Casoncelli - Chef Recipe by Gabriele Pezzimenti

Ingredients

Pasta:

2 eggs
200 g all-purpose flour

Filling:

200 g Italian sausage
100 g mortadella
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
3 1/2 Tbs Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated
1 egg
2 Tbs milk
1 garlic clove
2 Tbs parsley, chopped
Salt to taste
Pear, optional

Sauce:

5 1/2 Tbs butter
6 sage leaves
4 thick slices of guanciale or pancetta, cubed
Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated, to serve

Method

Filling:

Put the sausage, mortadella, garlic, egg and parsley in a mixer and blend. Add the breadcrumbs and blend some more.

Stir in the milk and grated Parmigiano Reggiano.

Season with salt to taste and keep the filling aside.

Casoncelli pasta:

Roll the pasta sheet, by using the pasta machine, gradually until the #8 setting. The pasta sheet has to be thin.

Using a tablespoon, put the filling on one half of the pasta sheet. Please ensure that you are leaving enough space in between them, approximately 4 cm.

Fold the other half of the pasta sheet onto the filling and press well all around. Ensure that there are no air bubbles inside, or the pasta will open while cooking and the filling will come out. To seal the pasta, use a bit of water around the edges of the pasta sheet and press slightly.

Using a 7 cm diameter round dough cutter, cut around in a semicircular shape (called mezzaluna) and remove the excess dough.

Put the mezzaluna standing on the round side and press it down with your index finger.

Pinch the sides and gently push them towards the centre to make your casoncelli.

Keep the casoncelli on a tray dusted with flour and let them dry for a few hours before cooking.

Sauce:

Put the cubed Italian speck (or pancetta), butter and sage in a small saucepan. Let the butter melt on a medium fire and gently fry off the speck and sage in it.

Remove from the fire as soon as it starts to bubble (you don’t want it to brown).

Assembling:

Cook the casoncelli to al dente. The exact cooking time will vary on the thickness of your casoncelli. Remember, to check the sides, where your pasta is thicker. It does have to remain firm to be al dente.

When the pasta is cooked, drain it using a colander.

Put the casoncelli on the serving plate, drizzle the warm butter and Speck sauce on them and serve them immediately with some finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano on the top.

Recipe provided by Market & Meander