Sage Fettuccine with Burnt Butter and Hazelnuts
A pasta recipe I’m sharing in partnership with Jo Malone London inspired by one of their hero scents, Wood, Sage and Sea Salt.This is one of my favourite pastas to make, It's delicate and really heroes sage as the leaves are pressed inside two sheets of pasta, so when you stretch it out it’s laminated inside and the pasta is infused. When you cut it into fettuccine strands you get these beautiful flecks of green sage throughout the pasta.The sauce is simple too, just butter and sage sauce which really brings out the sage even more. There’s a bit of cheese, crushed hazelnuts for crunch and a bit of lemon at the end to lift the pasta. It is one of the most beautiful pastas to make and eat. This pairs perfectly with my Blackberry, Pear & Stracciatella Salad.
Serves- Serves 4
Ingredients-
Cooking time- 1 hour
Skill Level- Medium
Ingredients
- 300g of tipo 00 flour, sifted plus extra for dusting
- 3 eggs
- 1 bunch of sage
- 50g of parmesan cheese
- Juice of half a lemon, optional
- 1 pinch of grated nutmeg, optional
- 100g of butter
- ¼ cup of hazelnuts, toasted
Watch the process
Method
- Prepare your pasta dough by placing your flour in a mound on your benchtop. Make a well in the centre of your flour, crack in your eggs and begin whisking your eggs with a fork slowly incorporating the flour into the eggs a little bit at a time.
- Once the egg mixture becomes thick, use your hands to knead the dough for about 10 minutes until all the flour has been incorporated. Cover the dough with either an inverted bowl or wrap in cling wrap and allow to rest for at least 30 minutes.
- Whilst waiting for the pasta to rest, crush your hazelnuts either in a mortar and pestle or chop with a knife.
- Your pasta dough should now be smooth and pliable. Generously flour your benchtop with flour and use your hands to shape into a large disk and cut into quarters with a knife.
- Use the pasta rolling attachment of your pasta machine, and start by using the widest setting (normally 1) and gently feed your pasta through once. Fold your pasta into thirds and then feed it through again but flip your pasta sheet 90 degrees so it stretches it out in the opposite direction. This process is called lamination which gives the dough a nice texture. Repeat one more time.
- Then turn your setting to the next level (from 1-2) and feed your pasta dough through the roller. Repeat at least 5 times, each time increasing the roller setting. You may need to cut your sheet in half as the length will increase significantly as you stretch the dough. I use a kitchenaid pasta roller attachment and normally stop at 7 or until my pasta sheet is thin and nearly translucent.
- Once your pasta is fully rolled out, cut it in half so you now have two same length pieces.
- Lay one piece down on the bench and place sage leaves dipped in some water onto the first sheet so it sticks. Feel free to add as many leaves as you want and avoid any older/woody leaves as they can tear the pasta. Place the other pasta sheet over, pressing down gently to bind them together and then run the pasta sheets through your machine a few times again to bind the two sheets together and laminate the sage. You’ll see the sage stretch in the dough and become larger.
- To cut the fettuccine, either use a pasta cutter on your machine or cut by hand with a knife. Dust with some extra flour as you unravel the pasta to make sure it doesn’t stick together and set aside.
- To cook, simply cook in salted boiling water for 2 minutes or until the pasta is al dente.
- To prepare your sauce, simply melt your butter in a pan over medium heat. Once melted, throw in the rest of your sage leaves and continue to cook on medium/high until the butter starts to brown with little burnt flecks forming. As soon as the butter turns golden, turn down the heat to low until the pasta is cooked and ready to be added in. Once your pasta is ready, add to the pan and use a spoon or spatula to coat all the tortellini in the sauce and cook for a further minute.
- Transfer to a platter and garnish with a generous amount of freshly grated parmesan, the hazelnuts, and a squeeze of optional lemon.
