Pasta Dough For Agnolotti Recipes

AGNOLOTTI BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• For the pasta dough: Whisk the 00 or all-purpose flour and the semolina flour in the bowl of a stand mixer to combine. Make a well in the center.
• Combine the whole eggs, yolks, milk and olive oil in a small bowl and pour it into the well. Using the dough hook, mix on low speed until the dough just starts to come together, then increase the speed to medium and mix for 5 minutes.
• Lightly flour your work surface and turn the dough onto it. Knead the dough by hand until it is smooth and elastic, and springs back when you press it with your finger, about 10 minutes. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• For the filling: Combine the ricotta, mascarpone and Parmesan in a small bowl. Put the mixture in a pastry bag and refrigerate until needed.
• For the ragu: Put the beef stock, red wine and porcinis in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat and let the mixture simmer.
• Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the beef, hot and sweet Italian sausages and prosciutto and cook, breaking up the beef and sausage with a whisk, until well browned, about 10 minutes. Season with some salt and pepper.
• Stir the tomato paste into the meat, then stir in the rosemary, thyme, garlic, bay leaves and onions and cook, stirring, until the onions soften slightly, about 5 minutes.
• Strain the beef stock mixture into the meat. Add the tomatoes and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat so the mixture simmers and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 45 minutes. Add the cream and continue to simmer another 15 minutes or so. Stir in the parsley. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
• To fill and finish the agnolotti: Cut the dough into 4 pieces. Set a pasta roller at the widest setting.
• Pass the first piece of dough through the roller, fold it in half and run it through again. Fold the dough in half again, dust it with flour, and run it through the roller again. Reduce the width setting on the roller and run the dough through. Continue to run the dough through, reducing the width with each pass, until the pasta is thin enough so that you can see the shadow of your hand through the other side. Lightly flour your work surface and lay the pasta sheet on top.
• Pipe 1 teaspoon of filling about 1 inch from the edge. Continue to pipe additional teaspoons of filling 1 inch apart, from one end to the other. Fold the dough over so that it extends about an inch past the filling (it won¿t extend to the opposite edge), press to seal the long edge and then trim the excess dough from the sealed side. With your fingers perpendicular to the table, pinch between the mounds to seal the filling in. Then use the cutter to cut between each mound, through the pinch, creating little purses. Dust the finished agnolotti with flour. Refrigerate until ready to cook. Repeat the process with the 3 remaining pieces of dough and the filling.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the agnolotti, stir and, when they float to the surface, leave them in the water for an additional minute. Use a spider or slotted spoon to transfer the agnolotti to a large bowl. Ladle over some ragu, toss, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with grated Parmesan. Serve immediately.

AGNOLOTTI WITH ROAST MEAT AND SPINACH STUFFING

Steps:

• Mix the pasta dough in advance, following the instructions in the preceding recipe. Refrigerate or freeze the dough. Return it to room temperature before rolling.
• Several hours in advance, roast the meats, to allow them to cool at room temperature. Preheat the oven to 425˚. Pour the tablespoon olive oil in the bottom of a small roasting pan. Cut the pork, veal, or beef chunk in 1-inch pieces, and put the pieces in the pan with the chicken (or rabbit) pieces, onion chunks, garlic, and rosemary. Pour in the stock, and season with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. Cover the pan with aluminum foil, roast for about 1/2 hour, and remove the foil. Continue roasting, turning the pieces occasionally, until all are tender and caramelized and there's only a small amount of liquid left in the pan. Remove from the oven, and let the meat cool completely in the roasting juices.
• Rinse and drain the spinach leaves, and slice into thin shreds. Melt the tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium-high heat until foaming, add the spinach, season with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and stir to wilt the shreds. Cover the pan and cook for a minute or so, until the spinach releases its liquid, then cook uncovered over medium heat until the liquid has all cooked off and the spinach is tender. Turn the spinach into a colander set over a bowl, spreading it out to drain and cool quickly. Do not squeeze it.
• When the meats are cool, pour off and strain the pan juices. Pull the chicken or rabbit meat off the bones; remove and discard all fat, gristle, and skin. Shred the meat chunks, then chop into very fine bits with a sharp knife. Finely chop the onions and mix into the chopped meat, along with the pan juices. When the spinach is cool, blend with the meat in a mixing bowl. Beat the egg, and stir it into the filling along with the final 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, gratings of nutmeg and black pepper, and the 1/3 cup of grated cheese. Chill the filling for several hours or overnight.
• When ready to make the agnolotti, cut the pasta dough in quarters. Roll each piece through a pasta machine at progressively narrower settings into strips 4 to 5 inches wide and at least 24 inches long. Lay the long strips flat on a floured surface and keep covered.
• Fill and form agnolotti one strip at a time. With the dough running left to right in front of you, drop a scant tablespoon of filling in a mound, about 1 inch in from the end of the strip, then drop more mounds at 2-inch intervals along its entire length. You should have at least a dozen mounds in a straight line.
• Dip the pastry brush in water, and moisten the long edges of the dough strips, above and below the row of mounds. Pick up the top long edge of each strip, fold it over the filling mounds, align it with the bottom edge of dough, and press the moistened edges together.
• To seal the agnolotti, pinch the dough on either side of every filling mound, bringing the top and bottom edges of the folded strip together, with your forefinger and thumb. Finally, run the pastry wheel up and down through the pinched dough, separating individual plump agnolotti. Lay them, spaced apart, in a single layer on a floured tray. Repeat the entire process with the remaining long strips of dough.
• Cook the agnolotti right away, or refrigerate for a few hours, on the tray, sealed with plastic wrap. For longer storage, freeze them solid on the tray, then pack in freezer bags.
• Fill the big pot with at least 6 quarts of water, with 1 tablespoon salt, and bring to the boil. Meanwhile, put the butter in the sauté pan or skillet, set it over low heat to melt, then toss in the sage leaves. Keep the sauce warm-but not cooking-so the sage leaves infuse the melted butter.
• Cook only two dozen or so agnolotti at a time. When the water is at a rolling boil, shake excess flour from the agnolotti and drop them into the pot. Stir well, and return to the boil rapidly. The agnolotti will drop to the bottom, then rise to the surface; keep moving and stirring them so they cook evenly and don't stick. Cook for about 4 minutes, and check for doneness, biting into the thickest edge of dough.
• When they are fully cooked, lift out the agnolotti with a spider, drain briefly, and spill them into the warm butter in the pan, gently stirring and tumbling so all are coated. Meanwhile, return the water to the rolling boil and cook the remaining agnolotti. Drain and drop them in the pan, on top of the first batch. Raise the heat slightly, and turn and tumble the agnolotti until all are hot and coated with sage butter.
• Turn off the heat and sprinkle half of the grated cheese on top. Spoon portions of agnolotti onto warm plates, drizzle a bit of the hot sage butter left in the pan over each portion, and serve right away. Pass more cheese at the table.