Oxtail and Pickled Ramp Casoncelli
The Pasta
500g 00 or AP flour
250g Eggs
30g Yolks
Mix ingredients together and knead until the eggs are completely incorporated into the flour.
Wrap with plastic wrap and allow to rest at room temperature for an hour.
Cut off a portion of dough and carefully flatten it with a rolling pin. Dust with flour and roll through the thickest setting on your pasta roller. Roll it a few more times at a slightly smaller setting.
Fold the sheet in half and roll it through again.
Repeat the previous two steps until you get a uniform, rectangular sheet of dough.
Run the pasta through on thinner settings each time until the pasta is quite thin (0.5-0.75mm).
Cut 4cm squares from the sheet and reserve your trim to roll out again later.
Place a small amount of filling in the middle of each square. With one of the corners facing you, roll the casoncelli over until the filling is covered. You should have the top corner of the pasta square still showing. Press down on either side with your index fingers to seal. Then, pinch the top and bottom sides of the filling slightly to adjust the shape. The hydration of the dough should be sufficient to seal on it’s own, but if it doesn’t stick, a light spray of water will suffice.
Place the finished Casoncelli on a floured tray and refrigerate until needed.
The Filling
500g Oxtail
1/2 medium Onion
1 stalks Celery
1 small Carrot
2 cloves Garlic
50mL White wine
150g Tomato passata
500mL Chicken or Beef stock
4 pieces Pickled Ramps (alternatively 3 cloves pickled garlic)
50g Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
Canola oil
Olive oil
Salt to taste
Place the oxtail into a bowl and cover with water and add about a tablespoon of salt. Allow to soak for 3 hours or overnight. Once soaked, remove and pat dry with paper towel.
You will need a frying pan to brown the oxtail and a pressure cooker (you can use an oven safe pot if you don’t have a pressure cooker).
Mince your vegetables either by hand or with a food processor. The smaller the better.
Heat the frying pan on medium high heat and add just enough canola oil to cover the surface of the pan. Add the oxtail and brown on all sides. While the oxtail are browning, cook your soffritto (minced veggies in olive oil) in the pressure cooker for at least 20 minutes with the lid on (no color). Once the oxtail is browned, remove from the pan and discard the spent oil.
Deglaze the frying pan with the white wine and reduce. Add the passata and reduce once more.
Add that and the oxtail into the pressure cooker and top with the stock. Cook in the pressure cooker for 2-2.5 hours. Follow your pressure cooker instructions. Alternatively, if you’re using the oven, set it to 300°F and cook it for at least 4 hours. The meat should fall off the bone easily.
Once cooked, remove the oxtail from the liquid and allow to cool. Remove the bones. Be sure to get them all! Using a chef’s knife, chop the meat as fine as you can get it. Place the meat into a mixing bowl and add a few spoonful’s of the cooking liquid. You’ll have a lot of liquid left over…don’t throw it out! It’s great on it’s own as a pasta sauce when reduced.
Chop the pickled ramps quite small and add them into the meat mixture along with the parmigiano. Season to taste. The mixture should hold itself together. If it seems dry, add more cooking liquid.
The Sauce
300g Butter
1 sprig Sage
Parmigiano Reggiano
In a large pot, get your pasta water boiling.
Melt the butter in a pan and add the sage. Cook until the butter just starts to change color. Add a ladle of pasta water to stop the cooking and thin out the sauce.
Cook the Casoncelli for 3-4 minutes and then strain them into the pan with the butter. Toss until the butter has emulsified into a sauce with the pasta. Serve with a generous helping of grated parm.
