Agnolotti is a sort of pillow pasta that can be filled with a variety of mixtures, farces, cheeses, etc. It starts with fresh Egg Pasta Dough. The rest is technique, pinching and cutting with precision. A light marinara sauce works well with these flavors, topped with some fresh grated parmesan or aged provolone, and a parmesan crisp.
Pea Agnolotti
Ingredients
- 300 g Frozen peas
- 50 g Italian bread crumbs
- 150 g Mascarpone cheese
- 4 g Kosher salt
- Raw egg pasta dough
- Flour for dusting
Instructions
Pea Farce
- Bring a medium pot of water to a rapid boil and season it heavily with salt.
- Blanch the peas until they are soft, about 2-3 minutes, then drain them with a strainer. While they’re still warm, gently squeeze out the excess water from the peas by wringing them out in a lint-free towel.
- Place the peas in a food processor and process until smooth. Add the mascarpone and brioche crumbs and continue blending until the mixture is combined and homogenous. Salt to taste.
- Place the farce in a small bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Gently press the wrap onto the surface of the farce to prevent a skin from forming. Chill the farce as quickly as possible in a refrigerator.
- Insert piping tip into the piping bag and snip the plastic to the edge of the piping tip. Fill the piping bag with the farce.
Agnolotti
- Roll out a piece of pasta dough until it is thin and translucent. Try to use as little flour for dusting as possible.
- Lay the sheet of dough down on dusted board. Pipe a bead of the pea farce down the length of the center of the pasta sheet.
- Fold the dough over the top of the farce. Use your thumb to compress the dough around the farce, creating \"pillows\" about 5/8\" wide. Repeat this compression once again to form a tight seal.
- Using a fluted pasta wheel, trim along the length of the dough, leaving about 3/8\" of dough at the edge of the pillows.
- Again with the fluted pasta wheel, cut through the pinches between the farce pillows.
- Fill a medium pot with water, bring to a boil, and heavily season with salt. Drop the agnolotti in the water and stir gently to prevent sticking. When each one floats to the surface, it is done.
- The raw agnolotti can be frozen for up to a month before cooking.