Ingredients
| 1 batch parsley-speckled fresh egg pasta dough (see recipe) | |
| FOR THE CONFIT EGG YOLKS | |
| 4 egg yolks (or however many people you are serving) | |
| 500ml light olive oil | |
| FOR THE SAUCE | |
| 100g unsalted butter, cubed (I prefer to season the sauce myself, but use salted butter if it is all you have) | |
| 1 lemon | |
| a small bunch of fresh dill, leaves picked | |
| pea shoots, to serve (optional) | |
| parmesan, to serve |
Handkerchief pasta just means sheets or squares and I love the way they fold on the plate to create little pockets for sauce to pool in. Nothing will impress your guests more than a gloriously golden confit egg yolk just begging to be burst. It is so easy and the combination of a lemony butter sauce and fresh dill finishes it off perfectly. You cook the pasta and butter sauce simultaneously; you will get used to the timing.
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Instructions
| 1. | FOR THE PASTA |
| 2. | Working with a quarter of the dough at a time, roll it through a pasta roller on the widest setting, then through the next. |
| 3. | Fold your dough in half and repeat this process 2 or 3 times to work the dough before running it twice through each additional setting until you get to the thinnest. |
| 4. | Cut the sheets into 15cm x 15cm squares and set aside on trays lined with baking paper (you can stack up the sheets with the paper in between). |
| 5. | I usually do four sheets per person for a main. |
| 6. | FOR THE CONFIT EGG YOLKS |
| 7. | Heat the oven to 65°C fan. |
| 8. | Fill a loaf pan with enough olive oil that the yolks will be fully submerged. |
| 9. | Carefully place each yolk in the pan and cook in the oven for 50 minutes. |
| 10. | Remove with a slotted spoon, being careful not to break them. |
| 11. | If you want to do them ahead, they can be kept in the oil in the fridge for a couple of days. |
| 12. | FOR THE SAUCE |
| 13. | Get a big pot of water on to boil and salt liberally. |
| 14. | Melt the butter in a frying pan on a medium heat and when just starting to sizzle, cook the pasta in the boiling water for 2½ minutes. |
| 15. | Add a big pinch of salt and the juice of ½ lemon to the butter and whisk to emulsify. |
| 16. | When the pasta is almost done, add ¼ cup of pasta water to the butter and whisk again vigorously while shaking the pan to make sure it is completely emulsified and slightly thickened. |
| 17. | Add the pasta sheets straight into the butter and let them bubble on low for a minute. |
| 18. | Transfer to plates (they will have naturally folded when in the butter) and carefully place an egg yolk on top. |
| 19. | Scatter with fresh dill and pea shoots and finish each plate with a squeeze of lemon juice, and grated lemon zest if desired. |
| 20. | Serve with freshly grated parmesan at the table. |
Recipes & food styling Emilie Pullar / Photography Tony Nyberg / Art direction Fiona Lascelles