Saffron Roast Garlic Cavatelli With Marsala Brown Butter Recipes

CAVATELLI WITH MUSHROOM BUTTER SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat a saucepan over medium heat. Add the oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter and cook until foaming. Add the onions, season with a little salt and saute about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Next, add the mushrooms and some salt and pepper and cook until the mushrooms have released all their liquid, about 5 minutes more. Add the peas and cook until heated through, another 2 minutes. Keep warm.
• Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to a boil and salt generously. Cook the cavatelli pasta to al dente, 4 to 5 minutes for fresh, or according to the package instructions. Set a strainer over a large heatproof measuring cup in the sink and carefully drain the pasta, reserving 2 cups of pasta water.
• Heat a large saute pan over medium heat and add the remaining 3 tablespoons butter. When melted, add the Pecorino Romano and 1 cup pasta water, whisking vigorously. Whisk in the cream. Add the pasta and toss to coat. Season with salt and add additional pasta water if the sauce is too thick. Stir in the mushroom mixture.
• Serve immediately, garnishing with additional freshly ground black pepper and freshly grated cheese.
• Combine the 00 and semolina flours with the salt in a food processor fitted with a metal blade; pulse a couple times. Add the olive oil and 1 cup room-temperature water to the flour mixture and pulse a few more times. Mix until a shaggy mass forms, then turn out onto a clean surface. Knead vigorously until the dough is smooth, elastic and bounces back when pressed, about 10 minutes.
• Cut the dough in half and work with one piece at a time (cover the other piece with a clean, damp kitchen towel). Using a bench scraper or knife, cut a walnut-sized piece of dough and roll it into a thin rope about 1/3 inch in diameter. Using the 4 fingers of your hand (no thumb), roll the rope of dough back and forth until it is a long, slender, tube-like shape (but not enclosed like a tube). Halve the pieces of pasta. Set aside on a clean towel sprinkled with semolina flour. Repeat with the remaining dough. Rest the pasta for 30 minutes.
• To cook, generously salt a large pot of boiling water. Add the cavatelli and cook until al dente, 4 to 5 minutes. Drain and use with your sauce recipe of choice.

BROOK TROUT WITH PECANS, LEMON, AND PARSLEY BROWN BUTTER

Steps:

• Zest and juice both lemons, separately reserving the zest and the juice. Set aside.
• Combine 1 1/2 cups of the pecans with the bread crumbs and 1/4 cup of the parsley on a large plate.
• Open up and cut the trout, diagonally, into two fillets. Season both the flesh and skin sides with salt and pepper to taste, and then, working with one at a time, press the flesh side of the trout into the pecan mixture to make a thin coating.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Using a tablespoon of the peanut oil, generously grease a baking sheet. Set aside.
• Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a large saute pan over high heat. When very hot but not smoking, add 6 trout fillets and sear to set the crust. Turn and sear the other side. Using a fish spatula or a large, wide spatula, transfer the trout to the prepared baking sheet. Add additional oil to the pan and continue to sear the remaining trout. When seared, transfer to the prepared baking sheet.
• Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven and bake the trout for about 7 minutes or until cooked through.
• While the trout is baking, melt the butter in a nonstick saute pan over medium-high heat. Watching carefully and lowering the heat if necessary, allow the butter to foam and turn golden brown. Immediately add the lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. While the butter is still foaming, add the remaining pecans and parsley. Do not allow the butter to burn or it will be unusable.
• Place 2 fillets on each of 6 dinner plates and pour the Parsley Brown Butter over the top. Sprinkle with reserved lemon zest and serve. NOTE: A nice assortment of spring or baby vegetables can be served as an optional garnish.

CREAM OF GARLIC & SAFFRON SOUP

Steps:

• Soak the saffron in 2 tbsp hot water for 10 minutes. Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the garlic (and its skin), onion, celery and bay leaf to the pan, stir to coat in the butter, then cook very gently, covered, for about 15-20 minutes. The garlic and onions should be very soft and tender but not at all browned, so keep the heat low.
• Uncover and add the sherry, raise the heat and bring to the boil then add the stock, saffron and its liquid, 1 tsp salt and a good grinding of fresh black pepper. Bring to the boil, stir in the rice and simmer gently for 15 minutes or until the rice is just cooked. Fish the bay leaf out and discard.
• Liquidise the soup then sieve back into the pan (this gets rid of any bits of skin). Pour in the cream and reheat until hot. Adjust the seasoning adding a little lemon juice to taste if liked and thin with a splash of milk if too thick. Serve sprinkled with croûtons.