Recipe: Jack-O-Lantern Bread Bowls Filled with Fresh Pasta

Grillmaster Steph Bouchard shares his recipe for Jack-O-Lantern Bread Bowls Filled with Fresh Pasta and Rosé Sauce just in time for spooky season. Protip from Steph: “Baking is a science! Invest in a good food scale and a reliable instant read thermometer.

Jack-O-Lantern Bread Bowls

Ingredients:

(Makes 4 to 6 bowls)

  • 16g (4.5tsp) active dry yeast
  • 540ml (2 ¼ cups) warm water (110°f – 115°f on instant read thermometer)
  • 8g (2 tsp) sugar or honey
  • 10g (2 tsp) salt
  • 30ml (2tbsp) olive oil
  • 780g (6 cups) bread flour (extra for dusting, Cambro Shaker for the win!)
  • egg wash: (whisk 1 large egg + 1 tbsp water or milk)

Directions:

  1. Combine warm water, sugar/honey and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk together until dissolved and let sit 5 to 10 minutes until frothy.  If your mixture does not froth, your yeast may no longer be active.
  2. With a dough hook attachment, add the olive oil and 2/3 of the flour and mix on low speed for 1 minute. Slowly add remaining flour and continue mixing until dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl to form a ball (4-5 minutes).  If dough still looks too wet add 1 tbsp flour at a time.  Dough should be slightly sticky. Continue to knead for 2 minutes until smooth.  
  3. Turn out your dough on a lightly floured surface to form a ball. Place dough in a lightly oiled Cambro container, turning once to ensure dough is coated in oil. Cover and let rise for about 1 hour or until dough has doubled in size.
  4. Once dough has risen, punch it down to release air and turn onto lightly floured surface.
  5. Using a knife or bench scraper, separate into 4 sections and shape into dough balls; each ball should weigh approximately 340g.
  6. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper and place 2 dough balls onto each. Cover lightly with a towel and let rest for 20 minutes.
  7. Preheat oven or grill to 400°F and brush each dough ball with egg wash. Using a sharp knife or bread lame, score an “X” into the top of each dough ball.
  8. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven or grill and place on a rack to cool.
  9. Once bread has cooled, cut the top off and remove the soft centre. Fill with your favourite pasta or soup and enjoy!

PROTIP: Don’t throw out the soft centre! Flatten with rolling pin, brush on garlic butter and lightly toast to make delicious garlic dipping sticks.

Fresh Pasta and Rosé Sauce

Although you can use store bought dry pasta, nothing compares to fresh pasta! Steph shares his simple pasta recipe and rosé sauce that will make all the difference.

Ingredients:

Pasta

  • 600g Italian Pasta Flour
  • 6 Large eggs (room temperature)

Rosé Sauce

  • 2 tbsp Olive oil
  • 2 tbsp fresh basil
  • ½ Sweet onion (diced)
  • 2 cloves garlic (minced)
  • 2 tbsp Tomato paste
  • ½ cup white wine
  • 400ml (14oz) Italian passata
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • ½ cup grated Parmigiana

Directions:

  1. In a stand mixer equipped with a dough hook, add egg and at low speed, slowly add flour until dough forms and pulls away from sides. Continue to knead 5 minutes until dough is smooth and uniform.
  2. Remove dough ball and lightly cover in olive oil. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and allow to rest in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
  3. Remove dough and split into 4 even pieces. Dust with flour and roll to your desired thickness using a pasta roller or rolling pin (Steph goes down to #6 with his Kitchen Aid Roller.) Dust and cut pasta into 30cm sheets and let rest for 15-20 minutes.
  4. Using a pasta cutter or knife cut your pasta sheets as uniformly as possible into your desired pasta type (Steph prefers tagliatelle and pappardelle.)
  1. Prepare rosé sauce.
    • Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat until shimmering.
    • Add onions and sauté 3 to 4 minutes.
    • Stir in garlic and tomato paste and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
    • Add white wine and reduce while stirring until alcohol evaporates.
    • Stir in passata and once boiling reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
    • While sauce is simmering, bring a pot full of heavily salted water to a rolling boil. Add pasta and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
    • Stir in heavy cream, parmigiana, chopped basil and ¼ cup of the pasta water. Whisk together and remove from heat.
  1. When ready to cook pasta, bring pot full of heavily salted water to a rolling boil. Add pasta and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
  2. Remove pasta from water and place directly into sauce. Toss to coat and serve in bread bowls.
  3. Enjoy!