Agnolotti Piemontesi al Plin con Arrosto

Ingredients

• For the pasta dough
• 300 g 00 flour
• 3 whole eggs
• 3–4 extra egg yolks, above the standard whole-egg count
• For the filling
• 150 g braised veal, cooked, very finely chopped — not ground
• 150 g braised pork, cooked, very finely chopped — not ground
• 100 g braised rabbit, cooked, very finely chopped — not ground
• 80 g spinach, cooked, squeezed very dry, finely chopped
• 40 g Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated
• 1 egg, to bind
• 2 tbsp roasting pan juices, scraped from the roast; degreased if very fatty
• 100 ml dry red wine, used in the braise
• For dressing
• 60 g unsalted butter
• 4–5 fresh sage leaves
• 3 tbsp roasting pan drippings, from the three-meat roast

Method

1. 1
   Braise the veal, pork, and rabbit together in dry red wine until fully cooked and tender. Remove from the braising liquid. Allow the meats to cool completely, then chop very finely by hand — the mixture must not be ground. Spread on a clean cloth and press to remove all residual moisture. The filling is ready when a pinch of it leaves no damp trace on the cloth.
2. 2
   Combine the chopped meats with the cooked, squeezed-dry spinach, the grated Parmigiano, the egg, and the scraped roasting pan juices. Mix until homogeneous. The filling must be cohesive and completely dry — press it again in a cloth if any moisture is apparent. This is where the dish lives or dies: a wet filling will swell the pasta, break the seal, and dissolve in the cooking water.
3. 3
   Make the pasta dough by combining 300 g of 00 flour with the whole eggs and the additional yolks. Work until a smooth, firm dough forms — firmer than a standard egg pasta dough, to balance the richness of the filling. Wrap and rest for 1 hour at room temperature. The rested dough should feel supple but not tacky.
4. 4
   Roll the dough to the thinnest setting. Working on a long strip, place small mounds of filling — each the width of a thumb — at regular intervals along one edge, leaving a border of roughly 1 cm. Fold the strip over the filling. Between each mound, pinch the pasta firmly with thumb and forefinger to create the characteristic plin crease and seal each parcel. Cut with a pastry wheel along the folded edge and between each pinch. The seal is sound when the crease holds its shape and shows no air pockets.
5. 5
   Bring a large pan of salted water to a rolling boil. Cook the agnolotti for 90 seconds exactly. They are done when they float and the pasta at the pinch is just tender to the touch of a fingernail — not soft, not resistant.
6. 6
   While the pasta cooks, warm the butter, sage leaves, and roasting drippings together in a wide pan over low heat until the butter is foaming and fragrant with sage. Lift the agnolotti directly from the water with a slotted spoon into the pan. Toss once, gently. The pasta should glisten with drippings and show no pooling of liquid in the serving vessel.