Agnolotti del Plin Piemontesi al Burro e Salvia

Mound the flour on a board, make a well, and break in the eggs. Work inward with a fork, then knead by hand for 8–10 minutes until the dough is smooth, tight, and springs back when pressed. Wrap tightly and rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. The dough is ready when it feels like soft leather — supple but with resistance.

Finely mince the cold braised veal, pork, and rabbit by hand or through the coarse plate of a mincer — do not blend. The texture must retain detectable pieces. Fold in the chopped spinach or escarole, the grated Parmigiano, and the egg. Mix until cohesive. Taste and adjust salt. The filling should hold its shape when pressed between two fingers but never become a paste.

Roll the rested dough through a pasta machine, progressively, to 0.8 mm — the thinnest setting on most machines, or one setting before. The sheet should be almost transparent when held to the light. Work quickly; the sheet dries fast. Cut into strips approximately 5 cm wide.

This is where the dish lives or dies. Along the centre of each strip, pipe or spoon filling in pea-sized mounds at 2 cm intervals — no more than a thumbnail's worth each. Fold the near edge of the dough up and over the filling to meet the far edge. Press firmly around each mound to expel all air. Using the thumb and forefinger of both hands, pinch-and-pull the dough between each mound with a sharp 'plin' — a decisive lateral pinch — to seal and separate each pillow, creating the characteristic ruffled ruffle between them. The sealed border must show no air pocket and no gap; press and re-pinch any doubtful seal immediately.

Cut along the ruffled edge with a fluted pastry wheel to free the strip of agnolotti, then cut between each pillow along the pinch line to separate them. Transfer to a semolina-dusted cloth in a single layer. Rest uncovered no longer than 30 minutes before cooking.

Warm the clarified butter and sage in a wide pan over a low flame until the butter is fragrant and the sage leaves have relaxed and begun to colour at their edges — no further. Add the reduced roast drippings and swirl to combine. Keep warm off the heat.

Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a rolling boil. Add the agnolotti in batches small enough to keep the water at the boil. Cook for 2 minutes maximum. They are ready when they rise and the ruffled edge turns from raw-pale to a deeper, silky gold — taste one: the pasta should offer the briefest resistance before yielding cleanly.

Lift the agnolotti with a slotted spoon directly into the pan of butter and sage. Toss gently — do not stir aggressively — until each pillow is coated. Serve immediately on warm plates. The dish should reach the table within two minutes of leaving the water.