Rotolo

Jamie Oliver does it again! If you have some spare time on hand and are ready for an experiment, here is the one! This is a must try. It does require little more time to make it but it looks stunning and tastes amazing.
              In his book 'Jamie's Italy', he has given rotolo recipe for butter-nut squash and spinach. However, I read the book in summer when farmers markets were overflowing with tomatoes and basil. So here is the summer version of rotolo adopted from Jamie's Italy.

 

Ingredients:

 For Pasta dough

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup semolina flour

1/4  tea spoon salt

2 tb spoon extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup lukewarm water

For Filling

2 cups cherry tomatoes,halved (marinated in 1tb spoon balsamic vinegar,salt and 1 tea spoon sugar for at least 1 hour)

1 cup pesto (has to be thick)

1/2 cup asiago cheese , cubed into bite size pieces

1/4 cup parmigiano-reggiano cheese

Method:

Start with pasta dough because it needs time to rest. To make the dough, mix together all ingredients except for water and mix well. Add little water at a time to make a stiff dough. You may have to adjust the amount of water required. Knead the dough for 3-4 minutes,wrap in plastic wrap and set aside to rest for half an hour. Divide pasta dough in 2 balls. Roll out each ball (using rolling pin) as thin as possible in a rectangular shape.

      Before building rotolo, make sure you have a clean dish towel and kitchen twine ready.Carefully transfer one of the pasta sheets on a clean dish towel. Make sure to take a bigger dish towel than the pasta sheet. Arrange 2 rows of cherry tomatoes on the long side of pasta sheet closest to you. arrange pieces of asiago cheese next and spread half pesto and sprinkle half of parmigiano-reggiano cheese on pesto,leaving 1 inch margin on all 4 sides (as shown in photo). Brush the sides of pasta sheets with water and start rolling pasta sheet from nearest side to you. Roll the sheet up and away from you. Wrap the pasta sheet log in kitchen towel and seal both ends of the kitchen towel with kitchen twine. You can secure it more by tying twine around the middle of the roll.Make sure to seal it properly otherwise, you will have a big mess in boiling water!

       To cook rotolo, fill a big pot with water coming up-to half of the height of the pot. Bring this to boil, season generously with salt and 1 tb spoon oil.Gently transfer rotolo (wrapped in kitchen towel) into the boiling water and make sure to keep it submerged in water while it is cooking.Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Check if pasta is cooked by squeezing rotolo between your fingers,if it feels like a marshmallow it is done! If not, continue cooking. Once cooked, remove from water and cut all the strings and roll it out of the kitchen towel. Cut in 1/2 inch thick pieces with a serrated knife. Serve hot with the mixture of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar!