Island-raised chef Tony Liu has become a pasta master and enjoys making it from scratch. He'll be in town to teach local culinary students some of his secrets next month.

He shared this recipe as one that might be simple enough for the home cook.

You'll need some notes, though: Liu here is making orecchiette, "little ears," small disc-shaped rounds of pasta marked with striations. These are most often created by running the tines of a fork around the ball of dough, but local-boy Liu uses a bamboo sushi mat!

The recipe calls for pea shoots — not easy to find outside of a farmers market, and by no means a regular product there. If you can't find them, he suggest using rough-cut broccoli rabe. If you can't find that, the wonderful tender young kale sold by Ma'o Farms at local farmers markets would be an option. Or just use spinach, which is readily available.

Fresh peas are also difficult to find in Hawai'i; use frozen (briefly defrost them by placing them in a colander and running hot water over them; drain well).

Liu uses a rondeau for cooking the sauce: A rondeau is a straight-sided round pot with a cover favored by chefs for braising; its shape facilitates the condensation of the liquid as it heats, so that it falls back down on the food, keeping it moist. You can use a saucepan or a Dutch oven.

ORECCHIETTE WITH PEAS AND SAUSAGE

• 2 1/2 pounds flour plus 1 cup flour for dusting

• 1 tablespoon fine sea salt

• 1 pint cold water

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 2 teaspoons dried red chili

• 1/2 pound pea shoots, broccoli rabe, young kale or spinach

• 1/2 pound fresh peas

• 1/2 bunch rough-chopped mint leaves

• 2 ounces grated pecorino romano cheese

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 3 tablespoons toasted bread crumbs

Make pasta: Combine flour and salt in a mound on a flat surface. Slowly add the water to the mixture and knead until a dough is formed. Cover in plastic wrap and rest for at least 30 minutes. Break dough into workable pieces and roll out to dime-diameter rolls. Slice rolls to 1/4-inch thickness. Depress pieces with floured thumbs on to sushi mat (to mark the surface with striations) and reserve. Boil several quarts salted water in a large sauce pot.

Make sauce: Heat oil in rondeau and gently fry the sausage. Remove when good color is achieved on both sides and chop into small pieces and reserve. Add garlic and chili to the pan and bloom aromatics. Add pea shoots (or rabe, kale or spinach) and cover with lid to induce steaming and the breakdown of the greens. Add peas. Meanwhile, drop the pasta into the boiling water and cook for about 8 minutes. Add the cooked pasta to the rondeau and mix. Season with mint, pecorino and extra-virgin olive oil and toss with breadcrumbs. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings.