egg yolk with egg tagliolini & spring vegetables

Directions

1. Note: I suggest you make the dough and pasta in the morning and leave it to rest and then prepare the sauce and vegetables that afternoon or evening to serve.
2. For the pasta dough: In a large mixing bowl, mix all the dry ingredients and blend well. With your mixer or by hand, add in the beaten egg yolks and whole eggs and begin to mix into the dry ingredients. Add some of the olive oil and continue mixing until the dough begins to form and come together (add the rest of the oil and some water (in small doses) if needed to get dough to form.
3. Remove dough from bowl, sprinkle counter with flour and begin to knead the dough for approximately 5 to 10 minutes until smooth and combined evenly. Form a ball and place back in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 30 minutes (if cool in the home leave at room temperature; if too warm in the home; place in the refrigerator and remove 5 minutes before ready to roll out the pasta)
4. Slice off sections and roll the dough out until you achieve thin, even sheets and set aside on prepared table covered with cloth and dusted with flour. Once all sheets are rolled out, use the tagliolini cutter to cut the noodles in long strands. Lay the fresh-cut noodles on a clean tablecloth spaced evenly and heavily dusted with flour to prevent sticking. Allow the noodles to rest and dry; move them around gently to ensure no sticking occurs in the drying process.
5. To prepare the vegetables and pasta for serving: Steam the green beans and baby zucchini squash separately until almost fork tender. In a medium skillet, drizzle olive oil and add the steamed green beans, a splash of white wine, a splash of vegetable stock and salt and pepper to taste.
6. Cook on medium heat until the liquid begins to evaporate and the green beans are cooked through. Remove from the skillet and set aside. Repeat this same process with the steamed baby zucchini and set aside.
7. Cooking times may vary depending on the quantity and thickness of the vegetables; test them often and do NOT over cook.
8. Drizzle some olive oil in the skillet and place on medium heat; add the raw asparagus and cook until fork tender; season with salt and pepper and remove from skillet and set aside.
9. Place large stockpot of water to boil on high heat; salt the water liberally until it tastes like the sea.
10. In a medium skillet, drizzle some olive oil and add in the sliced leeks, Vidalia onions and green tops to sauté on medium low heat slowly until they are soft and tender (do NOT brown or cook until crispy.)
11. Season with salt and pepper to taste; remove from heat and set aside.
12. In a medium pot add about a cup to two cups of the vegetable broth and place on low to medium low heat to warm the stock. When the pasta water is at a full boil, add the tagliolini pasta in the water and stir slowly so as not to stick; the fresh eggs and flour can cause the water to foam and overflow; lower the heat if needed and continue stirring to avoid this taking place.
13. Note: I cook about a “handful and a half” of the homemade pasta noodles for each person; some will prefer less, some prefer more. Adjust your individual servings when plating.
14. The water should stay at a good steady boil to cook the noodles properly. Cooking time is only about 5-6 minutes at the most with any homemade fresh pasta noodles.
15. Strain the cooked noodles of all the cooking water and place in a large bowl(drizzle lightly with olive oil and toss gently.) Set aside.
16. Measure the temperature of the warming vegetable stock with a cooking thermometer. The final temperature needs to be around 140 to 145 degrees fahrenheit.
17. Once the stock reaches the temp adjust the heat to keep at this temperature and very gently slide in one of the egg yolks; let it soak for about 15 minutes in the warm stock (remove the yolk gently and place on top of the plated pasta)
18. Meanwhile, in a large skillet melt the butter until liquid; add in the pasta and a good splash of the vegetable stock. Cook on high heat until the liquid dissolves; about 1-2 minutes total. Remove from heat and set aside.
19. To plate this dish, add a layer of the cooked leeks in the center of the plate, then add some of the cooked vegetables on the side (green beans, baby zucchini squash and asparagus.) Place a serving of the cooked pasta on top of the sautéed leeks and onions.
20. Place the carefully removed warmed egg yolk from the warm stock and place on the top of the noodles; garnish with a quenelle of lumpfish roe and season liberally with fresh ground black pepper. Serve immediately.
21. Prepare the rest of the plates as above and warm each egg yolk individually as mentioned above. Serve this beautiful and fresh spring dish with your favorite white wine of choice and a fresh spring greens and vegetable side salad.