Agnolotti with Potato, Mint & Taleggio Sauce

SERVES 4

For the dough:

400g/14oz rich egg dough

For the filling:

350g/12½oz potatoes, peeled

½ bunch of mint, stalks and leaves separated

40g/1½oz pecorino cheese, grated, plus extra to serve

¼ tsp fine sea salt

For the sauce:

200g/7oz taleggio cheese

100g/3½oz crème fraiche

½ bunch parsley, picked and finely chopped

First make your pasta dough.

To make the filling, place a medium-sized pan of cold water on the hob, add the potatoes and mint stalks and season properly with salt. Bring to the boil and cook the potatoes until they are soft and ready to be mashed (about 15 minutes). Drain, discarding the mint stalks, then mash the potato using a ricer or potato masher. You want the potatoes to have a lovely smooth texture. Allow to cool for a few minutes.

Chop the mint leaves finely and then mix with the pecorino and mashed potato in a large bowl (if the potato is too warm, you will discolour the mint leaves, so don’t rush). Season with ¼ teaspoon of salt. Leave this mix for at least one hour to allow the potato to really absorb the flavour of the mint, then taste it to check the seasoning.

Now it’s time to roll out and fill your pasta.

To make the sauce, break up the taleggio with your fingers, add to the saucepan with the crème fraiche and allow to warm and melt on a low heat, stirring from time to time.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to the boil before adding the salt. Drop in the agnolotti and cook them for 1½–2 minutes.

Using a slotted spoon, scoop out the cooked pasta and drop into the taleggio sauce. Gently swirl the pasta and sauce together, check the seasoning and add the chopped parsley and some freshly ground black pepper.

Voila! Serve with extra grated pecorino if you like. A green salad alongside is good to cut through the rich sauce.