Porcini & Pancetta Cappelletti with Thyme & Sage Brown Butter
Rainy Saturdays are perfect for making pasta. It takes time and patience but at the same time it’s a very soothing activity. I love prepping my work station: I enjoy cleaning the table, placing my pasta machine on the far right corner of the table, prepping the trays and sprinkling them with semolina. Every little step is part of a ritual that I repeat every time I make pasta.
I filled my cappelletti with pancetta and porcini mushrooms and served them with thyme and sage brown butter. As a base for the filling I used mashed potatoes which is a great alternative to ricotta when seasoned generously. I used dry Porcini mushrooms as you can’t really find fresh ones easily in the UK. If you have access to fresh Porcini make sure you use those as they are beyond delicious.
Ingredients
Dough:
3 eggs
300g flour
1 tsp of olive oil
Cappelletti filling:
40g dry porcini (keep 8tbsp of the water you soak them in)
150g pancetta
2 potatoes
Zest of half a Lemon
1 clove of garlic
1 handful of Thyme
3 tbsp of parmigiano
Olive oil
1 knob of butter
Salt & Pepper
To serve:
200g unsalted butter
Thyme
Sage
Step by Step
The dough
You can make this either by hand or with you stand mixer. Either way you are going to have to knead by hand
If you are making the pasta by hand place your flour mountain on a working surface. Make a hole with your hands at the top and add the eggs in the middle
With a fork start beating the eggs and slowly incorporating the flour. When the dough comes together use your hands to compact it and start kneading. Knead approximately for 10 minutes and until your dough is elastic and smooth. Cover in cling film and let it rest for at least 30 minutes at room temperature
The filling
Boil the potatoes and let them cool down. Peel them, mash them and place them in a bowl
Soak your mushrooms in boiling water and let them sit for 20 minutes to hydrate. Keep aside 8 tablespoons of the soaking water
Once the mushrooms are hydrated chop them finely and sauté them in a non stick pan with olive oil, garlic and thyme. Season them to taste
In a non-stick pan fry your thinly chopped pancetta. you don’t have to add any oil, just let the fat of the pancetta do the job
Add the pancetta and mushrooms in the bowl with the potatoes. Add in also the zest of half a lemon, the butter, the grated parmesan and the 8 tablespoons of mushroom water. Mix everything with a wooden spoon and season to taste with salt and pepper.
If the filling feels too tough add in some more of the mushroom soaking water. Put the filling in a piping bag
Making the cappelletti
Use your pasta machine to make a long sheet of pasta
Use a round cutter (mine was 5 cm diameter) to cut out the base of your cappelletti
Pipe out little roundels of filling in the middle of each pasta roundel like in the picture below
Fold each pasta roundel in half, on itself
Using your fingers gently fold upwards the unfilled edges of your cappelletti
With your thumbs connect the two edges of your cappelletti to form a circle like in the picture below
You can also click here to watch this reel I made on shaping cappelletti
Keep going until you finish all the dough
Serving the cappelletti
Place the butter, sage and thyme in a deep pan and turn the heat up to medium . Stir the butter while it melts
Keep stirring even when it starts foaming. After a bit you’ll see the colour changing as well as the smell. It will smell nutty and delicious
Bring a bit pot of water to boil, add coarse salt and cook your cappelletti. When ready, strain the ravioli
Serve them in a plate with a generous amount of brown butter
Enjoy!
Tips & Cheats
The more you make pasta the more you’ll know whether it has the right consistency. Follow the 100g flour+1 egg rule as a base and always remember you can adjust the consistency with extra flour (to make it less sticky) or with a couple of tbsp of water (to make it softer). Only make these adjustments after the dough has rested for 30min.
When you first knead the pasta dough it will feel tough and difficult to work with. Insist and keep kneading for 10 minutes. Don’t forget that the dough will become softer, more elastic and will feel different after it has rested for 30 minutes.
No salt in the pasta dough! Salt only goes in the cooking water.
The secret of brown butter is to keep stirring all the time. If you stop stirring it will probably burn.
Sometimes the foam is too thick, and you can’t really see what is happening to your butter. You’ll know it’s browning from the smell. It is delicious and you will notice a sudden change of smell.
