Fico’s saffron tagliolini with mussels, basil and lemon

1.For pasta dough, add flour to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, and mix, gradually adding eggs, yolks and 20ml water until dough comes together. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, knead into a ball, then wrap and refrigerate (1 hour).

2.To make tagliolini, cut dough into 4 pieces. Working with one piece at a time, flatten dough so it fits through a pasta machine on its widest setting. Laminate dough by rolling dough four times on widest setting, then folding it over and re-rolling. Roll dough, reducing settings notch by notch and keeping edges square until about 1.5mm thick. Repeat with remaining dough, then cut into 30cm lengths and roll through the fine cutter on pasta machine. Sprinkle with semolina, divide into 100gm portions, then place on a tray dusted with semolina and refrigerate until required.

3.For mussel sauce, heat a large saucepan over high heat. Add mussels and wine, cover, then cook until mussels have just opened (2-3 minutes). Remove mussels from shells and reserve (discard shells). Strain cooking liquid. Heat half the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add garlic and fry until fragrant (1-2 minutes). Add 100ml mussel cooking water and saffron, then cover, reduce heat to low and simmer to infuse saffron (10 minutes). Return mussel meat to pan.

4.Cook tagliolini in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until al dente (20-50 seconds). Drain, then add to mussel sauce in pan. Add zest and remaining oil, tossing until sauce emulsifies and coats pasta. Stir through lemon juice and basil, and season to taste. To serve, top with basil leaves, drizzle over oil, and season to taste with ground black pepper.