Chris Vergara, Meritage
Serves 4
Ingredients
Pasta dough
- 17.6 ounces all-purpose flour
- 15 egg yolks
- 2 whole eggs
Cider reduction
- 1 quart apple cider
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Duck confit
- 4 duck legs
- 1/2 cup salt
- 8 sprigs thyme
- 10 garlic cloves smashed
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 tablespoons black pepper
- duck fat
Filling
- 4 confit duck legs (above)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 2 small shallots, thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup roasted duck stock or chicken stock
- 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
- 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
- juice of 1/2 of a lemon
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 whole egg
To finish
- 1 pound fresh pasta dough (left)
- all of the filling
- 2 ounces chicken stock
- 3 whole sage leaves
- 2 tablespoons butter, cold
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 ounces cider reduction (left)
- freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano, for garnish
- fresh herbs, for garnish
Method
For the pasta dough
- Combine eggs and flour in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment. Mix on low setting until the dough comes together in a ball.
- Remove the dough and knead on a floured surface. Dough should be firm.
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap and allow to it rest at room temperature for half an hour
For the cider reduction
- Place the cider in a pot and cook until the liquid is syrupy. Season with vinegar and set aside.
For the duck confit
- Combine all the ingredients except the duck fat in a non-reactive container and allow to infuse, refrigerated, 12 to 24 hours.
- When ready to cook, rinse the duck legs and pat them dry.
- Preheat oven to 230°.
- Arrange the legs in a baking dish.
- In a small pot, melt duck fat over low heat and pour it over the duck legs to cover.
- Place the legs in the preheated oven and roast, uncovered, for 2½ to 3 hours. When done, the meat should pull easily from the bone.
For the filling
- Remove the bones from the duck legs and discard. Coarsely chop the meat and set it aside.
- Place the butter and oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Sweat the thyme, shallots, and garlic and in the pan until the vegetables are soft.
- Add the chopped duck and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture starts to brown.
- Deglaze the pan with the duck stock and cook until the liquids have almost evaporated.
- Remove mixture to a mixing bowl and discard the thyme sprigs. Allow the mixture to cool 5 to 10 minutes.
- While the mixture is still warm, add Parmigiano, parsley and lemon juice. Mix thoroughly. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
- Place the filling in the bowl of a food processor, add the egg, and puree the mixture into a fine paste. The filling should be loose but not wet.
- Transfer mixture to a piping bag and set aside while you roll out pasta dough.
To finish
- Working from the widest setting on your pasta machine to its narrowest setting, roll the pasta through the rollers, reducing the width of the setting after each pass.
- On a lightly floured surface, cut dough into even rectangles.
- Pipe a line of filling onto the pasta sheet horizontally, leaving enough space to fold pasta over the filling.
- Fold the overhang over the filling and press to seal: Starting on one side, pinch the filling in ½-inch to 1-inch increments, forming little pillow-shaped pockets.
- Cut the dough with a pastry cutter in between the pockets to separate and seal them. Repeat the process until you have used all of the filling.
- Heat a pot of water to a rolling boil and salt liberally.
- In a sauté pan, heat the chicken stock and sage, then swirl in butter to form a sauce. Season with salt and pepper.
- Place the agnolotti into the boiling water, reduce heat and simmer 1 to 2 minutes, or until cooked.
- Gently lift the agnolotti from the boiling water with a spider and place them in the pan with the butter/sage sauce. Toss to coat.
- Remove to a serving platter and drizzle cider reduction over top.
Garnish with fresh herbs and grated Parmigiano Reggiano.