Graham Elliot is man pursuing many avenues: TV cooking shows, his restaurants. And now he’s an author with the book Cooking Like a Master Chef. My Huffington Post review is here.
Here’s a dish taken from his restaurant, with its two stars, and translated for your pleasure in your kitchen. Are you a duck fan? I remember my first duck experience. Fortunately, it did not taste like chicken.
In this dish, that luscious duck is combined with mascarpone inside a rich pasta dough. Add some cooked kale and topped with toasted pine nuts. What you have is rich, very satisfying, and — if you do make this yourself — a personal triumph. This dish is a temptation that you need to succumb to.
Ah, if you are not into making the pasta dough yourself, Graham has an excellent suggestion. Simply cook some pappardelle and toss with the duck confit, kale and pine nuts. Equally satisfying. And, in lieu of duck, you can use cooked chicken that you’ve shredded. It’ll work but you really want to try the duck.
Duck Confit Agnolotti with Kale and Pine Nuts
Yield: serves 6
Ingredients:
For the Pasta Dough:
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 6 large egg yolks
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
For the Filling:
- 12 ounces mascarpone cheese (about 1 ½ cups)
- 2 large egg yolks
- 2 shallots, minced
- Grated zest of 1 orange
- Grated zest of 1 lemon
- 1 pound duck confit meat
- 1 tablespoon minced flat-leaf parsley
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Semolina flour, for dusting
- 1 large egg
For the Kale and Nuts:
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, sliced
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 6 ounces (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter
- 1 bunch kale (8 to 10 ounces), ribs removed and leaves trimmed
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Salt
- 1 tablespoon minced flat-leaf parsley
- 1 ounce ricotta salata, shaved (about ¼ cup)
- ½ cup pine nuts, toasted
Preparation:
For the pasta dough, put the flour in a large bowl and make a well in the center. Add the egg yolks, egg, and oil to the well. Pull the flour from around the sides of the well into the wet ingredients, gently breaking up the eggs with your fingers. Work around the circle formed by the flour and the well until the dough resembles a sticky paste.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently until the dough is smooth and bounces back slightly when you press it with your finger. Form the dough into a ball and wrap well with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes to allow the dough to relax. The dough can be refrigerated until needed, up to 4 hours.
For the filling, in a large bowl, whisk the mascarpone, egg yolks, shallots, orange zest, and lemon zest. Fold in the duck confit and parsley and season with salt and pepper.
Using a pasta machine, roll the pasta through the #2 setting to make four 18-inch-long strips. Lay the strips on a lightly floured surface.
Whisk the egg with 2 tablespoons of water to make an egg wash. Brush the exposed side of the pasta strips with the egg wash.
Dollop 2 to 3 tablespoons of filling down the length of 2 strips of the pasta, about 1V2 inches apart. Top with the remaining sheets of pasta. Brush the pasta with egg wash. Press or pinch between each mound of filling to make little pillows, each measuring 1 inch by 2Vi inches. With a pastry wheel or sharp knife, separate each agnolotti and dust with semolina. You should have about 24 agnolotti.
For the kale, in a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Cook the garlic and red pepper flakes for about 1 minute, just to toast them. Add the butter and when it melts, let it cook a little longer to it begins to brown. Toss the kale into the skillet and turn it to coast with the browned butter. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes to give the kale time to wilt, and season to taste with a little lemon juice [you may not need all the juice] and salt.
Meanwhile, bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Drop the agnolotti into the water and let them cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until they bob to the surface. Lift the agnolotti from the water with a slotted spoon.
Divide the kale and pasta among six serving plates. Sprinkle with parsley, ricotta salata, and pine nuts and serve.
Source: Cooking Like a Master Chef by Graham Elliot [Atria, 2015]