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Blackberry Tortellini with Lamb, Verjus and Cauliflower
Recipe by Elise Pulbrook
Try this silky and delicate blackberry tortellini with succulent lamb, verjus and heirloom cauliflower.
- Steps
- Ingredients
Ingredients
Pasta Dough
Lamb Fat Roasted Cauliflower
Verjus, Lamb and Blackberry Sauce
Blackberry Tortellini Filling
Blackberry Pearls
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Steps
- Preheat oven to 200°C.
- For the Pasta Dough, place flour into the bowl of a stand mixer fixed with a dough hook. Make a well into the centre of the flour and pour in egg and egg yolk, blackberry juice and milk. Mix on low speed, scraping down the inside of the bowl until a dough forms. Turn the machine off and feel the dough to ensure it is not too damp or crumbly. Adjust with additional flour and milk accordingly. Once the dough comes together, knead on medium speed for 5 minutes. Wrap dough in cling film and set aside in refrigerator to rest for 30 minutes.
- For the Lamb Fat Roasted Cauliflower, chop lamb fat finely and place into a cold, small saucepan and heat slowly. Once fat has rendered, sieve crispy fat from the rendered fat and set aside. Spread florets and leaves over a lined baking tray. Drizzle with rendered lamb fat and season with salt and pepper. Bake until leaves are golden then remove leaves and set aside. Return cauliflower to the oven and cook for a further 10-20 minutes until browned and tender. Remove from the oven and cover loosely with foil to keep warm.
- For the Verjus, Lamb and Blackberry Sauce, place lamb bones into a flameproof baking dish and brown in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and place over medium heat. Add the oil and onion and cook until caramelised. Add blackberries, bay leaves and peppercorns. Use a potato masher to mash blackberries. Add the reserved crispy lamb fat. Add verjus to the pan and simmer until reduced by half. Pour enough boiling water into pan to cover lamb bones. Allow to simmer until sauce has reduced to a thin syrupy consistency. Pass through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan. Whisk in butter a little at a time and season to taste.
- For the Blackberry Tortellini filling, cook seasoned onion in olive oil until caramelised then set aside. Season lamb meat and cook over a high heat for 2-3 minutes on each side or until medium rare (48°C). Remove from the pan and set aside until cool. Chop lamb meat into a fine dice and place into the canister of a stick blender with onion and sauce. Add a little olive oil and salt and process to a smooth paste. Transfer to a piping bag.
- Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil.
- To assemble the tortellini, divide the dough into 4 portions. Pass through the pasta machine and laminate the sheets 3 to 7 times on thickest setting dusting with flour in between folds until lines are visible in the pasta sheets. Continue to pass the dough through the machine, reducing the thickness of the settings until the sheets are thin enough to see the shadow of your hand through.
- Lay sheets onto a floured bench and using an 8cm cutter, cut out 36 rounds. Pipe ½ teaspoon filling into the centre of each round. Fold in half to cover the filling bringing the two ends together to form a tortellini shape. Set aside on a floured bench.
- Cook the tortellini in the boiling water for 3 minutes until just al dente. In the meantime, gently warm sauce in a saucepan large enough to fit the cooked tortellini. Begin to incorporate cold butter, swirling the pan melt the butter. Take care not to overheat your sauce or else it will split. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the tortellini to the sauce, shaking the pan to coat the tortellini in the sauce. Add a little pasta water and gently toss together until emulsified.
- To make the blackberry pearl garnish, bash frozen blackberries into drupelets using a mortar and pestle. Set aside.
- To plate, serve tortellini with lamb fat roasted cauliflower adorned with blackberry pearls. Drizzle with additional sauce.
