Culurzones

1. To make the pasta dough, put the flour into a large bowl or pile onto a clean work surface. Make a well in the centre, crack in the eggs and bring it together with a fork, then your hands, until it forms a smooth dough. Cover and leave to rest for at least 30 minutes.
2. For the tomato sauce, heat 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add both the chopped onions, season with a little salt and cook for 2–3 minutes until softened. Set aside half the cooked onions for the pasta filling. Tip the tomatoes into the pan and pour in approximately 1 tin of water. Add the basil, then simmer gently for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. For the pasta filling, cook the potatoes in a large pan of boiling salted water until tender. Drain well and leave to steam-dry for a couple of minutes. Mash the potatoes or pass them through a ricer, then mix in the chopped onions, grated Pecorino and mint. Season to taste and set aside to cool slightly.
4. Roll out the rested pasta dough on a lightly floured surface until wafer-thin (or use a pasta machine set to its thinnest setting). Cut into approximately 10cm squares or rounds. Place a small spoonful of filling (about the size of a walnut) in the centre of each square, then fold over one corner of the square onto the centre of the filling. Pinch the remaining pasta edges from one side to the other to create a neat pleat, squeezing the end firmly to seal.
5. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Gently lower in the culurzones and cook for 3–4 minutes, until they rise to the surface. Warm through the tomato sauce and transfer to a serving platter. Use a slotted spoon to add the cooked culurzones straight into the sauce, spooning through gently to coat. Serve immediately with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Recipe adapted from Gennaro’s book Pasta Perfecto, page 216