Ingredients for Pasta
- 25-30 pieces potato leek agnolotti (see recipe below)
- ¼ lb unsalted butter
- 1oz grapeseed or vegetable oil
- ¼ C grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese (more if you want more!)
- hot pasta cooking water, as needed
- to taste salt and pepper
- ¼ C walnut pesto (see recipe below)
- ¼ C toasted walnuts, smashed
Ingredients for Pasta Dough
- 14oz AP flour
- 5oz Durum flour
- 7oz egg yolks
- 2 ½ oz whole eggs
- water as needed
Ingredients for Potato Leek Filling
- 2 C leeks, cut and washed
- 4 Tbls unsalted butter
- 2 lb Yukon gold potatoes, cooked in salted water and cooled
- to season black pepper, freshly ground
- to season kosher salt
- ¼ tsp nutmeg, freshly grated
- ¼ C parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- 2 each whole eggs
Ingredietns for Walnut Pesto
- 2 C basil leaves
- ½ C walnuts, toasted
- ¼ C parmigiano-reggiano cheese, grated
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 Tbls lemon juice
- ½ C extra virgin olive oil
- To taste kosher salt
- To taste freshly ground black pepper
Directions for Pasta
1) In an 8qt sauce pot, bring to a boil 3-4 qt water and season with salt (salty like the sea)
2) In a large saute pan, heat the butter and oil over medium high heat; cook to brown
3) Drop the agnolotti in the boiling water and cook for 1-2 minutes, until the pasta is cooked al dent
4) Add 1-2oz pasta cooking water to the browned butter, then add the pasta
5) Reduce the heat and allow the pasta to cook in the sauce, finish with about 1 tbls butter and remove from the heat
6) The sauce should be emulsified, not broken and greasy; add more pasta water if needed
7) Transfer the pasta to a serving dish and top with parmigiano-reggiano
8) Granish with the walnuts and pesto, or serve on the side
DIrections for Potato Leek Filling
1) In a saute pan on low to medium heat combine the leeks and butter; season with salt and pepper; allow to cook over low heat for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the leeks are falling apart; remove from the heat and cool
2) Peel the skins from the potatoes and combine with the leeks
3) Using a meat grinder or a food mill, grind the potato and leek together and place mixture in a mixing bowl
4) Add the remaining ingredients and mix together well
5) Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
Directions for Pesto
1) In a blender, place all ingredients
2) Blend on high to puree all ingredients
3) BLEND QUICKLY AS THE MOTOR WILL HEAT THE PESTO AND DISCOLOR IT
4) Taste and adjust seasoning
5) Cover, label, date and refrigerate
Making/Cooking the Agnolotti
1) Roll out pasta to 4x12 inches in dimension - the dough should be sheeted out as thin as possible - almost transparent.
2) On the lower half of the sheeted dough add 2 tsp of filling about 1 inch apart.
3) Brush water lightly with a pastry brush down across the lower edge of one side of the sheeted pasta and then fold the other half of the dough over the filling and press down in between filling pockets to and remove as much air as possible before sealing. It is important to remove as much air as possible to prevent from opening while cooking.
4) Next cut filled/sealed pasta in to 1 x 1 inches and cook 2-3 minutes.