Cjarsons — Sweet-Savory Pasta of Carnia

Ingredients

• For the pasta dough
• 300 g tipo 00 flour
• 3 eggs
• 1 pinch fine salt
• For the filling
• 200 g ricotta affumicata, grated
• 1 medium potato, boiled and riced
• 40 g raisins
• 40 g dried figs, finely chopped
• 30 g amaretti biscuits, crushed
• 20 g dark chocolate, finely grated
• 1 small pear, peeled and finely diced
• 1 tbsp chervil, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 1 tsp marjoram, finely chopped
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 lemon, finely grated zest only
• 1 tsp fine salt, or to taste
• To serve
• 100 g unsalted butter
• 60 g ricotta affumicata, finely grated
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Method

1. 1
   Make the pasta dough. Mound the flour on a work surface, form a well, and break the eggs into it with the salt. Draw the flour in gradually and work to a smooth, firm dough. Knead for 8–10 minutes. Wrap and rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. The dough is ready when it is silky, supple, and springs back slowly when pressed.
2. 2
   Make the filling. Combine the grated ricotta affumicata, riced potato, raisins, dried figs, crushed amaretti, grated chocolate, diced pear, chervil, parsley, marjoram, cinnamon, and lemon zest. Season with salt. Mix thoroughly. Taste the filling before proceeding — this is where the dish lives or dies: it must be simultaneously surprising, clearly savoury from the smoked cheese, and clearly sweet from the fruit and spice, with neither register overpowering the other. Adjust salt or cinnamon if either balance is absent.
3. 3
   Roll the rested dough through a pasta machine to a thin sheet, approximately 1–2 mm. Cut rounds of 8–10 cm diameter. Place a modest amount of filling — no more than a level teaspoon — at the centre of each round. Overloading will split the seal. Fold the round into a half-moon, pressing firmly from the centre outward to expel air. Crimp the edges to seal. The edge should feel firmly bonded with no air pockets when pressed.
4. 4
   Bring a large pan of well-salted water to a rolling boil. Cook the cjarsons in batches, without crowding. They are done when they float and the pasta at the thickest point of the fold offers slight resistance when pressed between two fingers — approximately 3–4 minutes.
5. 5
   While the pasta cooks, heat the butter in a wide pan over medium heat until it foams, subsides, and turns a pale nut-brown. Remove from the heat. The aroma should be distinctly hazelnut — not raw, not acrid.
6. 6
   Lift the cjarsons from the water with a slotted spoon and transfer directly to the browned butter. Turn gently to coat. Plate immediately, dust with ground cinnamon, and finish with a generous grating of ricotta affumicata. The surface should show the speckle of cinnamon over the gloss of butter.