There's just something about seafood pasta in the summer. This recipe calls for mafaldine pasta, long ribbons with wavy edges. Similar to the margheritine di Stresa cookies named for future Queen Margherita, mafaldine pasta – which also goes by reginette or “little queens” – was named for Princess Mafalda of Savoy.
Prepared with cuttlefish and crispy prosciutto, this seafood pasta recipe is light, refreshing, and ever satisfying any time of the year – especially come summer.
Mafaldine Pasta With Cuttlefish and Crispy Prosciutto
Photo: Jacopo Salvi, Styling: Beatrice Prada
Chef: Giovanni Rota
Skill Level: Easy
Time:40 minutes
Ingredients for 4
1 lb. cuttlefish
10 oz. mafaldine or another long pasta
5 oz. prosciutto crudo
1 shallot, chopped
lemon balm
cornflower
salt
extra-virgin olive oil
Clean the cuttlefish and cut the pieces into thin strips, including the tufts.
Drizzle a pan with olive oil and brown the prosciutto crudo for 2 minutes, until it takes on a crunchy texture. Drain from the pan and lay the crispy prosciutto pieces on paper towels to dry – this absorbs any excess oil.
Cook the chopped shallot in the same pan, letting it soften gently until it becomes translucent. Then add the cuttlefish and sauté for 2 minutes with a pinch of salt. Remove the cuttlefish and shallots from the pan, using a slotted spoon.
Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to a boil. Add salt. Cook the mafaldine until very al dente, drain, setting aside some of the pasta cooking water. Add the mafaldine to the pan in which you cooked the cuttlefish – the humidity of the pasta will deglaze the pan, melting the cooking juices. If needed, add a ladle of pasta water and cook the mafaldine, adding a drizzle of oil.
Distribute onto plates, completing with the cuttlefish, crispy prosciutto, lemon balm leaves, and cornflower flowers.
Good to know: Since you'll be cooking the mafaldine with the cooking juices and possibly some more water, it's important that the pasta is cooked to very al dente so that it doesn't overcook and get too soft during the second cooking in the cuttlefish pan.