Fresh pasta and bread is one of the ultimate comfort foods on the dinner table, and for Albert Conterno it’s also soothing to make.
Outside his innocuous-looking dark green Norton Summit shed, there are large pumpkins sitting in the sun waiting to be turned into pumpkin bread. Next to them is a vegetable patch, and above is a tractor tending the Conterno family’s cherry orchard.
Inside is a spotless, stainless-steel kitchen with fresh pasta dough already waiting to be turned into spaghetti, tagliatelle or fettuccine under the label From the Grain.
Albert, his sons Lewis and Julian and his brother Claude make fresh bread and pasta every weekend to sell at the Victor Harbor and Goodwood farmers’ markets.
“I find that it’s really good; you haven’t got the pressures,” Albert says.
His son does the bulk of the pasta-making and says it’s a “reward” after uni work. “I think it gives him a bit of stress relief, too.”
Claude’s daughters and Albert’s other son, Alexander, help at the markets.
“The farmers’ markets are great because the customers chat and give you feedback,” Albert says.
It was at his family’s pizza shop that Albert started experimenting in his spare time with different breads and pasta.
When they sold the shop, the Conternos were looking for a way to supplement the cherry farm, and thought farmers’ markets were a great way to sell direct to public.
They sell bright purple beetroot, porcini mushroom, spinach, chilli and squid ink varieties of pasta, as well as plain and wholemeal – during Easter, there is even a chocolate pasta.
“As I kid I used to watch my mum make pasta at home, and we had a wood oven so she’d also bake bread on the Saturday and then she’d put in a roast late at night and we’d have a slow-cooked lunch on the Sunday,” Albert says.
Despite the myriad colours, his favourite is the plain pasta.
“I love the colour of the beetroot, but I tend to like the plain, as I think it goes with more things – a strong sauce, milder or simple – while the vegetable ones go better with a creamy sauce.
“But the colours have a lot to do with attracting the first-time customers.”
Albert’s favourite easy pasta recipe
Ingredients
Plain fresh pasta
Pancetta
Garlic
Onion
Tomato
Capers
Olives
Herbs as desired
Method
Boil water, add pasta to cook.
Fry the pancetta, garlic and onions, add tomato or a good tomato-based sauce, throw in capers and olives and herbs.
Toss with pasta, and top with parmesan and season to serve.
