First Course - Primo Piatto
Pasta is at the heart of Itlian cusine and is often served as the primi piatti.
Tagliolini with butter, bottarga, candied lemon, and white pepper.
Tagliolini con burro, bottarga, limone candito e pepe bianco.
FOR 4 PEOPLE - MEDIUM- 40 MINUTES PREP TIME
IF YOU DON'T WANT TO MAKE PASTA, YOU CAN BUY SOME FRESH PASTA.
THE VEGETARIAN CHOICE:
REPLACE THE BOTTARGA WITH A CRUMBLE OF TAGGIASCA OLIVES.
DEHYDRATE THE OLIVES IN A CONVENTIONAL OVEN AT 100°C (212°F).
Ingredients:
Ingredients for the egg pasta:
• 160 g type 00 flour
• 140 g re-milled durum wheat semolina
• 4 medium eggs
• 1 pinch of salt
Ingredients for the sauce:
• 120 g good-quality butter
• Bottarga - mullet roe
• zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
• sugar to taste
• freshly ground white pepper to taste
Instructions
Candied lemon. You can buy some good hand-made candied peel. Using a vegetable peeler, julienne the lemon zest, avoiding
the white pith. Blanch the lemon zest three times in boiling water, changing the water each time
to remove the bitterness. Then transfer it to a small saucepan with equal parts water
and sugar and cook over very low heat for 15-20 minutes, until soft and
translucent. Drain and dry on parchment paper.
Prepare the fresh pasta. Mix the flours and arrange them in a mound on a pastry board.
Crack the eggs in the center and add the salt. Mix with a fork, incorporating the
flour, then knead vigorously with your hands until the dough is smooth
and elastic (8-10 minutes). Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest for at least 30
minutes at room temperature.
Roll out and cook the tagliolini. Roll out the pasta into a thin sheet (1-2 mm), dust it
with a little flour, roll it up, and cut it into thin strips (tagliolini). Cook in
plenty of salted water for 2-3 minutes, until al dente.
Meanwhile, melt the butter
in a large pan with a splash of water, starting to create an emulsion. If desired,
add a squeeze of lemon juice.
Creaming and plating. Once the tagliolini are drained, add them to the pan with the
butter and a ladle of their cooking water. Sauté until creamy.
Arrange them in a nest shape on the plate, garnish with generous amounts of grated
or flaked bottarga, a sprinkling of white pepper, and candied lemon peel.
Rabbit tortelli in white sauce
with a hint of thyme.
Tortelli al coniglio in bianco al profumo di timo
FOR 4 PEOPLE - DIFFICULT - 90 MINUTES PREP TIME
VARIATION: SUBSITUTE THE RABBIT WITH CHICKEN
Ingredients:
• 400 g of type 0 flour
• 4 fresh organic eggs
• Half of the rabbit's front part
• Mixed herbs
• 200 g of stracchino or squacquerone cheese
• Fresh thyme
• Nutmeg to taste • 1/2 cup of butter
• 1/2 glass of fresh milk
• 200 g of grated cheese
• 1 glass of dry white wine
• Pink salt and Creole pepper
Instructions
Make the pasta as usual, letting it rest, well wrapped in plastic wrap, for
at least 40 minutes.
Prepare the tortelli filling: chop the herbs, sauté them in a drizzle of oil, and add the
diced rabbit. Once well browned, deglaze with white wine and continue cooking for
30 minutes, adding half a cup of hot water. Debone the pork belly,
mince it, and mix it with the cooking juices, stracchino cheese, spices, fresh thyme, and
grated cheese. Let it marinate for about twenty minutes.
Meanwhile, roll out the pasta (rolling pin or pasta machine? Which team are you on?) and then use a 7-cm
metal circle to cut it out.
Place a teaspoon of dough in the center of each circle and, moistening the edges with a
dipped finger, fold them over one by one, making the classic fold. Arrange them on
a tray with a light dusting of semolina, so they don't stick together while they're cooking.
Now prepare the cream cheese: over very low heat, melt the butter,
grated cheese, and a little milk.
In a nice, simmering vegetable broth, cook the tortelli for several minutes, then toss them
in the cream cheese. Arrange them in soup plates, garnishing them with a few pink peppercorns
and two fresh thyme leaves. Serve them immediately:
Heaven can wait, but not cheese tortelli! Seven tortelli are a
more than human portion.