Name: Cresc' tajat Maltagliati e Ceci
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: * Even though this recipe was originally developed for leftover polenta; 100 g instant polenta; 200 g flour; good pinch of salt; about 80ml hot water; 3 tbsp olive oil; 1 sprig of rosemary (chopped); 5-6 leaves of sage; 1 fresh chili (sliced); 1 small red onion (sliced thin); 2 garlic cloves (sliced thin); 5 anchovy fillets; 1 tbsp baby capers; 1 tbsp hot pepper paste (tomato paste is fine too); ½ glass of white wine; 1 can chickpeas (drained); 1 can diced tomatoes; zest of 1 lemon; handful basil leaves; a handful of parsley (chopped)

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So here is our humble attempt to make Cresc’ tajat Maltagliati e Ceci. We have a little secret to share with you – sometimes we don’t really know what we’re doing in the kitchen. Shh, don’t tell anyone! We know this might come as a shock, considering how slick and flawless our videos are, but really, every now and then, we meet, have a general idea of what we’re gonna cook, and we just go at it and hope for the best. So, when we finally decided to make a pasta dish, we knew we had to find some twist, something to keep us on our toes, unsure whether it’ll turn out edible.

Enter “Cresc Tajat”, a polenta-based pasta dish from the La Marche region in Italy. A “poor people’s” food, invented to find a use for polenta leftovers, mixing them with flour and a bit of water and making Maltagilati – “badly cut” pasta, another genius use of leftovers, where the trimmings of an otherwise “good looking” pasta are being used as a dish on their own. Admittedly, neither of us have ever tried Cresc, and we weren’t 100% sure what it should be like.

After reading a few recipes, we came up with our own hybrid version, which was very tasty, however, we would do certain things differently next time (and there will be a next time!). So, this recipe is already a slightly reiterated version of what we did when shooting this recipe. The main difference being the pasta should be left thicker than we did, so it keeps its integrity a bit more.

You’ll need the following ingredients for Cresc’ tajat Maltagliati e Ceci:

For the Cresc Tajat:

* Even though this recipe was originally developed for leftover polenta, we made it “from scratch”, which we’ve also seen other people do.

100 g instant polenta
200 g flour
good pinch of salt
about 80ml hot water

For the Ceci:

3 tbsp olive oil
1 sprig of rosemary, chopped
5-6 leaves of sage
1 fresh chili, sliced
1 small red onion, sliced thin
2 garlic cloves, sliced thin
5 anchovy fillets
1 tbsp baby capers
1 tbsp hot pepper paste (tomato paste is fine too)
½ glass of white wine
1 can chickpeas, drained
1 can diced tomatoes
zest of 1 lemon
handful basil leaves
a handful of parsley, chopped

Here’s how to make Cresc’ tajat Maltagliati e Ceci:

To start, mix together some polenta, flour, and salt. Then, slowly add water, kneading it in until you have a dry, springy dough. Pro tip: don’t add too much water at once or you’ll end up with a soupy mess. Mix for about 3-4 minutes until the dough roughly holds its shape. Cover the dough and let it chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Now comes the fun part: rolling out the dough. Use a rolling pin to get it into a shape that will fit in your pasta machine. And here’s where things can get a bit tricky. If the dough is too dry, don’t panic! Just dip your fingertips in water, tap the dough, and fold it in on itself. Keep doing this until you get the right consistency.

Roll the dough through the pasta machine on the first setting, then fold it into thirds and roll it again. Repeat this 2-3 times until the dough holds together nicely without too many odd edges. Then, move on to the 2nd and 4th settings, stopping at 5 or 6 depending on how thick you want your diamonds to be.

Now, it’s time to cut your dough into diamond shapes using a pizza or dough cutter or a knife. And here’s where you get to let your creative side shine. Make them as big or as small as you like!

Cook your diamonds in a pot of boiling salted water. But first, make the sauce!

First things first, heat up some olive oil in a pan and toss in some rosemary, sage, chili, garlic and onion. Saute it up for about 3-4 minutes until it’s nice and soft, but be careful not to burn the garlic.

Once your veggies are softened, it’s time to add in the real flavor bombs: anchovy, capers and pepper paste. Stir it all together, breaking down the anchovy and letting that pepper paste caramelize to perfection.

Pour in the wine and let it cook down for aout 3 minutes, then add in some chickpeas and canned tomatoes. Let everything simmer on medium-low heat for about 15 minutes, letting all those amazing flavors meld together into a glorious sauce.

Finally, it’s time to add in your cooked pasta. Toss it together with a splash of the pasta water to get that perfect coating, and finish it off with some fresh lemon zest, basil, parsley, a drizzle of olive oil and a generous grind of black pepper.