Cencioni are a petal-shaped type of pasta made from high protein and high fibre semolina flour. This refreshing, delicious and nutritious dish is perfect for the season – we hope you enjoy it!
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, finely sliced
- 250g cherry tomatoes, halved
- 300g skinless fillets of firm white fish, such as snapper, cod or haddock cut into 3 cm cubes
- 100ml dry white wine
- Sea salt
- Small handful of mint leaves, shredded, plus extra to serve
- Finely grated lemon zest, to serve
Cencioni
- 200g semolina flour, plus extra for dusting
- 180ml warm water
- Fine sea salt
Cooking Instructions
1. To make the dough for the Cencioni, mix the flour with a large pinch of salt and tip the flour onto a clean work surface. Make a well in the centre and slowly pour in the warm water. Use your hands to slowly bring the flour into the water, mixing until you have a rough dough. If the dough feels very dry or difficult to bring together, sprinkle over a little extra water. Knead for about 10 minutes, until smooth. It should be soft but not sticky (add extra semolina flour if necessary). Cover with plastic wrap or an upturned bowl and set aside for at least 30 minutes.
2. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Once boiling, generously salt the water.
3. Take a small piece of the dough (about ¼), keeping the remainder covered while you work, and roll into a rope of about 1cm wide. Cut the rope into 1.5cm pieces and using a flat butter knife angled at 45 degrees, drag the piece of dough across your work surface. It should be mostly flat with a little texture. Place the Cencioni on a clean tea towel dusted with semolina flour and continue with the remaining dough.
4. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a low-medium heat and gently fry the garlic and tomatoes until the tomatoes begin to blister and release some liquid. Add the fish and cook for a minute, then add the wine and simmer gently for 3 – 4 minutes until the fish is just cooked through, stirring occasionally – be gentle so you don’t break up the fish as you are poaching it. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Boil the pasta for 4 – 5 minutes or until just under al dente. Drain, reserving 250ml (1 cup) of the cooking water. Increase the heat to medium and add the pasta to the sauce, along with some of the cooking water if the sauce is a little dry. Cook for 1 – 2 minutes until the pasta is well coated, adding more water if necessary. Stir through the mint, then sprinkle with the lemon zest and extra mint and serve. Enjoy!
