Silk handkerchiefs with beurre blanc and confit egg yolks
Silk handkerchief pasta is a signature dish from the Liguria region of Italy.
Ingredients
For the confit eggs
- 250ml/9fl oz vegetable oil
- 4 egg yolks
For the silk handkerchiefs
- 24 fresh lasagne sheets, cut into 12.5cm/4¾in squares
- 100²µ/3½´Ç³ú walnuts, toasted and finely chopped
- 20g/¾oz grated Parmesan
For the beurre blanc
- 2 shallots, thinly sliced
- 4 juniper berries
- 4 peppercorns
- 1 bay leaf
- 150ml/5fl oz white wine
- 200g/7oz unsalted butter
- few dashes condimento morbido or white wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp double cream
Method
To make the confit eggs, bring the oil to 65C in a saucepan, checking the temperature carefully using a thermometer to ensure it does not exceed this. Carefully drop in the egg yolks and leave to cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the yolks reach the consistency of very soft-boiled egg yolks.
For the silk handkerchiefs, bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil, drop in the pasta squares and cook for 2–3 minutes, or until al dente.
To make the beurre blanc, heat the shallots, juniper, peppercorns, bay leaf and wine in a small saucepan and boil until the volume has reduced by half. Slowly whisk in the butter until combined, then add the vinegar and cream. Pass the sauce through a fine sieve and set aside.
Put some of the grated Parmesan in the base of four serving bowls and lay the pasta squares on top in each bowl, folding them over so they slightly overlap with each other. Place a confit egg yolk in the centre of the pasta in each bowl, pour over some sauce, then sprinkle over the remaining Parmesan and the walnuts and serve.
