Carbonara Filled Agnolotti with Asparagus
AKA Emily’s Agnolotti
This blog will always be my first love.
When you start a blog, it is really difficult to push it forward and get people to read your page. The internet is as vast as the universe at this point and it is difficult for a tiny website like mine to pop up. Social networks help you get a bit more traffic to your website and this was the reason why I opened an Instagram page in the first place.
For the first time, after 4 months of writing the blog and running my Instagram page I actually see and appreciate so much the direct interaction you get from Instagram.
All this to say that that last week I asked my followers to tell me what ingredients they would like to see in their ideal pasta dish. I asked the question with the promise to make the dream come true.
I got many beautiful and interesting answers that sparked my creativity. Long story short, I decided not to settle with one ingredient suggestion but, I will try to transform them all into tasty pasta dishes. This will happen once a week from now on!
This week I turned Emily’s suggestion to use pecorino and asparagus into a delicious dish. I made agnolotti and filled them with egg yolks and pecorino which is the base combination for carbonara. I topped the agnolotti with sautéed asparagus, spring onion, grated pecorino & freshly ground black pepper.
Your pasta dream come true
Ingredients
For the pasta
3 eggs
300g 00 type flour
1 tbsp of olive oil
Semolina for sprinkling (to avoid the dough sticking to your bench)
For the filling
250g pecorino Romano
8 egg yolks
Black Pepper
For the topping
250g asparagus
A handful of grated pecorino Romano
Black Pepper
Step by Step
For the pasta
You can make this either by hand or with you stand mixer. Either way you are going to have to knead by hand
If you are making the pasta by hand place your flour mountain on a working surface. Make a hole with your hands at the top and add the eggs in the middle
With a fork start beating the eggs and slowly incorporating the flour. When the dough comes together use your hands to compact it and start kneading. Knead approximately for 10minutes and until your dough is elastic and smooth. Cover in cling film and let it rest for at least 30min at room temperature
For the filling
Simply grate the pecorino and mix it with the egg yolks. Add some pepper and put the filling into a piping bag
Making the agnolotti
Use your pasta machine to make one long sheet of pasta. Cut it lengthwise to obtain two long and narrow sheets
Pipe tiny roundels of filling horizontally along the sheet of pasta. Start from left to right and keep going until the end of the sheet. The distance between the roundels shouldn’t exceed 1cm. (see pictures below)
Fold the pasta over the filling, and with your fingers press to seal. Again do this from left to right to get rid of air bubbles
With a pastry cutter, trim the edges of your pasta ‘tube’. With you thumb and index, pinch and press the sections without filling. In this way you are sealing the agnolotti
With a knife quickly cut between the seals to separate each agnolotto. Look at the pictures below for a better explanation
Repeat until the pasta and filling are finished. Let them rest in a surface covered with semolina (so they don’t stick)
For the topping
Thinly chop your asparagus and spring onion. In a non-stick pan, add the best Extra virgin olive oil you can get and heat it up. Sauté until the asparagus are tender. Don’t add any salt. The pecorino is already quite salty!
Bring water to boil and cook your agnolotti. They should be ready very quickly (roughly 3min)
Serve with a sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper and grated pecorino
Tips & Cheat
If you don’t want to make agnolotti, just chose a pasta shape you like and are comfortable making. Simple ravioli will do the same job!
Fresh pasta is best eaten straight away. The best way to keep it in a good condition is to freeze it on a flat tray for 30min. After that you can transfer it in a bag and store it in the freezer until you need it. When I make filled pasta, I always like to freeze it as it helps keep its shape intact. Unfortunately, if the filling you are using is quite hydrated, that moisture is going to transfer to your pasta, and it will make it sticky and unsalvageable.
If you freeze your pasta, you don’t need to unfreeze it before you cook it. Just drop it straight away in a hot boiling water.
I have mentioned tips on pasta in a previous post but, I think it’s worth reminding you also the following:
The more you make pasta the more you’ll know whether it has the right consistency. Follow the 100g flour+1 egg rule as a base and always remember you can adjust the consistency with extra flour (to make it less sticky) or with a couple of tbsp of water (to make it softer). Only make these adjustments after the dough has rested for 30min.
When you first knead the pasta dough it will feel tough and difficult to work with. Insist and keep kneading for 10minutes. Don’t forget that the dough will become softer, more elastic and will feel different after it has rested for 30min.
No salt in the pasta dough.
Enjoy!
