Ingredients
The recipe for agnolotti varies according to the area of production, for example: in the Monferrato and in the Torinese area we find inside pork, veal, roast meat and brains; in the Basso Canavese cabbage and sausage are also added, in the Tortonese and in Alessandrino instead the filling consists of an overcooked beef.
Also very widespread in this area is "agnolotto dal plin", which literally means "pinch", particularly for its boat shape. Its preparation is this:
Start with the preparation of the filling. Cook the escarole in boiling water, drain it, let it cool and chop it finely. Mince the onion, carrot, celery and sauté in extra virgin olive oil with garlic, rosemary and bay leaf; add the meats and brown them all together; salt and pepper. Lower the heat and cook for a couple of hours, adding, if necessary, some water or broth. Let it cool and pass in the meat grinder, then mix the mixture with the egg and grated Parmigiano reggiano (Parmesan) cheese.
At this point dedicate yourself to the pasta, placing the flour in a fountain and adding the beaten eggs and yolk and half a glass of water. Work the dough carefully and roll out the dough as thin as possible, passing the rolling pin several times over the dough. Then place the dough on the pastry - immediately to prevent it from drying out – add small amounts of stuffing, placing them at about one centimeter from the edge of the dough and from one another. Fold the edge of the pastry onto the row of dollops and close it, pressing with a pinch "plin" at the height of each filling; then separate the agnolotti one by one with the special crimped pasta wheel and let them rest in a cool place for a couple of hours.
Cook them in abundant salted water for three to four minutes and drain them with a slotted spoon. Serve them on a hemp napkin without seasoning - so you can thoroughly taste the stuffing - or with the sauce of the three roasts passing it through a sieve.
The small agnolotti with very thin dough, closed with a pinch (plin or pëssià in dialect), are typical of the high Langa Albese: in recent years they have spread throughout Piemonte (Piedmont) and have acquired admirers even from outside the regional borders.