Tortelli, suckling pig, leek, asparagus and liquorice

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Loaded with succulent pork, Gaetano Trovato creates a pasta that is perfect for autumnal suppers as the weather cools. With fresh notes of asparagus and leek, this tortelli dish is capped off with a burst of flavour from a sprinkling of licorice powder. Chef Trovato uses cinta senese pork, a breed native to Siena, Tuscany. If not available, use a locally sourced breed of pig.

First published in 2015

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Suckling pig leg

  • 1 suckling pig leg, preferably Cinta Senese
  • 1 sprig of rosemary
  • 2 garlic cloves, sliced
  • salt
  • pepper

Pasta

  • 135g of semolina flour
  • 135g of 00 flour
  • 180g of egg yolk
  • 20g of egg white
  • 1 pinch of salt

Vegetable broth

Piglet sauce

  • 750g of suckling pig bones, chopped
  • 1 celery stick, roughly chopped
  • 1/2 carrot, roughly chopped
  • 1 white onion, roughly chopped
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • 1.5l water
  • 1 shallot
  • 1/2 cinnamon stick
  • 1 clove
  • 2 juniper berries
  • 4 white peppercorns
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 50ml of white wine

Filling

  • 100g of pork sausages, preferably Cinta Senese
  • 50ml of white wine
  • 100g of leek, sliced
  • 1 dash of extra virgin olive oil
  • 50g of mascarpone
  • 50g of soft cheese
  • 1 handful of Parmesan, aged 36 months

Leek cream

  • 2 leeks, sliced
  • 2 shallots, sliced
  • 1 potato, diced
  • 1 dash of cream
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • salt to season

Asparagus

Garnish

Equipment

  • Pasta machine
  • Water bath
  • Vacuum bag and machine

Method

1
Preheat a water bath to 63°C
2
To prepare the suckling pig leg, wash the leg under cold water, pat dry and carefully remove the bone. Trim away any excess fat but leave the skin intact
  • 1 suckling pig leg, Cinta Senese if available
3
Season with salt and pepper, roll up into a tight cylinder and secure with butcher's string. Place in a vacuum bag with the rosemary and garlic, and seal. Cook for 12 hours. Once cooked, chill in the fridge until completely cold
  • 2 garlic cloves, sliced
  • 1 sprig of rosemary
  • salt
  • pepper
4
To make the pasta, mix the two flours and make a well in the middle. Add the egg yolks, egg white and a pinch of salt
  • 135g of semolina flour
  • 135g of 00 flour
  • 180g of egg yolk
  • 20g of egg white
  • 1 pinch of salt
5
Mix all of the ingredients together until you have a consistent dough, then knead vigorously for a further 15 minutes. Wrap the dough in cling film and allow to rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours
6
To make the vegetable broth, peel and chop the carrots, and onion, chop the celery and mushrooms and place in a pan. Cover with cold water, bring to the boil and simmer for 90 minutes. Strain through a sieve and reserve
7
To make the piglet sauce, preheat the oven to 190°C/gas mark 5
8
Roast the pork bones for 15 minutes. Heat a large saucepan with a little extra virgin olive oil and sweat the celery, carrot and onion until lightly browned
9
Add the pork bones and cover with water. Simmer until reduced by half, top up with cold water and reduce by half again. Pass through a fine sieve
  • 1.5l water
10
Finely chop the shallots and sauté with all the spices in a saucepan with a drizzle of extra virgin olive. Add the white white and reduce. Add the pork stock, reduce to a sauce consistency and pass through a sieve. Set aside until ready to serve
  • 1 shallot
  • 1/2 cinnamon stick
  • 1 clove
  • 2 juniper berries
  • 4 white peppercorns
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 50ml of white wine
11
For the filling, remove and discard the sausage skin and cook the meat in a non-stick pan until well browned, drain in a colander
  • 100g of pork sausages, Cinta Senese if available
  • 50ml of white wine
12
Wipe the pan out whilst still hot and return the sausage to the pan. Deglaze with white wine and remove from the heat. Leave the sausage to cool
13
Heat a saucepan over a medium heat with a little olive oil, add the leek and sweat down without colour then leave to cool
  • 1 dash of extra virgin olive oil
  • 100g of leek, sliced
14
Add the sausage, mascarpone cheese, soft cheese and leek to a bowl with a generous handful of Parmesan and mix thoroughly. Transfer the filling to a piping bag
15
To make the leek cream, put a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil in a saucepan over a medium heat and add the sliced shallots, sweat for a few minutes then add 500ml of vegetable broth and the potato
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 shallots, sliced
16
Next add the leeks, a little more broth and a drop of cream. Continue to cook until the leeks and potato are completely tender and season with salt. Blitz in a blender until smooth and then pass the through a sieve. Keep warm
  • 2 leeks, sliced
  • 1 dash of cream
17
For the asparagus, cut each spear lengthways and place in a saucepan of boiling water to blanch for 1 minute. Refresh in iced water then drain, season with salt and reserve
18
To make the ravioli, roll out the dough on a pasta machine to its thinnest setting then cut out discs with a 7cm cutter
19
Pipe 1 tsp of sausage filling onto each disc. Fold the pasta over to create a semicircle, pressing out any air. Fold the bottom corners of the semicircle around each other to form a tortelli
20
In a non-stick saucepan, roast the pork leg until the skin is crispy. Cut the leg very precisely to give you three pieces per portion. Keep warm. Meanwhile, cook the tortelli for 2–3 minutes in salted boiling water
21
Heat the piglet sauce in a small saucepan and heat the leek cream in another saucepan. Warm the asparagus spears in a pan with a little vegetable broth
22
To serve, spread the leek cream on a serving plate and place 3 totelli, pieces of pork leg and asparagus spears around. Drizzle over the sauce and garnish with a pinch of liquorice powder and the puffed pork rind

Gaetano Trovato places regional ingredients of the highest possible quality at the centre of his cuisine, crafting modern dishes with respect for the great culinary traditions of Italy.

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