strawberries in paris

Fava Bean Agnolotti with a Curry Emulsion

Ned felt inspired two weekend’s ago to do an amazing Sunday dinner. It’s been awhile since we did that and I was soooo happy that we did- cause these babies were insanely delicious. I am so glad Wegman’s had fresh fava beans and Thomas Keller sure knows how to make a mean pasta dough! I am so happy I made something with curry- definitely an underutilized spice in this house.

Check out some awesome pictures of our fantastic dinner below!

Here are the beans- took about an hour to shuck because there is an outer layer that you have to remove. It was fun though, cause the Masters was on!

Pasta Recipe: (halved)
4 oz all purpose flour
3 large egg yolks
1/2 large egg
0.75 tsp olive oil
1/2 tbsp milk

Mound the flour in a very large bowl to make a volcano shape (sorry I’ve been watching Lost on my cripple days off!). Pour in the rest of the ingredients. After breaking up the eggs, begin turning the eggs in a circular motion to gradually incorporate the flour. The mixture will thicken and eventually get too tight to keep turning with your fingers. Work with your hands to knead the remaining flour in and then knead the dough by pressing it, bit by bit, in a forward motion with the heels of your hands rather than folding it over on itself as you would with bread dough. Reform the dough into a ball and repeat the process several times. The dough should feel moist but not sticky. Let the dough rest for a few minutes while you clean the work surface.
Dust the clean work surface with a little flour. Knead the dough by pushing against it in a forward motion with the heels of your hands. Form the dough into a ball and knead it again. Keep kneading in this forward motion until the dough becomes silky-smooth (and it will! Nicest pasta dough we have ever made!). The dough is ready when you can pull your finger through it and the dough wants to snap back into place. The kneading process will take at least 20 minutes. So keep at it! Double wrap the dough in plastic wrap to ensure that it does not dry out. Let the dough rest for at 30 minutes and up to 1 hour before rolling it out through a pasta machine.

Fava Bean Filling:
2 to 3 lbs fava beans
3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/4 cup marscapone + 1.5 tsp
salt

Shell the beans, removing the weird outer layer and the germ. You need 1.5 cups of the beans for the filling. Blanch the beans for about 5 minutes or unitl tender, and immediately transfer to ice water to chill. When they are cold, drain the beans and spread on paper towels to dry. Place the beans ina food processor with the bread crumbs. Pulse until it comes together to form a ball. Add the cheese and process again until the mixture is smooth. Season to taste with salt. Fridge it until cool.

Making Pasta:
Make 5 inch wide sheets and thin enough so that you can see your fingers through it. Pipe a tube of filling across the bottom of the pasta sheet, leaving a 3/4 inch border of pasta along the left right and bottom edges. Pull the bottom edge of the pasta up and over the filling. Seal the agnolotti by carefully molding the pasta over the filling and pressing lightly with your index finger to seal the edge of the dough to the pasta sheet. When it is sealed, there should be about 1/2 inch of excess dough visible above the tube of filling. Make sure to seal tightly! To shape, place the thumb and forefinger of each hand together like you are going to pinch something and leaving about 1 inch of space between your hands and holding your fingers vertically, pinch the filling in 1 inch increments, making about 3/4 inch of “pinched” area between each pocket of filling. Run a crimped pastry wheel along the top edge of the folded over dough and cut through the center of each pinched area! Let them rest on a floured cookie sheet.

Curry Emulsion:
2 tsp curry powder
2 tbsp chopped scallions
3/4 cup + 2 tbsp water
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup creme fraiche
8 tbsp butter!, cut into chunks
s&p
18 1-inch long scallions, blanched, chilled in ice water, drained and dried

Toast the curry powder in a small saucepan over medium heat until it is fragrant. Stir in the scallions and heat for another minute. Add the water, cream and creme, bring to a simmer and cook until the liquid is reduced to 1/2 cup. Swirl in the butter. When the butter is melted, transfer the sauce to a blender, add 2 tbsp water and blend for 30 seconds to emulsify the mixture and strain into a large pan. Season with s&p. Meanwhile, cook the agnolotti in alarge pot of lightly salted boiling water until cooked through (4 to 5 minutes). Drain the pasta, add the pasta and scallions to the curry emulsion and toss over low heat to coat with sauce. Serve immediately!