Parsnip Agnolotti With Speck And Apples Recipe From Chef Barbara Lynch

Ingredients

• Pasta2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed1 teaspoon kosher salt2 large eggs4 large egg yolks
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• Filling2 pounds parsnips, peeled and roughly chopped2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oilSalt and freshly ground black pepper3 cups whole milk1 medium shallot, thinly sliced2 tablespoons unsalted butter
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• Sauce5 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided2 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped6 slices speck1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil1 garlic clove, whole2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed and stems discarded1 medium turnip, peeled and finely chopped Salt and freshly ground black pepperThinly shaved Pecorino Romano 1 Honeycrisp apple, cut into thin sticks

Directions

1. Make the pasta: On a clean work surface, combine the 2 cups of flour and salt and gather into a small mound. Make a wide well in the mound and crack the whole eggs into the center of the well. Carefully add the yolks. Use a fork to beat the eggs and yolks and very gradually incorporate some of the flour into the center, bringing a little at a time into the egg mixture from the perimeter of the well. Be careful not to break through the wall of the well. Once the dough becomes too stiff to mix with a fork, use your fingers to work the eggs and flour together, adding only enough flour to make a ball of dough. Discard any unused flour. To see if you have added enough flour, press a clean, dry finger deep into the dough. If no dough sticks to your finger, the dough is ready.
2. On a lightly floured work surface, knead the dough by pushing it away from you with the heel of your hand, folding it over, giving it a quarter turn and pushing it away again. Continue kneading, adding a sprinkling of flour if the dough feels sticky, until the dough feels soft and supple, about 5 to 8 minutes. Sprinkle the dough with flour, wrap it in plastic and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
3. Make the filling: Preheat the oven to 425°. In a large bowl, combine the parsnips and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and toss until evenly coated. Spread the parsnips evenly onto a parchment-lined sheet pan, cover with aluminum foil and roast until lightly browned and tender, about 35 minutes.
4. Remove the parsnips from the oven and transfer to a medium saucepan. Add the milk and shallot and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool slightly. Place the parsnip mixture in a blender, add the two tablespoons of butter and purée. Pass the purée through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium bowl. Cover the purée with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour. Transfer the mixture to a piping bag and refrigerate until ready to use.
5. Set a pasta machine to its widest setting. Cut the dough in half and keep the half you're not using wrapped while you work. Roll the dough lightly in flour and flatten it into a rectangle so that it is roughly the width of your pasta machine. Run the dough through the machine at this setting twice. Set the machine to its next thinnest setting and run the dough through again. Continue running the dough through the machine's settings so it gets progressively thinner each time, until the pasta is very thin. If you hold it up to the light, you should be able to see your hand through it. Repeat with the remaining half of the dough.
6. Cut the pasta sheets into 4-by-12-inch strips. Working with the strips horizontal to you, pipe 2 teaspoons of the parsnip purée onto the pasta at 1½-inch intervals across the bottom of the strip. Fold the top edge of the pasta over the purée. Brush the bottom edge lightly with water and fold the purée-filled portion over again onto the wet edge. Gently press between each piping of filling to help seal the pasta, then cut with a pasta cutter to form individual agnolotti. They will be shaped like little pillows. Dust them with flour to keep them from sticking and place on a baking sheet lightly dusted with flour. Refrigerate or freeze the pasta if you're not going to cook it right away.
7. Preheat the oven to 400°. In a medium saucepan set over medium heat add 4 tablespoons of the butter and cook until browned, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the sage and set aside to cool.
8. On a sheet pan lined with parchment paper, arrange the slices of speck. Top with another sheet of parchment paper and weigh down with another sheet pan. Place the pan in the oven and roast until crisp, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool; use a knife to break the speck into small pieces.
9. In a medium skillet set over medium-high heat, combine the olive oil with the garlic, thyme leaves and turnip. Cook until the turnip browns, about 8 minutes. Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil and add the pasta. Cook until tender, about 3 or 4 minutes, then drain. While the pasta is cooking, combine the cooked turnips with 3 tablespoons of pasta water, the browned butter and the remaining tablespoon of butter. Season with salt and pepper. Bring the sauce to a boil and cook until thick and emulsified, about 5 minutes. To serve, toss the pasta with the sauce to coat; divide among four bowls and top with the speck, shaved pecorino and apple sticks. Serve immediately.