Agnolotti del Plin di...Agnolotti del Plin di Coda alla Vaccinara con Consommé di Parmigiano Reggiano

Delicate hand-pinched Piedmontese pasta parcels filled with rich, Roman-style braised oxtail, suspended in a crystal-clear 36-month Parmigiano Reggiano consommé with drops of vibrant wild thyme oil.

Ingredients

Cooking Instructions

1. 01

   For the consommé, combine the cleaned Parmigiano Reggiano rinds and mineral water in a saucepan. Bring to 85°C (barely trembling) and maintain for 2 hours to extract pure umami without emulsifying fats. Strain through a wet cheesecloth, chill to solidify surface fats, remove fat disc, and pass through a coffee filter until crystalline. Season lightly and reserve warm.

2. 02

   For the filling, sear seasoned oxtail pieces in a heavy enameled cocotte over high heat until deeply browned. Remove oxtail, discard excess fat, and gently sweat shallot, carrot, and celery until translucent. Deglaze with Nebbiolo, reducing by three-quarters.

3. 03

   Return oxtail to the cocotte, add crushed San Marzano tomatoes, cocoa powder, and enough water to submerge halfway. Cover and braise at 140°C for 3.5 hours until falling off the bone. Shred meat finely while hot, reduce the braising liquor until glossy and syrupy, and fold it back into the meat. Season to perfection and chill thoroughly in a piping bag.

4. 04

   For the thyme oil, blanch thyme sprigs in boiling salted water for 5 seconds, shock in ice water, dry thoroughly, and blend with Ligurian olive oil on high speed at 60°C for 4 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve to yield an emerald-green aromatic oil.

5. 05

   For the pasta, knead Tipo 00 flour with the yolks and whole egg until supple and elastic (approx. 10 minutes). Vacuum-seal or wrap tightly in plastic and rest at room temperature for 45 minutes.

6. 06

   Roll the pasta sheet down to setting 8 (less than 1mm thick). Pipe small hazelnut-sized mounds of chilled oxtail filling 2cm apart along the lower half of the sheet. Fold pasta over, press firmly between fillings to expel air, and pinch ('plin') each dumpling securely. Cut with a fluted pasta wheel into classic pocketed agnolotti.

7. 07

   Cook the agnolotti in rolling, salted water for 90 to 110 seconds until tender with a subtle al dente bite. Drain carefully with a perforated spider.

8. 08

   To assemble, arrange 7 to 9 agnolotti neatly in the center of shallow, warmed porcelain bowls. Garnish with micro celery leaves and delicate thyme blossoms. At the table, pour steaming Parmigiano consommé gently around the pasta, finishing with split droplets of vibrant green thyme oil.