RECIPE: Agnolloti of Beef Cheeks with Porcinis and Gremolata

This ravioli-style dish, inspired by our trip to Piedmont, riffs on Mario Batali’s famous Beef Cheek Ravioli with Crushed Squab Liver and Black Truffles from his Ristorante Babbo Enoteca menu, and contrasts the deep flavors and warm comfort of the braised meat and pasta with the earthiness of the porcinis, on the one hand, and the ethereal qualities of the gremolata.

Agnolloti of Beef Cheeks with Porcinis and Gremolata

Ingredients

For the Beef Cheeks

• 1 pound beef cheeks
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 2 stalks of celery, diced
• ½ bottle of red wine
• ½ cup of beef stock
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt and Pepper to taste

For the Pasta

• 2 cups semolina flour
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 5 eggs
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 pinch salt

For the Sauce

• 3 shallots, minced
• 3 tablespoons of dried porcini mushroom, rehydrated and chiffonaded
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ bottle of red wine
• 3 cups of beef stock
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

For the Gremolata

• 1 bunch Italian (flat-leaf) parsley, finely minced
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and finely minced
• 1 lemon
• Salt and Pepper to taste

For the Garnish

• Truffle oil or very good quality extra virgin olive oil
• Parmigiano-Reggiano (or Grana Padana or Pecorino Romano) cheese for grating.

1. Braise the Beef Cheeks. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a dutch oven over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. While the oil is heating, pat beef cheeks dry and season with salt and pepper. Brown cheeks, without crowding (working in batches if necessary), on all sides, about 10 minutes total, and transfer with tongs to a bowl. Pour off the fat from pot, then add remaining 2 tablespoons oil and cook onion, carrot, and celery over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes. Return the cheeks to the put and pour in the wine, scraping up any brown bits. Add the beef stock to the pan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and maintain the simmer until the cheeks are very tender, about three hours.
2. Make the Pasta Dough. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with its dough hook, mix the pasta ingredients and knead into a smooth, soft dough. Stretch the layer of pasta to a thickness of less then 1/16 of an inch (on a pasta machine, take it to its last notch).
3. Make the Agnolloti. Lay one sheet of pasta on a floured surface, and place heaping teaspoons of the filling on the pasta at 1 1/2-inch intervals, in lines 1 1/2 inches apart, until you have covered half the sheet. Brush the edges of the dough with water, and fold over the uncovered side of the dough. Pinch edges to seal. Using a fluted pastry wheel cut down the length of the dough between the mounds of filling. Then cut each strip into individual ravioli parcels. Pinch and crimp all edges with a fork to seal, using a little water if necessary. Repeat with all dough and all filling. Arrange the ravioli in a single layer on a floured dish towel, and let them dry for about ½ an hour, turning them over after 15 minutes.
4. Make the Sauce. Place the minced shallots, porcinis and bay leaf in a sauce pan with half the wine and 1 cup of the stock and reduce to barely ¼ the original volume. Strain the porcinis and shallots from the sauce reserving them for use as a garnish. Return the remaining liquid to the pan, add the tomato paste as well as the remaining wine and stock, whisk well to fully incorporate the tomato paste and reduce to desired sauce consistency.
5. Cook the Agnolloti. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the agnolloti and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, until tender. When ready, the pasta will rise to the surface of the water.
6. Make the Gremolata. Using a lemon zester, remove about 1 teaspoon of lemon zest and finely mince. Keep in mind that the zest is the outer yellow peel of a lemon. Be careful not to include any of the white pith below the skin because it is bitter. Combine the minced lemon zest with the remaining ingredients in a bowl and season to taste with Kosher salt and black pepper.
7. Assemble the Dish. Place four agnolloti across the center of each plate with a horizontal line of the gremolata “below” it on the plate as a garnish to be incorporated with each bite. Top the agnolotti with the sauce, garnish with the porcinis and drizzle with truffle oil or extremely good quality extra virgin olive oil. Grate parmagiano-regiano cheese as desired.