Meat Filling For Agnolotti Recipes

AGNOLOTTI WITH BROWN BUTTER AND SAGE

Steps:

• Brown the meat in the olive oil, removing the pieces as they brown. Add the chopped carrot, celery and onion and saute this until translucent. Add the bay leaves, sherry and broth and return the squirrel pieces to the pot. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook until the meat wants to fall off the bones.
• Fish out the meat and debone it. Chop roughly and put the meat into a food processor. Pulse it into an almost-paste. Let it cool in a bowl. Once the meat is cool, add all the remaining filling ingredients and mix well.
• While the meat is cooking, make the pasta dough. Mix all the pasta ingredients together in a bowl and knead well for about 5 minutes. Wrap in plastic wrap and let the dough sit an hour to hydrate, or vacuum seal and it'll hydrate immediately.
• Once the dough has hydrated and the filling is ready, cut the pasta into five pieces. Keep all but the piece you are working on wrapped in plastic so it doesn't dry out.
• Roll out the pasta into long, thin rectangles. On my Atlas pasta roller, I roll to No. 7, which is two settings away from the thinnest, which is No. 9. That'll give you an idea how thin to roll it.
• Place a teaspoon of filling at intervals on the pasta sheet. Remember you are folding over this sheet, so put the filling about halfway down the sheet. Fold the sheet over the filling. Using the thumb and forefinger of both hands, pinch the pasta over the filling to seal, pushing out all the air.
• Use a ravioli cutter to even out the edge of the whole sheet where the top and bottom come together. Discard that little bit of pasta. Use the same ravioli roller to separate each agnolotto. Set them on a baking sheet dusted with semolina flour or corn meal. Repeat with the remaining dough.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add enough salt to make the water taste salty. Boil the agnolotti until they float, and then 1 minute more.
• Meanwhile, heat the butter in a large pan, ideally non-stick. Add the sage and toasted pine nuts and let this fry over medium heat. When the agnolotti are cooked, move them to this pan, toss to coat with the sage brown butter and pine nuts, and serve at once.

MEAT FILLING FOR AGNOLOTTI

Steps:

• Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 450°F.
• Put meats, carrot, onion, celery, rosemary, and garlic in a large bowl and toss with salt and 1/4 cup olive oil, then divide mixture between 2 large (17- by 12-inch) flameproof (heavy) shallow baking pans and spread out evenly. Roast, turning meat occasionally and switching position of pans halfway through roasting, until meat is browned, about 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F and roast, stirring occasionally, until meat is tender, about 1 hour more.
• While meat roasts, bring rice, 1 cup water, and a pinch of salt to a boil in a 1 1/2- to 2-quart heavy saucepan, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until rice is al dente, about 15 minutes. Transfer rice to a sieve and rinse under cold water, then set aside.
• Heat remaining 1/4 cup oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then stir in cabbage and a pinch of salt. Add remaining 3/4 cup water and cover skillet, then cook, stirring occasionally, until water is evaporated and cabbage is tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Stir in butter and cool, uncovered.
• Transfer meat and roasted vegetables with a slotted spoon to a clean large bowl, then skim off and discard fat from pan juices and straddle 1 pan across 2 burners. Add 1/4 cup wine and deglaze by boiling over low heat, scraping up any brown bits, 1 minute. Pour wine mixture carefully into a heatproof bowl. Repeat with second pan and remaining 1/4 cup wine, transferring liquid to bowl.
• When cool enough to handle, discard bones and vegetables, leaving only meat in large bowl. Add wine mixture, then stir in cooked rice and cabbage. Grind mixture in meat grinder (filling will be dense).

AGNOLOTTI WITH ROAST MEAT AND SPINACH STUFFING

Steps:

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

AGNOLOTTI WITH MEAT AND SPINACH FILLING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine first 8 ingredients on rimmed baking sheet; drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat. Roast until all meats are cooked through, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes.
• Meanwhile, melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add shallot; sauté 3 minutes. Working in batches, add spinach to skillet and toss until wilted before adding more, about 5 minutes total. Remove from heat and cool.
• Remove skin and bones from chicken thigh and discard. Coarsely dice chicken, veal, and pork; transfer to processor. Add meat pan juices, spinach, Parmesan, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Process until meats and spinach are finely chopped, stopping often to scrape down sides of bowl. Transfer mixture to bowl. Do ahead Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.
• Blend 1 3/4 cups flour and salt in processor. Add whole eggs and yolks and blend until dough forms, adding more flour by tablespoonfuls if too wet. Turn out dough on lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, sprinkling with flour if needed to prevent sticking, about 8 minutes. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.
• Cut dough into 4 equal pieces. Turn pasta machine to widest setting. Flatten 1 dough piece into rectangle. Cover remaining dough pieces with plastic wrap. Run dough through machine 4 times. Adjust machine to next narrower setting. Run dough through machine 4 times. Repeat running dough strip through machine 4 times on each narrower setting, cutting dough strip in half crosswise for easier handling when strip becomes very long and dusting dough with flour as needed to prevent sticking. Continue rolling until pasta strips are 22 to 24 inches long, dusting lightly with flour as needed. Repeat rolling with remaining 3 dough pieces. Let dough strips dry slightly on work surface until no longer sticky to touch for easier handling, about 10 minutes.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper; dust lightly with flour. Cut each dough strip into 3-inch squares (about 7 to 8 per strip). Place 1 generous teaspoon filling in center of each square. Brush 2 adjacent dough edges with water. Fold 1 long side over filling, enclosing filling and pressing to seal, forming rectangle. Transfer to prepared baking sheets, arranging in single layer. Do ahead Can be made 2 hours ahead. Cover with towel and let stand at room temperature.
• Melt butter with chopped sage in large skillet over medium-high heat; remove from heat. Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Add half of agnolotti to pot and cook just until tender, about 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon transfer agnolotti to sieve to drain, then add to skillet with melted butter. Repeat with remaining agnolotti. Toss over medium-high heat until coated and heated through, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Divide agnolotti among 8 bowls; sprinkle with Parmesan shavings and serve.