Making homemade stuffed pastas has become one of my favourite hobbies in the kitchen. Since moving to France, I no longer have access to my dad’s pasta machine, so I have been working hard at perfecting my technique without one. And I think I got it! One of my latest creations was a huge hit: homemade butternut caramelle with brown butter, crispy sage, and blood sausage.
Caramelle pasta is a contemporary shape that resembles caramel candies. I incorporated fresh herbs from my garden into the dough then rolled it out by hand until it was about 1mm thick. I then stuffed each parcel with autumnal harvest goodness. We had a piece of leftover blood sausage made by family friends that was a little too big for one person but just a tad too little for two that also inspired the dish. To bring all the flavours together, I made a simple sauce out of beurre noisette (brown butter) and crispy herbs. It was divine and I wanted to share my recipe with everyone.
INGREDIENTS
For the pasta
~300g Type 00 pasta, plus a few spoonfuls for dusting the surface
3 whole eggs
1/2 tsp salt
A few drops of extra virgin olive oil
For the filling
2 cups of frozen butternut cubes
1 heaping tablespoon of leftover mashed potatoes (without cream or butter)
1 heaping teaspoon of dried sage
A pinch of salt
Freshly ground black pepper
For the garnish
100g butter
2 large sprigs of rosemary, with leaf bunches removed
~100g (about half) of blood sausage
Golden pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
For the filling
- Steam squash until soft. Mash until completely smooth and mix in the rest of ingredients. Let cool.
For the pasta (makes about 4 dozen)
- Place flour on a clean work surface and make a nest. Add the eggs, olive oil, and salt to the center and gently break up the eggs, keeping the flour walls intact. Gently bring the flour inward to incorporate until it forms a ball.
- Knead the dough with your hands for about 10 minutes until it is cohesive and smooth. Roll in a ball and cover with plastic wrap. Leave at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
- After the rest period, cut the dough in 4 pieces. Take out one quarter and leave the rest inside the plastic wrap. Spread flour over a large work area. Roll it dough out into a large rectangle.
- Fold the dough in 3, folding the two long ends to the middle. Roll out into a long rectangle, until 1mm thick.
- Cut dough into rectangles, about 4cm x 12cm. With a brush, very lightly brush on a little bit of water (literally just a couple of drops). This will help glue the dough. Spoon on a tiny amount of filling, about the size of a coin.
- Roll the dough, creating a roll. Press the dough down with your fingers, on either side of the filling. Pinch in the sides so that the pasta looks like caramel candies.
- Set aside on a floured surface to dry for at least an hour.
- Fill a pot with water and sprinkle in some salt. Let boil. Add pasta and cook for about 7-10 minutes. The caramelle will float and the ends should be soft.
Garnish and assembly
- While pasta is cooking, add butter to a large saucepan on medium heat. Once it melts, add rosemary leaf bunches. Stir while butter foams. Keep cooking until butter turns brown and smells nutty. Rosemary should be crispy — about 5 minutes. Remove from heat once ready as it burns easily.
- Crumble blood sausage out of casing. Roughly chop casing and cook everything in a separate pan.
- Once everything is cooked, assemble and eat right away. Place 6-8 pasta on a plate. Spoon on blood sausage crumble and butter. Place crispy rosemary creatively and crush golden pepper. Add fleur de sel if needed. Eat and enjoy my homemade butternut caramelle!
