Scarpinnoc Pasta with Carrot Ricotta Puree and Sage Brown Butter Sauce

Have you ever watched the YouTube Channel Pasta Grannies? My boyfriend jokes that I've already watched every cooking video on the internet, but low and behold, I had not seen these!

I have been watching them for the past few nights and am glued to my computer screen. Older women making pasta (mostly by hand) and explaining their culture and why they love pasta.

One of the videos featured Scarpinnoc pasta, where two women near the Lombardy area of Italy made it for a carnival. I was immediately inspired to try a recipe inspired by that. The dough they used, however, was a denser, and filled with a bread crumb filling - so I opted for a thinner, egg based dough with a lighter filling. I hope you try this recipe, you won't be disappointed!

Makes 30 Scarpinnoc (2 servings)

Pasta Dough:

270 g 00 flour, plus more for dusting

6 large egg yolks

1 whole egg

1 tablespoon melted butter

2 tablespoons milk

Filling:

4 carrots, peeled and steamed until tender

1/4 c ricotta, drained to remove excess water

1/4 c grated parmesan cheese

1 egg yolk

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Sauce:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

4-5 sage leaves

3 TBSP water

pinch of salt

Instructions:

To make the dough, create a well in the center of the dough. Add eggs and lightly scramble. Add milk and butter, whisking with a fork to slowly pull flour in from edges. Once incorporated, use your hands and knead dough for 7-10 minutes until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, make filling.

In a food processor, combine all ingredients and puree until smooth. Transfer to a piping bag.

Once dough has rested, portion into 4. Cover the other pieces that you are not using to prevent drying out. Roll out dough until thin, if by hand. I used a pasta machine and worked downward from setting 7 to setting 2. Using a round cookie cutter, cut out circles in pasta dough. Fill with a tsp of carrot filling. Use water or egg wash to wet the rim of circle with your finger. Fold in half to seal, fold once more upon itself, pinch edges and then press down center. (You can YouTube the technique or watch the reel on my Instagram page for a visual). Boil in water for 2-3 minutes.

To make the sauce:

In a medium pan, add butter and cook over medium heat until brown and nutty, about 8-10 minutes. Watch closely as it can go from brown butter to burnt butter quite quickly. Add in sage and fry for 1 minute. Add water and salt, then add cooked pasta and toss to coat and serve. Buon Appetito!