Stars and crescent moons make up the shapes of this gorgeously pretty variety of pasta for children. So I am inspired to create something that reminds me of shooting stars and happy dreams.
Dress the pasta with as much of the sauce as you like, as some children like lots of sauce and others only want it barely coated, and refrigerate or freeze the rest for later use. To turn it into something slightly more sophisticated, substitute the ham for chopped chorizo or salame, and add some finely snipped fresh chives.
Serves 2
To dress up to: 120 g/4 1/2 oz Garofolo Anistelle pasta for children
1 spring onion, very finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons organic tomato passata
2 tablespoons mascarpone or single cream
1 slice cooked ham, cut into strips
3 baby sweet corn cobs cut into thin comet tail strips
A pinch of salt
Long shavings of fresh Parmesan, to garnish
Method
Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a rolling boil for the pasta. Meanwhile, fry the spring onion very gently in the olive oil until soft but not coloured. Add the passata and stir together.
Allow to simmer for about 10 minutes, and then stir in the mascarpone or cream, the ham and the sweet corn cobs. You should end up with a sauce that is swirly and dreamily pink, with the long comet tails of the sweet corn through it. Cook the pasta until tender in the boiling water, drain and toss with the sauce. Pile the pasta into bowls or on to plates, garnish with the Parmesan shavings and serve at once.
P.S. For special occasions, finish off the dish with a tiny dusting of edible gold glitter, a little stardust sometimes works wonders on even the fussiest of diners!
