Wild Garlic Laminated Pasta with Garlic Brown Butter
Wild Garlic Laminated Pasta with Garlic Brown Butter
I’m not a great pasta fan!
I know this may sound crazy when I’m posting about some great pasta I’ve made.
What I mean, is that pasta isn’t something I’d order off a menu, but having said that, neither is rice!
However, when it comes to something fancy, like slapping wild garlic leaves inside two pieces of thin pasta – laminated- I get a little bit tingly in my fingertips at the thought of eating it.
Add to this lashings of garlic butter that’s been cooked until it goes brown and nutty, and I’m hooked.
There’s something about freshly made and fresh cooked pasta that leaves a soft feeling on the tongue and now its wild garlic season, adding a few leaves to the mix, upgrades this pasta to something very special.
Once the pasta has been through the machine, the wild garlic leaves stretch and pull apart making a beautiful pattern so if not a fan of tagliatelle, use the sheets for ravioli, and that means the pattern won’t be lost in the cutting.
Laminating or sandwiching the wild garlic between two sheets of pasta, means it not just looks pretty but the flavour is actually inside the sheets of pasta.
Magic!
Go on, give it a go and enjoy your sweet life!
Running the pasta through the machine stretches the wild garlic leaves .
What You Need
Pasta
280g Plain Flour
3 Large Eggs – Lightly Beaten
Pinch of Salt
Wild Garlic Leaves – washed and very dry
Lay the wild garlic leaves on one sheet of pasta
Garlic Brown Butter
150g Butter
2 Cloves Finely Chopped Garlic
¼ Tsp Fresh Black Pepper
Grated Parmesan Cheese – for serving
How It’s Done
Pasta
Place the flour in a mound on a clean work surface
Make a well in the middle and pour in the beaten eggs and the salt.
Using your fingers, start to bring the flour from the outside of the mound into the middle.
Slowly work the flour into the eggs until it forms a firm but soft dough – See Tip Box
Once the dough has formed, knead it for three minutes.
After three minutes, wrap in cling film and set aside to rest for 30 minutes. – See Tip Box
Once rested, divide the dough into three equal pieces – See Tip Box
Get the pasta machine out and place it on setting 1
Lightly flour a baking sheet and set aside until needed.
Take the first piece of dough, lightly dust with flour and pat into a rectangle shape.
Roll the dough through setting one.
Fold the dough into thirds – See Tip Box
Dust it lightly with flour and run through the machine again.
Repeat this 6 times - folding, flour dusting and running through the pasta machine.
Change the setting on the pasta machine to number 2.
Without folding the dough, pass it through number 2 - if it’s sticky dust with a little more flour.
Without folding, pass the dough through settings until it has passed through setting 6 – See Tip Box
Cut the pasta sheet in half and lay them onto the work surface.
Lay the dry wild garlic leaves onto one of the pasta sheets, leaving gaps in between each leaf.
Brush a small amount of water around the edge of the pasta sheet and lay the other sheet on top. - See Tip Box
Press down all over the pasta sheet so that they stick together.
Change the pasta setting back to 2 and run the sheet through again
Do this on setting 3 too
Dust with a little flour on both sides, and lay on the flour dusted sheet.
Repeat this process with the rest of the dough.
Add the tagliatelle cutter attachment to the pasta machine.
Run the sheets of pasta through the machine until all sheets have been through and cut.
Cut the pasta to the thickness you like best.
Lay the cut pasta on the floured sheet or hang them to dry
To cook the pasta-fill a saucepan with water, add a teaspoon of salt and bring to a strong boil.
Once the water is boiling, add the pasta, give it a stir and cook in the boiling water for 2-4 minutes – depending on how you like to eat your pasta.
4 steps to making the pasta.
Drain the pasta and place into a bowl.
Pour over the garlic brown butter and give it a mix.
Add lots of grated parmesan to the top and eat while hot.
Rolling and cutting the pasta
Garlic Brown Butter
Place the butter and garlic into a small frying pan over a medium heat.
Heat until the butter melts and foams.
Keep heating until the foam subsides, the butter turns golden brown and it has a slightly nutty smell – around 3-5 minutes.
Tip Box
Dough – 1) If the dough is too firm, add tablespoons of water one at a time. If too soft, add tablespoons of flour.
2) Divide dough- Dividing the dough into three equal pieces, but apart from weighing the pieces, the best thing to do is to just have a guesstimate.
3) Folding dough – When folding the dough for setting 1, fold the right side to the middle and the left side to the middle - See Picture
Rest – Rest the dough at room temperature wrapped in cling film
Pasta Too Long - If the dough gets too long to handle, cut it in half and handle them separately.
Wetting the edges - Only use as little water as needed to stick the edges of the pasta sheets together. Too much will make the pasta soggy and unusable.
