RECIPE BY: Alla Wolf-Tasker, Lake House Daylesford
Serves 10 as a small starter
HERB AGNOLOTTI
Enough for 30 agnolotti
250g “00” flour
4 pastured egg yolks
¼ tsp olive oil
Make a well in the flour, add the wet ingredients and work to combine and knead until elastic. Rest for 20 minutes at room temperature.
Using 2 similar sized small pieces of dough at a time, roll out two long narrow pieces of pasta on a pasta machine, one at a time, on the second last setting. Pipe the herb agnolotti filling (see below) down the middle of one. Brush down both sides of the filling with water. Place the second piece of pasta over the top and press to seal. Press across the filling at equal intermittent intervals to produce rectangle pasta pillows of the size you want. Using a sharp knife or a pasta cutting roller, cut the length of filled pasta into rectangles.
At Lake House we colour the pasta with herb chlorophyll.
HERB AGNOLOTTI FILLING
1 bunch parsley
1 bunch chives
1 bunch basil
½ bunch tarragon
½ bunch mint
1 litre container of loosely packed rocket
1 litre container of loosely packed spinach leaves
200g crème fraîche
2 pastured egg yolks
lemon juice and salt, to season
Blanch all the herbs and leaves and refresh in iced water. Dry well and purée in a Thermomix or strong blender with the crème fraîche and egg yolks until very smooth. Season with lemon juice and salt.
HOUSE RICOTTA
2 litres full cream milk
1 tbs salt
1 tbs citric acid
Place the milk in a Thermomix and set heat to 95C on stir. Or heat to 95C in a non-corrosive pot. Once up to heat, add the salt then add citric acid. Keep stirring until the milk splits. Place the ricotta in an oil filter and allow to hang for 30 minutes in the fridge.
SALSA VERDE
1 bunch basil, leaves picked
1 bunch parsley, leaves picked
15ml lemon pressed olive oil (Agrumato)
1 tbs capers
15ml sherry vinegar
Blanch the herbs in boiling water for 10–15 seconds. Refresh in iced water. Squeeze out any excess water with a clean tea towel. Place the herbs and remaining ingredients in a strong blender or Thermomix and slowly blend up to maximum speed. If required, add a little water to help break down the herbs. Blend until as smooth as possible. Adjust seasoning to taste. Place in a piping bag and place in iced water.
CARROTS EN PAPILLOTE
baby heirloom carrots (3–4 per serve)
300g butter 5 garlic cloves, peeled
5 large thyme sprigs
Wash, trim and scrape or peel the carrots as necessary. (Optional – if your carrots are super fresh, use the tops to make a pesto to go with this dish instead of the salsa verde.) Divide the carrots, butter, garlic and thyme into 5 parcels made from parchment paper and roll the edges to seal. Bake at 160C for 25 minutes. Season, remove carrots from parchment to serve.
To serve: Dot the plate with salsa verde. Place carrots on the plate. Follow with the agnolotti and sprinkle with ricotta. Drizzle with olive oil and garnish with shoots and flowers, and pickled shallots.
Recipe and images taken from Alla’s recent book Three Decades On – Lake House and Daylesford. Order you copy today at lakehouse.com.au.
About the author
Alla Wolf-Tasker AM, Lake House
Alla Wolf-Tasker AM’s story is the stuff of legend. With over 30 years in the region, she has transformed a downtrodden country plot of land into a thriving culinary restaurant, and consequently a food-producing community. Lake House is recognised around the world as one of this country’s great restaurants, and it continues to win numerous accolades within Australia and overseas.
