Agnolotti del Plin con...Agnolotti del Plin con Anatra e Riduzione di Fichi

Hand-pinched Piedmontese pasta filled with slow-braised duck confit, served with a rich Barolo wine and dried fig reduction, finished with sage-infused brown butter and shaved Castelmagno cheese.

Ingredients

Cooking Instructions

1. 01

   For the dough: Mound the flour on a clean work surface. Create a deep well in the center. Add the egg yolks, whole egg, and a pinch of salt. Using a fork, gently whisk the eggs, gradually incorporating flour from the inner walls. Once a paste forms, use your hands to bring the dough together. Knead vigorously for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Wrap in plastic wrap and rest at room temperature for 1 hour.

2. 02

   For the duck filling: Season the duck legs generously with salt and pepper. Place them in a small, deep baking dish with the duck fat, garlic, rosemary, and thyme. Cover tightly with foil and confit in a preheated oven at 150°C (300°F) for 2.5 hours, or until the meat is incredibly tender and falling off the bone.

3. 03

   Shred the warm duck meat, discarding the skin and bones. In a small pan, sauté the minced shallots in 1 tablespoon of the rendered duck fat until translucent. In a food processor, pulse the shredded duck, sautéed shallots, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, and a pinch of nutmeg until it forms a smooth but textured paste. Season to taste, then transfer to a pastry bag. Cool completely.

4. 04

   To shape the Agnolotti: Roll the rested pasta dough through a pasta machine to the thinnest setting. Lay the sheet flat. Pipe small hazelnut-sized mounds of duck filling along the bottom half of the pasta sheet, spacing them 2 cm apart. Fold the top half of the pasta over the filling. Using your thumbs and index fingers, pinch ('plin') the pasta dough between each pocket of filling to seal, pushing out any air. Use a fluted pasta wheel to cut along the top of the pockets, then cut between each pinch to separate the individual agnolotti.

5. 05

   For the Barolo reduction: In a small saucepan, combine the Barolo wine, chopped figs, and beef bone broth. Simmer over medium heat until reduced by two-thirds to a glossy, syrupy consistency. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing on the figs to extract flavor. Whisk in 30g of cold unsalted butter to emulsify. Season with salt and keep warm.

6. 06

   To finish: Cook the agnolotti in a large pot of boiling salted water for 2-3 minutes until they float to the surface. Meanwhile, melt the remaining 50g of butter in a large sauté pan with the sage leaves over medium heat until it foams and turns a nutty golden brown.

7. 07

   Gently transfer the cooked agnolotti directly into the sage brown butter. Toss gently for 30 seconds to coat. To serve, spoon a generous pool of the Barolo-fig reduction onto warm plates. Arrange the agnolotti elegantly on top, spoon over the remaining brown butter, garnish with the crispy sage leaves, and finish with delicate shavings of Castelmagno cheese.