In Italian, orto means vegetable garden. This fusilli “dell'orto" with lemon stracciatella preparation combines the pasta with colorful summer bounty then tops it with a lemon-infused blob of that delightfully gooey, stringy cheese. You're welcome.
Note: The recipe calls for 14 oz. (400 g.) of five different tomatoes varieties (3½ oz./100 g. each of the four and 1 beefsteak). Feel free to get creative – if you can't source the specific varieties, substitute them with whatever you can find locally. Or even just double up on whatever you're able to source.
Fusilli "dell’Orto" With Lemon Stracciatella
Photo: Riccardo Lettieri, Sytling: Beatrice Prada
Recipe: Caterina Perazzi
Skill Level: Intermediate
Time 50 minutes
Ingredients for 6 servings
For the stracciatella
7 oz./200 g. braid of mozzarella
5 oz./150 g. fresh cream
lemon
sea salt
pepper
For the fusilli
11 oz./300 g. fusilli
11 oz./300 g. eggplant
7 oz./200 g. red onions
3½ oz./100 g. yellow tomatoes
3½ oz./100 g.Sardinian tomatoes
3½ oz./100 g.Piccadilly tomatoes
3½ oz./100 g datterini tomatoes
1 beefsteak tomato
2 bunches of basil
garlic
salt
extra-virgin olive oil
For the Lemon Stracciatella
Begin by preparing stracciatella, and then let it rest while you proceed with the rest of the dish. “Untwist” the mozzarella braid, then fray it into strips. Season the strips with salt, pepper, grated zest of 1 lemon, and mix. Place in a bowl with the cream. (See the below gallery.)
For the fusilli
Wash the eggplants, cut them into thin sticks. Add salt and set aside. Peel the onions and leaf through them, setting aside some petals.
Roast the eggplant with a drizzle of oil, garlic and basil for 8-10 minutes. In a separate pan, brown the onion petals separately with a drizzle of oil for 5-6 minutes.
Cut the tomatoes: the Sardinians and the datterini in wedges, the Piccadilly diced, the beefsteak sliced and the yellow tomatoes halved.
In the meantime, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt, and cook the fusilli. Drain when al dente. Combine and mix with all the tomatoes (except the beefsteak slices), the eggplant, and the roasted onions.
Compose the dish by placing the beefsteak slices on the bottom, season with oil and salt, and part of the stracciatella. Add the fusilli and complete with the stracciatella and basil leaves. Serve lukewarm.