Tagliatelle with confit fennel, chilli and egg yolk
Fresh pasta is a wonderful thing, and this silky tagliatelle dish from Henry Freestone shows you how to make it from scratch. Served with a buttery slow-cooked fennel, chilli and garlic sauce, it's topped with an extra egg yolk for added richness, plus a blanket of Parmesan and crispy breadcrumbs for crunch. A perfect dish for any occasion, although if you're strapped for time during the week you can simply use ready-made fresh tagliatelle and focus on the sauce.
First published in 2021
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Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
Pasta
- 250g of 00 flour
- 10 egg yolks
- 1 dash of olive oil
Sauce
- 2 fennel, cores removed and finely sliced
- 8 garlic cloves, peeled
- olive oil, for frying and confiting
- 100g of breadcrumbs, ideally sourdough but Panko work well too
- 2 red chillies, finely sliced
- 60g of unsalted butter, chilled and diced
- 1 lemon, finely zested
- 4 egg yolks
- Parmesan, finely grated, to serve
SAVE RECIPE
Method
1
If you’re making the pasta from scratch, begin with this. Pour the flour to a clean work surface and make a well in the middle. Add the egg yolks and a dash of olive oil, then mix in the flour a little at a time with a fork. Continue doing this until a dough begins to form
- 250g of 00 flour
- 10 egg yolks
- 1 dash of olive oil
2
Knead the dough using the heel of your hand for around 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Shape into a disc, wrap tightly in cling film and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes
3
Once the pasta dough has rested, unwrap it and roll it out a little. Set up a pasta machine and run the dough through it on the widest setting. Repeat this process, changing the setting to the second widest, then third widest, until you reach the thinnest setting and have a thin, long sheet of pasta dough (you may need to cut it into 2 or more sheets, depending how much room you have on your work surface)
4
If your pasta machine has a tagliatelle cutter, run the sheets through it to create ribbons. If not, you can cut the tagliatelle into ¾cm strips. Place on a tray dusted with semolina and give the ribbons a quick toss to stop them from sticking. If making the pasta in advance, cover with a damp cloth to stop it drying out
5
For the sauce, place a heavy-bottomed saucepan over a low heat. Take 2 of the garlic cloves and bash them with the flat side of a knife to crush them slightly, then add to the pan with the fennel. Pour in enough olive oil to cover around a third of the fennel
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- 2 fennel, cores removed and finely sliced
- olive oil, for frying and confiting
6
Cover the pan with a cartouche. You can make one of these by taking a sheet of baking paper, then folding it into triangles to create a circle (watch the video for more guidance on how to do this). Leave the fennel to cook, stirring occasionally, for 30-45 minutes, or until the fennel is translucent and soft
7
Meanwhile, fry the breadcrumbs in a non-stick pan with a generous drizzle of olive oil until golden and crisp. Drain on kitchen paper and set aside
- 100g of breadcrumbs, ideally sourdough but Panko work well too
8
When the fennel is ready, bring a large pan of liberally salted water to the boil and place a frying pan over a medium heat. Finely slice the remaining 6 garlic cloves, then pour a few tablespoons of the oil used to cook the fennel into the frying pan. Add the sliced garlic and chilli and cook for a few minutes until soft but not coloured. Drain the fennel from the oil and add to the frying pan, then continue to cook over a very low heat
- 6 garlic cloves, peeled
- 2 red chillies, finely sliced
9
Plunge the pasta into the boiling salted water and cook for around 2-3 minutes. Just before the pasta is ready, add around a ladleful of pasta water to the fennel, then turn the heat up
10
Drain the pasta and add to the pan with the fennel, tossing everything together vigorously for a minute or two, adding the diced butter and lemon zest. Season to taste with salt (if needed)
- 60g of unsalted butter, chilled and diced
- 1 lemon, finely zested
11
To serve, divide the pasta between 4 plates. Carefully place an egg yolk on top of each mound of pasta, then cover liberally in grated Parmesan. Finish with a sprinkling of breadcrumbs for crunch. Just before eating, mix the raw egg yolk into the warm pasta at the table to enrich the sauce
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