Head Chef’s secrets to Brisbane’s freshest pasta

When it comes to pasta, Darling & Co Head Chef Giuliano Melluso has all his pizza bases covered. Originally from an Italian heritage, Giuliano lives and breathes authentic Italian cuisine and he’s brought his pasta to our pot with his House Tagliatelle. What’s in the recipe?

Darling Downs Wagyu beef brisket

For a good quality pasta sauce, the ingredients really make or break the taste. In our House Tagliatelle, Giuliano uses the freshest quality Wagyu beef brisket from the Darling Downs as the core ingredient in the ragu sauce. The beef is braised for a hearty three hours until tender with red wine, onions, garlic, carrots and tomatoes.

Hand cut tagliatelle, made with 00 flour

Before the ragu is on the stove, the pasta needs to be made, fresh daily of course. But it’s the finer details in the pasta ingredients that ensure the pasta is cooked to perfection. For starters, Giuliano recommends 00 flour, it has a finer grain than commercial plain flowers. The result? Light, airy and delicate tagliatelle. To make the pasta, knead eggs with the 00 zero flour to make the dough, then roll out and cut into tagliatelle lengths.

Grana Padano to serve

Once the ragu is perfectly cooked and the tagliatelle perfectly hand cut, the pasta is quickly blanched in salt water, tossed in with the ragu and served with freshly grated Grana Padano. “To serve with pasta, there’s simply no substitute for Grana Padano,” says Giuliano. Differing from the better-known Parmigiano-Reggiano (aka Parmesan), Grana Padano is subtler, less nutty and less salty – perfect for a delicate flavour when you don’t want to overpower a dish.

There you have it Brisbane, for Paddington’s freshest pasta, it all comes down to a strong focus on quality ingredients. Sample the House Tagliatelle today.