Post subject: Passatelli in Morel broth  Posted: May 16th, 2011, 8:49 pm |
Passatelli in Morel broth
Soup
Makes 8 Servings
Cook Time: ~1 Hour
Ingredients:
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons whole coriander seed
1 tablespoon whole fennel seed
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 large shallots (3 ounces), peeled and sliced thin
6 cloves garlic (¾ ounce), peeled and sliced thin
¼ cup dry sherry
2 quarts unsalted chicken stock (divided)
8 ounces fresh or 1 ½ ounces dried morels (quickly plunge morels in room-temperature water, swirl, and lift out before using)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 thin green onions, trimmed, cut in julienne, rinsed under warm water and drained
Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese to finish
[ Passatelli:
3 ounces bread crumbs (about ½ cup) (see note)
3 ounces grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (about a scant ¾ cup)
¾ ounce (2 tablespoons) semolina
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon kosher salt
2 eggs ]
Tie bay leaves, coriander seed, fennel seed, thyme and peppercorns in a spice bag. Place a soup pot over medium-low heat. Add oil. Add shallots, garlic and spice bag and sauté 2 minutes. Add sherry and reduce until dry. Add 6 cups of the chicken stock, bring to a simmer, cover and let steep for half an hour. Strain, then return stock to pot with spice bag and discard shallots and garlic.
While stock is steeping, place remaining 2 cups chicken stock in a second smaller pot, add the cleaned morels, and bring to a simmer. Cover, turn off heat and let steep 10 minutes. Lift morels from stock with a slotted spoon and lightly squeeze any juice back into the pot. Place mushrooms in a bowl, cover with cold water, swirl, lift out and repeat two more times to remove any residual sand.
After morel stock has settled, carefully and slowly strain though 4 thicknesses of cheesecloth into the larger pot of chicken stock (leave any residual sand behind at the end of the pour).
Cut any of the large morels into halves or quarters lengthwise, place in the stock, bring to a slow simmer, and simmer, covered, for half an hour (you should end up with about 6 cups of morel broth). Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and reserve.
While stock is simmering, make passatelli.
When ready to serve, divide passatelli among 8 bowls. Divide boiling hot morel broth over passatelli, garnish with green onions and grated Parmagiano-Reggiano, and serve.
[ Passatelli
In a bowl, mix bread crumbs, cheese, semolina, flour, nutmeg, pepper and salt. Whisk together to evenly distribute. Lightly whisk eggs. Make a well in center of dry mixture, add eggs, quickly incorporate into dry mixture to evenly coat - do not overmix - to form a loose dough. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and let sit on the counter for half an hour.
After the half-hour, place a large pot of salted water on the stove to bring it to a boil.
While water is heating, either pass the dough through a passatelli extruder, which has about ¼-inch holes, or a spaetzle press. (I find a potato ricer's holes are a bit too small.) A last option is to roll out the dough to about ¼-inch thickness and cut it into ¼-inch strands.
As soon as strands are cut, turn the burner under the water to its lowest setting and immediately place the passatelli strands into the water. Cover and let cook 3 minutes. Carefully skim out the passatelli from the water and divide it among the bowls as directed in the recipe above. (Don't worry if they break into different-size pieces.)
Notes: Use good-quality, very dry artisan bread. I like to use multigrain or whole-wheat.
If you'd like, you can cook the strands right in the morel broth, but it's a bit harder to divide when serving because the strands are delicate. ]
--Sandy D'Amato
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