Photo: Paul Winch-Furness
Chef Jun Tanaka has introduced a new seasonal ‘Wild Pasta’ menu at his Michelin-starred restaurant, The Ninth, in Fitzrovia. Centered around wild British game and wild mushrooms, the menu is available for lunch and dinner from Monday to Saturday throughout the game and mushroom season, using game supplied by Vicars Farm in Berkshire. The menu’s funghi sourcing, on the other hand, changes regularly to reflect the best produce available throughout the season. This agnolotti recipe, for instance, features pasta envelopes stuffed with a mixture of minced hare, chicken livers and lardo, served with a decadent sage butter sauce, pickled Jerusalem artichokes, fried trompette mushrooms and shavings of parmesan cheese.
Speaking on the launch of the new ‘Wild Pasta’ menu, Jun Tanaka said: “Autumn is the most exciting season, with the natural abundance of wild ingredients – game and wild mushrooms being the highlights. I believe pasta is the perfect vehicle to showcase their unique flavours”
Serves eight
Hare, 1 whole, remove all meat from the bones
Lardo, 150g, cut into 2cm cubes
Chicken livers, 150g
Shallots, 2, finely chopped, sweat in olive oil for 10 minutes
Garlic, 1 clove, crushed and sweat with the shallots
Brandy, 50ml
Thyme, a sprig, leaves picked and chopped
Pasta flour, 300g
Egg yolks, 3
Whole eggs, 2
Extra virgin olive oil, 20g
Salt, a pinch
Chicken stock, 500ml
Sage (as below)
Unsalted butter, 100g, cut into small cubes
Lemon, 1
Rice vinegar, 350g
Caster sugar, 240g
Jerusalem artichokes, 250g, peeled and finely sliced on a mandolin
Trompette mushrooms, 100g, cleaned and washed
Sage, a bunch (pick the leaves and deep fry at 180C until crispy, keep stalks for sauce)
Parmesan, grated
To make the sauce, pour the chicken stock into a saucepan with the sage stalks and reduce by half. Whisk in the cold butter, season and add a squeeze of lemon juice.
To make the hare mix, mince the hare meat, lardo and chicken livers using a mincer attachment on a Kitchen Aid. Place this mix into a bowl and add the cooked shallots and garlic. Season and add the brandy and thyme. Check the flavour and seasoning by cooking a small amount in the oven and tasting.
To make the pasta, place the flour and salt in a food processor then slowly add the eggs and olive oil. Take the mix out of the food processor and knead for 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Clingfilm the dough and rest for 1 hour.
To pickle the Jerusalem artichokes, warm the vinegar and dissolve the sugar inside. Pour over the sliced artichokes.
To make the agnolotti, roll the dough through a pasta machine until you can see your hand through the pasta sheet (setting 1 on the machine). Using a teaspoon place a small amount of the hare farce, equally spaced apart along the length of the pasta. There should be a gap of 3cm in between each spoon of farce. Carefully fold the pasta over the mix and seal the pasta around the farce. Using a pasta cutter wheel, cut in between each agnolotti. Place them on a lightly floured tray.
Cook the trompettes in foaming butter until crispy and drain on kitchen paper.
Cook the agnolotti in boiling salted water for 4 minutes, then place them in the sage butter sauce. Spoon them into a bowl, place a few slices of artichokes on top and finish with the deep fried sage, crispy trompettes and grated parmesan.
Further information on The Ninth can be found here.
Photo: Paul Winch-Furness
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