Name: The number one ingredient you need to create restaurant-quality meals at home
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 80 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: Pasta dough; 400gm 00 flour, plus extra for dusting; 3 eggs; 1 egg yolk; 2 tbsp Mutti tomato paste; Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling; Spanner crab sauce; 60 ml extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for greasing; 2 carrots, peeled, finely chopped; 1 large celery stalk, finely chopped; 4 garlic cloves, very finely sliced; 1 tsp fennel seeds; 1 tsp chilli flakes; 65 gm Mutti tomato paste; 60 ml white wine; 700 gm jar Mutti passata; 300 gm spanner crab meat; Herb salad; 1 tbsp lemon juice; 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil; 1½ cups (loosely packed) chervil leaves; ½ cup (loosely packed) tarragon leaves; ½ cup finely chopped chives; Finely shaved bottarga, to serve

Italian brand Mutti is renowned for its fragrant, fresh-tasting tomato product range that inspires restaurant-quality meals at home, and is trusted by chefs across Australia for the best quality tomatoes and reliable flavour. This made them the perfect returning partner for the Gourmet Traveller Annual Restaurant Awards, where Mutti’s tomatoes featured throughout the evening.

The mid-course featured roast eggplant tortellini with Mutti Polpa and winter vegetable minestrone, parmesan and eggplant crisp, while the cheese platter at the conclusion of the meal starred a Mutti Passata chutney, which was paired with an assortment of European cheeses.

Watch below to discover the luxe evening with Mutti and keep scrolling to find chef Joel Bennetts’ recipe for spanner crab lasagne made using Mutti Double Concentrated Tomato Paste for a rich tomato flavour.

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Joel Bennetts’ spanner crab lasagne

Ingredients

Pasta dough

400gm 00 flour, plus extra for dusting

3 eggs

1 egg yolk

2 tbsp Mutti tomato paste

Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Spanner crab sauce

60 ml extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for greasing

2 carrots, peeled, finely chopped

1 large celery stalk, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, very finely sliced

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp chilli flakes

65 gm Mutti tomato paste

60 ml white wine

700 gm jar Mutti passata

300 gm spanner crab meat

Herb salad

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1½ cups (loosely packed) chervil leaves

½ cup (loosely packed) tarragon leaves

½ cup finely chopped chives

Finely shaved bottarga, to serve

Method

To make pasta dough, place flour on a large wooden board. Whisk eggs, egg yolk and Mutti tomato paste in a small bowl. Make a well in the centre; add egg mixture, a pinch of salt and a drizzle of oil. Using your hands, slowly incorporate flour until well combined. Knead dough until smooth and elastic (10-12 minutes). Flatten dough into a disc. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large frying pan over low-medium heat. Add carrot, celery, garlic, fennel, chilli and a pinch of sea salt (see note). Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened (12-14 minutes). Add Mutti tomato paste and cook until caramelised (4-5 minutes). Add wine, bring to a simmer for 1 minute then add Mutti passata; return to a simmer until thickened slightly (2-3 minutes). Just before serving, stir in crab meat until heated through (1-2 minutes). Season to taste.

Place dough on a clean work surface; dust with extra flour, then, flatten it with a rolling pin, to fit in pasta machine. Starting at number seven, gently feed dough twice through each setting until number two or desired thickness. Cut the dough into 8cm pasta sheets.

Cook pasta sheets, in batches, in a large saucepan of salted boiling water, until al dente (1 minute). Grease a large bowl with a generous splash of extra oil. Remove pasta with tongs and shake off excess water; add to greased bowl and toss to coat. Loosen crab sauce with a splash of pasta water.

To make the herb salad, combine lemon juice and oil in a bowl; toss through herbs

To serve, layer spoonfuls of crab sauce between 4 sheets of pasta per person. Top with herb salad and scatter with shaved bottarga.

If you’d like to build depth of flavour in a recipe but are short on time, a great soffritto alternative is Mutti vegetable paste – a concentrated tomato and vegetable paste that will help you create a complex flavour in a hurry.
Note