From darlingtonandstocktontimes.co.uk
Teesside restaurateur Roberto Pittalis, who runs the popular Cafe Lilli in Norton, has cooked up the UK's first fresh, gluten-free, vegan pasta, writes Jenny Needham.
Growing up on the beautiful island of Sardinia with younger brother Claudio and his parents Giovanna and Gavino, Roberto Pittalis became interested in food from a young age. His grandparents had a farm and he’d watch his nonna and nonno making wine, olive oil, sausages and bread.
“They always had a story and a recipe to share,” he says. And they passed their love of dishes deeply rooted in the sun-scorched landscape that surrounded them onto their grandson.
Now a restaurant owner and food producer, Roberto still heads back to Italy at this time of year to visit his friend Matteo and hand-pick bianchetti truffles to be used in dishes during Cafe Lilli’s annual Truffle Week, which took place this year from March 7. Some shavings of these fragrant fungi will add flavour to the legume pasta he developed during lockdown, and which is going down a treat at the Norton eaterie.
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Pasta Man Roberto Pittalis at Cafe Lilli in Norton Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT
The new recipe was inspired by his wife. When Roberto was forced to close his restaurant due to the Covid crisis, Patricia, who is coeliac, asked him if it was possible to make pasta made from different flours and he was inspired to try out a few new recipes at home in Nunthorpe.
“Having worked in the restaurant business for over 40 years, I realised there were a lot of people who couldn’t enjoy traditional fresh pasta due to food intolerances, so my research started in the UK to see what legumes were available,” he says. When he was able to travel again, Roberto headed back to Sardinia, where legumes are often used in cooking, to continue his research.
“I knew I was onto something when I came across an old recipe of my grandma’s for making bread from chickpeas. From there, I experimented until I found the best recipe for chickpea pasta.”
His research then moved to the region of Veneto, where he knew of a chef who was famous for researching legume pasta. “Valta Frontalini helped me and has become a good friend in the process. He put me in touch with Sirmans, who produce professional pasta-making machines. I also then contacted the packaging company in the same region to supply the bags, which are 100 per cent recyclable and reusable. After this, everything moved to the UK so the nutritional testing could commence. It was very intense.”
The Pasta Man products are made from legumes such as lentils, chickpeas, yellow peas and broad beans. And while the recipe was born in Italy, the pasta is made in Teesside using 100 per cent UK-sourced produce.
“We use British organic legume flour, which is supplied by Skipton Mills, and Hodmedods Flour from Suffolk,” says Roberto. “It’s pure pasta. There are no additives or colourings, and it’s gluten-free and vegan. As it is made from legumes rather than traditional wheat, it is also full of protein and fibre, as well as being low in carbohydrates and calories.”
After getting great feedback from his customers at Cafe Lilli, Roberto is now marketing his pasta on a wider scale. Its healthy credentials mean that British sprinter Richard Kilty, from Middlesbrough, and his wife Dovile, a Lithuanian track and field athlete, have become ambassadors for The Pasta Man.
“We stopped selling traditional pasta when we reopened Cafe Lilli after lockdown and started selling only the legume pasta. People cannot believe the taste and just how good it is for you,” says Roberto. “I hope to see it in stores and restaurants across the country. It’s an exciting product and means individuals with food intolerances and preferences no longer have to miss out on great-tasting fresh pasta.”
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His own preference is for a bowl of it with garlic, oil and chilli, accompanied by a glass of Vermentino, a light-bodied white wine from Sardinia. “The fresh pasta is so full of flavour that is doesn’t need a heavy sauce,” he says. Immediate plans for the future for this busy Teesside restaurateur include growing The Pasta Man brand and continuing to serve up fabulous, locally sourced food in Cafe Lilli.
On a well-earned day out, he can be found heading off for a long walk with Patricia, or a ride on their motorbike. “I also like to cycle round the Cleveland Hills,” he says.
“The North East is full of beautiful areas to discover new products and relax.”
thepastamanshop.co.uk
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