It's not called slow-cooking for nothing, but when you bite into this rich, boozy and beefy tortellini from 106 Baker Street, you'll be glad you put the work in. Read the recipe below.
Make this Tortellini del plin from 106 Baker Street
It's not called slow-cooking for nothing, but when you bite into this rich, boozy and beefy tortellini from 106 Baker Street, you'll be glad you put the work in
Serves 10
Preparation time 60 mins
Cooking time 240 mins
Ingredients
For the pasta:
- 800g/28oz '00' pasta flour, plus extra for dusting
- 6 medium free-range eggs
- Semolina for dusting (optional)
For the meat filling:
- 1 kg of stewing beef
- 2 celery sticks, roughly chopped
- 2 large carrots, roughly chopped
- 1 large onion, roughly chopped
- 1 bottle of Barolo wine
- 2 tsp of mixed Italian herbs (oregano, basil, parsley, thyme)
- 2 cloves of garlic
- Olive oil, sea salt and black pepper
- 1 bay leaf
For the sauce:
- 200g of butter
- 1/2 litre of vegetable stock
- 50 g of dried porcini mushrooms
- 5 large fresh ceps (Porcini mushrooms)
Method
- For the pasta, pour the flour into a mound onto a flat surface and make a well in the centre. Crack the eggs into the well and gradually mix with either a blunt knife or your hands. When the dough has become a thick paste use your hands to incorporate more of the flour.
- You can sieve any remaining flour and use the sifted flour while you knead the dough to stop it sticking to the surface and to your hands, but be careful not to make the dough too dry. Knead until well blended and the dough is soft and flexible. Don't worry if you haven't used up all the flour.
- Leave the pasta dough to rest for about 20 minutes with a bowl inverted over it or leave it covered in cling film. You can sieve any leftover flour again and save this flour for rolling out the pasta.
- In a deep, thick-bottomed pan, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and slowly cook the chopped onion and garlic until soft. Add in the rest of the vegetables and the herbs and bay leaf and cook for a further five minutes.
- Turn up the heat and add in the stewing beef, stir to coat with the oil and herbs and brown it all over. Once it is browned, pour in the bottle of barolo. Turn the heat down to the lowest setting and slow cook, with a cover on, for at least 6 hours. If it starts to dry out, add water or beef stock. The beef should be cooked until it is meltingly soft and falling apart.
- Once cooked, strain out any juices and leave it to cool. Put it in a blender with 2 eggs, 50 grams of grated Parmesan, salt and black pepper. Blend until you obtain a smooth consistency. Put aside.
- Bring your beef filling to room temperature. With your hands, form tiny little balls of the filling, about the size of a broad bean. Dust a baking tray or surface with semolina flour and get a bowl of warm water ready. Run your dough through a pasta making machine several times, at gradually thinner settings until you reach the 0.51 setting (or #6 on a KitchenAid pasta making machine), or roll out with a rolling pin to a 2 mm thickness. Cut your sheet of pasta into squares roughly 3 inches by 3 inches.
- Place a ball of the filling into the middle of each of your pasta squares. To make the shape of the pasta, moisten two edges of the pasta squares with water. Fold the square into a triangle and press tightly around the filling to seal. Toss with flour, set aside on your baking tray or floured surface, and cover. Repeat with remaining pieces of dough.
- Fold the pocket of filling upward toward the peak of the triangle. Set the pocket of filling against the nail of your little finger and wrap the two corners around your finger. Press tightly to seal. Toss with flour, set aside on your baking tray, and cover. Repeat with remaining pieces of dough and set aside.
- Soak the dried porcini in boiling water and set aside. Put a deep pan of salted water on to boil for the pasta. Melt the butter slowly in a pan and gradually pour in the vegetable stock, stirring gently until you obtain a creamy looking, smooth buttery sauce – don’t feel like you need to use all the stock if you feel the sauce has already obtained a good consistency. Season to taste. Add the sliced ceps and cook until soft, then add in the soaked porcini mushrooms and a little of their water to make a thick mushroom sauce.
- Drop the tortellini into the water and cook for 2-3 minutes until they start to rise to the surface. Remove them with a slotted spoon and add to the mushroom sauce. Stir well to coat all the tortellini and top with grated parmesan and extra virgin olive oil. Garnish with sprigs of rosemary. You can serve this immediately or at room temperature – it is also ideal for a picnic.
