Braised Beef Cheek Agnolotti...Braised Beef Cheek Agnolotti del Plin with Black Truffle Butter

Silk-thin hand-rolled egg pasta pinched over a rich, slow-braised Barolo beef cheek filling, glazed in an emulsion of cultured mountain butter, sage, and shaved Umbrian black truffle.

Ingredients

Cooking Instructions

1. 01

   For the filling: Season beef cheek generously with salt. In a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven, sear the cheek in oil over high heat until a deep golden crust forms. Remove and set aside.

2. 02

   In the same pot, sweat the mirepoix until translucent. Deglaze with the Barolo wine, scraping up the browned bits. Return the beef to the pot, add the beef bone broth, cover, and braise on low heat for 3 hours until meltingly tender.

3. 03

   Remove the beef and shred finely. Strain the remaining braising liquid and reduce it over high heat until it reaches a syrupy glaze. Fold the glaze and 20g of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano into the shredded beef. Process briefly in a food processor until it forms a pipeable paste. Transfer to a piping bag and chill completely.

4. 04

   For the pasta: Mound the Tipo 00 flour on a marble work surface. Make a well in the center and add the egg yolks. Slowly incorporate the flour into the yolks using a fork, then knead by hand for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Wrap in plastic film and rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

5. 05

   Roll the pasta dough through a pasta machine to the thinnest possible setting. Pipe hazelnut-sized mounds of the beef filling along the lower half of the pasta sheet, leaving 2cm gaps between each.

6. 06

   Fold the pasta sheet over the filling. Using your thumbs and index fingers, pinch the dough between the pockets of filling to seal, squeezing out any air. Use a fluted pastry wheel to cut along the fold and seal the pockets, then cut between each pinch to create individual 'plin' envelopes.

7. 07

   Cook the agnolotti in gently boiling, salted water for 2 to 3 minutes until they float.

8. 08

   While the pasta cooks, melt the cultured butter in a wide pan with 3-4 tablespoons of pasta cooking water and the sage leaves, swirling constantly to create a glossy emulsion.

9. 09

   Transfer the cooked agnolotti directly into the butter emulsion. Toss gently for 1 minute over low heat until glazed. Spoon onto warm plates, dust with the remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano, and shave fresh black truffle generously over the top just before serving.