Agnolotti with Roast Meat and Spinach Stuffing
Agnolotti del plin, or agnolotti with a pinch, is the quintessential Piedmontese stuffed pasta, served in starred restaurants and the simplest of trattorias throughout the year. But if you happen to be in the Alba area in the late autumn, don’t fail to order the agnolotti, because every eating establishment will be shaving white truffle over them. And when blanketed with white Alba truffles, this always delicious dish is raised to an even greater height of flavor. In Piedmontese homes, agnolotti del plin is often made with small amounts of any roast-meat leftovers, whether beef or pork, poultry or game, chopped and seasoned to serve as an impromptu filling for golden tajarin dough. For big occasions (and in restaurants, of course), meat is roasted specifically for the filling, as in the recipe here. But if you happen to have one or more kinds of tasty leftover roast, by all means use it (you’ll need a couple of cups of shredded meat, trimmed of gristle, to make a full batch). And even if you don’t have a white truffle, a simple dressing of sage-infused butter is a lovely complement to the flavors of the meat filling and the rich egg pasta.
Recipe information
Yield
makes about 50 agnolotti
Ingredients
For the Filling
For Cooking and Dressing the Agnolotti
Recommended Equipment
Preparation
Step 1
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.
Step 2
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.
Step 3
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.
Step 4
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.
Step 5
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.
Step 6
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.
Step 7
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.
Step 8
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.
Step 9
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.
Step 10
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.
Step 11
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.
Step 12
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.
Step 13
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.
