Tortellini of asparagus with fonduta and black winter truffle /Tortellini di asparagi con fonduta e tartufo nero d’inverno
With my love of Italian food and truffles I have to share this recipe with you, it comes from Jamie magazine that I’ve just adapted a little .
Fresh asparagus, pasta, parmesan and truffle this is just heaven!
If you can’t get fresh truffles truffle oil can be used, but use sparingly, just a few drops as it can over power and ruin this wonderful dish.
Ingredients
Serves 4
For the rich pasta dough
•300g Tipo 00 flour, plus extra for dusting
•10 egg yolks
Filling
•A bunch of fresh asparagus
•100g crumbly ricotta
•A few sprigs of basil, leaves picked
.A pinch of ground nutmeg
•1 lemon
Sauce
•200ml crème fraiche
•2 egg yolks
•1 garlic clove, crushed
•100g parmesan, grated
•Fresh black truffle, to serve
Preparation method
To make the rich pasta dough
1.Place the flour in a food processor and pulse it. Add the whole egg and egg yolk and keep whizzing until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs (it shouldn’t be dusty, nor should it be a big, gooey ball). This takes 2-3 minutes.
2.Tip out the dough and knead to form into a ball shape. Knead it briskly for 1 minute, it should be quite stiff and hard to knead. Wrap in cling film and leave to rest in a cool place for 1 hour before
3.Now cut the dough into 2 pieces. For each piece, flatten with a rolling pin to about 5mm/¼ in) thickness. Fold over the dough and pass it through the pasta machine at its widest setting, refolding and rolling 7 times (not changing the setting) until you have a rectangular shape 7.5x18cm/3×7 in. It is important to work the dough until it is nice and shiny, as this gives it the “al dente” texture. Repeat with the second piece of dough.
4.Now you are ready to roll out. Start with the pasta machine at its widest setting, pass the dough through the rollers. Do not fold but repeat this process, decreasing the roller setting down grade by grade with each pass. For most uses, I take the pasta down to the penultimate setting – especially for tortellini Cut into 7cm squares (this should make about 30). Set aside under a damp cloth or cling film until ready to use.
For the tortellini and sauce
1.Place a steamer basket on top of a pan of hot water and bring to the boil. Snap the woody stalks off the bottom of the asparagus spears and discard. Place the spears in the basket and cook for 5 minutes.
2.Remove and leave to cool, then chop roughly and place in the food processor with the ricotta and basil. Blitz until finely chopped and scoop into a mixing bowl. Season well with salt, pepper, ground nutmeg and a squeeze of lemon juice.
3. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag with a 1cm nozzle (or use a sandwich bag and snip 1cm off one corner). Pipe a teaspoon-sized blob onto each square of pasta, then brush the edge with a little water. Fold each parcel in half – corner to opposite corner – so you end up with a triangle of pasta with filling in the middle. Squeeze the air out, and press the sides to seal.
4.Place each pasta triangle in front of you, with the flat edge towards you and the tip of the triangle pointing away. Roll the bottom of the triangle up onto the top, almost like you are folding it in half, then bring the sides up and weave together. Sit the tortellini right way up and lightly press with your thumb to flatten out slightly. Repeat with all the tortellini, then set aside on a well-floured tray.
5.Whisk the crème fraîche, egg yolks, garlic clove and parmesan together in a small mixing bowl and sit it over a pan of simmering water. Make sure the base of the pan isn’t touching the water. Whisk the mixture and cook gently for 5–10 minutes until the egg yolks just cook and thicken the mixture. Take off the heat then grate in some of the truffle and fold into the mix.
6.Cook the tortellini for a couple of minutes in plenty of boiling salted water. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to 4 plates. Spoon over the fonduta, then top with a grating of parmesan and shavings of black truffle.
For more info please mail or call: simon.bingham@simons-sauces.com 0031(0)642297107
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