Classic form of pasta and classic filling – what a treat!
Pasta requires a dough, which we have explained here.
The rule of thumb is 100 g flour and one egg per person and it almost always works. However, eggs vary in size, so if the dough seems too dry or very difficult to work with, just add an egg yolk or even a whole egg. These are empirical values and if you only do it once in a while, you will quickly master it.
The dough has to rest, otherwise it cannot be processed. This has to do with gluten and is nothing to be afraid of. There are illnesses and severe intolerances that make it impossible to consume gluten, but it is not a fundamentally inedible or unhealthy substance.
For the filling, we use fresh organic mushrooms, onion and garlic, breadcrumbs, Parmigiano Reggiano and flat-leaf parsley. We season with salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar and – we hope the Italians won’t stone us for this – a little soy sauce. It brings out the earthy umami flavor of the mushrooms particularly well.
Cultivated mushrooms do not need to be washed, just brush or rub them with a cloth. It is also always better if mushrooms are not soaked with water, and it is certainly not beneficial for the processing and taste of pasta fillings.
The mushrooms must now be chopped very finely, down to a few millimetres “brunoise”, as it is called in the kitchen. This is also what you would do for the mushroom farce called “duxelles”.
The hard ends of the stems are removed and the mushrooms are then cut into very fine slices, only 1 – 2 mm thin. It is best to use a large, sharp chef’s knife for this, not a small knife, which is more suitable for peeling fruit and vegetables.
The slices are then cut lengthwise into fine pieces. This is best done with the rock chop technique. Keeping the point of the blade on the cutting board, move the knife upward and downward in a rocking motion using smooth, even strokes. In the same way, the knife can then be run through the mushrooms from different directions to chop them further.
Onion and garlic are also finely diced and gently and slowly sautéed in a mixture of olive oil and butter over a medium heat.
When these dices have become translucent and fragrant, add the mushrooms. Everything is mixed together and cooked very patiently. The mushrooms must release all the water they contain, which evaporates and leaves an intense mushroom flavor in the pan.
Only when the liquid has disappeared are the grated Parmigiano, breadcrumbs and finely chopped parsley added. Mix everything together, season with salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar and soy sauce and immediately remove from the heat so that it can cool completely.
The best way to work this mixture is using a piping bag. If you don’t have one, skip this step and use your hands or a small spoon to place small dots of the filling on the dough later.
If you want to fill a piping bag, first fold it partly over so that the filling only gets onto the inside of the bag which remains clean on the outside. It is then best to place the bag with the tip facing downwards in a tall, cylindrical container, such as a jug. This way you have a holder and both hands free. Now you can easily pour the filling into the bag with a spoon.
Then reverse the turned-over part of the bag and press the contents tightly together towards the tip. Some people also do this with the help of centrifugal force by holding the bag at the back end and swinging it vigorously in a circle. In either case, the bag is knotted at the end and then waits in the fridge to be used. With a disposable bag, simply cut off the tip before use to create an opening of the desired size.
Now you can either use a pasta machine or continue working with a rolling pin. With a pasta machine, you always pass a piece of dough through the individual stages, starting with the thickest setting (stage 0). No intermediate stage is skipped. Roll out to level 6.
Using a piping bag, pipe the filling onto a sheet of dough to a thickness of approx. 1 cm. Alternatively, place small heaps (just under a teaspoon each) next to each other on the dough.
Now place the dough tightly over the filling from below so that it encloses the filling and extends at least 1 cm beyond it. Press the dough down firmly where it lies on top of the dough. You never want to trap air in filled pasta, otherwise it could burst when cooked later. Use a serrated dough cutter to cut off the excess dough (which is used again, of course).
Then use your thumb and forefinger to firmly press together the dough that encases the filling, creating small pockets 2 – 3 cm wide.
Viewed from above, it looks like this:
Now use the dough cutter to separate the future agnolotti from each other. Start at the bottom, where the dough completely envelops the filling. You have to press firmly so that the dough is sealed well everywhere.
This creates the typical and, in our opinion, particularly pretty shape of this pasta:
You can see how a professional makes this (from min. 17) and many other shapes here.
The agnolotti are cooked in well-salted water for 4 minutes. They can then be enjoyed with a little melted and slightly browned butter, flavored with fine strips of sage leaves. After all, you don’t want to mask the delicate taste of the filling.
We reduced some white wine to half its volume by simmering, stirred in flakes of cold butter until a delicately creamy sauce was formed and thickened it with a little crème fraîche. That wasn’t a bad decision either.
Enjoy.
And may the taste be with you.
Ingredients (for 4 people):
For the dough:
400 g flour for pasta – Tipo 00
For the filling:
250 g organic button mushrooms (or other mushrooms)
1 medium-sized onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 bunch of flat-leaf parsley
2 tbsp breadcrumbs
50 g Parmigiano Reggiano
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 dash dark balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
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