi Board (as mentioned, a cheese grater is a great substitute)
Roasting dish (I use a glass one 20cm x 27cm)

‍Ingredients:

‍For the pasta:

400g durum wheat semolina (can be found here - please note you cannot use course semolina)
200g warm water
Course semolina for tray (can be found at any supermarket)

‍For the sauce:

600g tomatoes (I used a combination of vine and cherry tomatoes)
1 onion
6 anchovies
6 garlic cloves (I leave the skin on then pop them out after roasting)
1 tsp honey
1/4 - 1/2 tsp chilli flakes
3 tbsp olive oil
Pepper 
1/2 cup packed fresh basil
30g butter
Parmesan to finish

‍Method:

Cavatelli

1. Pour your flour out onto your bench and use the bottom of a bowl to make a well in the middle.

2. Pour the water into the middle then use a fork to start whisking, slowly and carefully incorporating the flour into the middle.

3. When the centre liquid gets really thick, abandon the fork and go straight in with your hands or alternatively use a bench scraper to start mixing it all together until you end up with an even shaggy mixture.

4. Bring it together into a ball and start to knead, this will be messy but it will come together I promise! Knead quite vigorously for a few minutes until it comes together like in the picture (a dimpled texture). Wrap tightly and leave for 10 mins.

5. After 10 mins knead again for 3 - 4 mins until you get a really smooth ball of dough. Wrap again and rest at room temperature for at least 30 mins but preferably an hour or up to three.

6. Prepare a tray lined with baking paper and dusted with a layer of coarse semolina so they don’t stick.

7. Slice a section off the ball and form it into a sausage shape then with your hands really flat against the board roll it until it is long and even, starting in the middle and working out with your fingers splayed.

8. Cut the strip into pieces around 2cm.

9. Using a gnocchi board or anything with a texture, roll the little pieces down the board with your thumb until they curl over themselves. Press quite hard so that it doesn’t end up too thick, you’ll get the hang of it after a few. If your pieces are sticking, dust your board with some flour. 

10. Repeat until all your dough is used up. They are fine sitting out at room temp if you are going to use them straight away. If not, pop the tray uncovered into the freezer until frozen then place into a container or snap lock bag and keep in the freezer to be cooked from frozen.

Sauce‍

1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees fan.

2. Cut tomatoes into even pieces and place in a roasting dish.

3. Place all the other sauce ingredients around as pictured and scatter with the chilli flakes.

4. Drizzle over the honey and olive oil then finish with some cracked black pepper and roast in the oven for 40 - 45 mins, or until the edges of the onion are starting to char.

5. Transfer to a saucepan and blend with a stick blender (alternatively, in a food processor).

6. Tear the basil into pieces, add to the sauce then place on the stove top over a low to medium heat while you cook the pasta. Season the sauce now to taste.

7. Get a pot of salted water boiling then cook the cavatelli for 4 minutes (this pasta still has quite a bit of bite so it won’t ever get really soft).

8. Transfer straight into the sauce with a few extra tablespoons of the pasta water, turn the heat up slightly and let them bubble away for another minute or two. Finish the sauce with the butter then serve!

I like to finish the dish with a drizzle of olive oil (truffle oil goes fantastically), a mountain of parmesan and some extra fresh basil. Enjoy!