Sunday, November 8, 2009

Pappardelle with Cripy Prosciutto and Preserved Lemon Butter Sauce


My Mother, Sister and I all have November birthdays, so we pick a restaurant and do a single birthday dinner every year. This year we decided to go to Ella in Sacramento. Tess and I downloaded their menu to see what looked good and we found Pappardelle with Crispy Prosciutto and Preserved Lemon Butter Sauce. It sounded so good that I came up with my own version.

3 slices prosciutto
4 large shallots
1/4 cup white wine
3/4 cup chicken stock
1/2 stick cold diced butter
1/2 of a preserved lemon, diced
chives for garnish

Fresh Pasta
2 2/3 cups unbleached flour
4 eggs
1 1/3 tsp salt

Prepare the fresh pasta, roll out and cut into 3/4" wide noodles.

Cut the prosciutto into 1/4" slices. Fry in a saute pan until crisp. Transfer to a bowl with a slotted spoon. Fry shallots in the rendered prosciutto fat until lightly browned. Add the wine and deglaze the pan, scraping up any brown bits. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the sauce until slightly thickened. Whisk in the butter a little bit at a time. Once the butter is incorporated, add the preserved lemon. Keep sauce warm while you prepare the pasta.

Cook the pasta in plenty of salted boiling water. Cook the pasta until it is almost done. Drain and add to the pan with the sauce. Raise the heat and finish cooking the pasta in the sauce. Toss with the crispy prosciutto and serve in bowls. Garnish with 1 1/2 inch lengths of chives.

This turned out to be very good. I'm curious to see how the Ella version compares.

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