Conchigliette with Sautéed Artichokes & Mediterranean Fish in Saffron Jus

1. In the MaxxiMUM Kitchen Machine’s mixing bowl, combine semolina flour, a pinch of salt, olive oil and 150ml water and knead for 5 minutes using the dough hook until you have a firm, almost crumbly dough. Knead pasta dough into a ball, cover and let rest for at least 30 minutes.

2. Place fish bones in a large bowl of cold water. Place clams in a second bowl of water. Discard clams with broken shells and those that don’t close when you nudge them. Cut fish fillets into strips the width of a finger and refrigerate.

3. In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over high heat and add clams. Pour in Pernod and Vermouth, cover and boil for 5 minutes until the clams have opened (discard any clams that remain closed). Drain clams, saving the broth. Pour broth through a fine strainer. Using half a clam shell, remove clam meat from most of the shells, keeping a couple clams still in their shells for garnish.

4. Peel onions and garlic and dice them coarsely. Cut leeks in half lengthwise, rinse and slice. Lightly sauté vegetables and fish bones in 1 tablespoon olive oil for 2-3 minutes, season lightly with salt and pepper and add clam broth. Then add 500ml of cold water and slowly bring to a boil, removing the rising foam with a slotted spoon.

5. Pluck leaves from fennel greens, chop and set aside. Add fennel stems, thyme and mushrooms to the stock. Season with salt and pepper. As soon as the liquid reaches a high boil, reduce heat and let simmer rather than boil for 25 minutes. Strain fish stock through a fine strainer or damp cloth into a second pot. Add saffron threads and reduce to about 250 ml.

6. For the pasta, shape pasta dough using the MaxxiMUM pasta press for conchigliette, i.e. press the dough into the mincer, cut of 2 cm-long pieces of pasta with a sharp knife and dust with a little semolina flour. The easiest way is to have an assistant who feeds the dough into the machine.

7. Squeeze juice from half a lemon and place in a bowl with 4 tablespoons water. Remove tough outer leaves from the artichokes by breaking them of or using a small knife. Cut off the top halves of the artichokes and shorten the stems to 8 cm. Score the base of each, remove a large number of leaves and place in the lemon water.

8. Cut artichoke hearts in half and scrape out the fuzzy centres with a melon baller or teaspoon. Using the MaxxiMUM Continuous Shredder, thinly slice artichoke hearts and stems. Sauté in 2 tablespoons olive oil for 3-4 minutes. Rinse grape tomatoes, cut in half and add to artichokes. Braise for 2 minutes, pour in a little saffron stock and cook for 2 minutes until done.

9. Boil conchigliette in a large pot of salted water. Bring saffron stock to a boil, add fish fillet and clams and stir in cold butter cut into bits. Remove from heat and let stand for 2 to 3 minutes. Drain conchigliette, toss with saffron stock, artichokes and fennel greens and return to a boil. Transfer to plates.