Wharekauhau Lodge, a luxury property on New Zealand’s north island owned by Bill Foley, overlooks the big blue sweep of Palliser Bay. This seafood pasta is a spinoff of an old classic, using an agnolotti method to incorporate two elements into one.
Ingredients
- For the Pasta
- 3.5 cups 00 flour
- 2 eggs
- 3 egg yolks
- 2 pinches of table salt
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 2 Tbsp. saffron milk (may use water)
- For the Butterfish Mousse Filling
- 2 x fillets of butterfish (skinned and pin boned) or other firm-fleshed fish like black cod
- 2 egg whites
- 1 lemon zest and juice
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- For the Gruyere Cheese Sauce
- ½ cup flour
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 1 ¼ whole milk
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch white pepper
- 1/3 cup Gruyere cheese
- 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
Directions
For the Pasta
Mix the dry ingredients together, then add eggs, olive oil and saffron milk or water and knead for 3-4 minutes. Do not over knead. Leave the dough to rest for 20 minutes before rolling it out.
For the Butterfish Mousse Filling
Wharekauhau uses and recommends Butterfish as it a vegetarian fish that feeds on kelp and is fairly common for coastal fishing with a high sustainability value, however this will work with other firm fleshed fish.
Blend fish, egg whites, lemon zest and juice and heavy cream together, adding salt to taste. Place fish mousse in a piping bag.
For the Gruyere Cheese Sauce
Melt the butter in a sauce pan, add flour and cook out until dough has formed, add warm milk and stir until incorporated into the mixture, keep adding the milk and keep stirring until the lumps are removed and the flour is cooked out, add mustard, place ingredients in blender add cheese and blend until smooth. Place in a piping bag and leave to cool.
To assemble
Roll the pasta out until very thin, then in one half of the pasta, pipe a 2 inch strip of the fish mousse, then next to the mousse pipe a 1 inch strip of the cheese sauce. Fold the pasta over, seal, trim and seal together, place in fridge until ready to use. Do not cover: you want the pasta to dry.
Place pasta in boiling rolling salted water for 3 – 4 minutes. Serve with sauteed spinach and crispy chorizo and shaved parmesan on top. Crispy chorizo can be prepared by thinly slicing the chorizo and drying in a low heat oven until dry.
Pair with a crisp dry Vavasour Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. The tart and acidic nature of Sauv helps cut through the rich creamy texture of this dish.