Silk handkerchief pasta with dill, brown butter and lemon

Silk handkerchief pasta with dill, brown butter and lemon

Fresh egg pasta dough works just as well with wholewheat flour – why not try it out with these silk handkerchief shapes (fazzoletti)? They’re easy to cut out as there’s no uniformity needed. Nutty browned butter adds toastiness alongside fragrant dill and zesty lemon for a bright finish.

Silk handkerchief pasta with dill, brown butter and lemon

You’ll also love this silky paccheri pasta with lamb ragu recipe from London restaurant Bancone.

  • Serves icon Serves 4
  • Time icon Hands-on time 50 min, plus chilling

Fresh egg pasta dough works just as well with wholewheat flour – why not try it out with these silk handkerchief shapes (fazzoletti)? They’re easy to cut out as there’s no uniformity needed. Nutty browned butter adds toastiness alongside fragrant dill and zesty lemon for a bright finish.

You’ll also love this silky paccheri pasta with lamb ragu recipe from London restaurant Bancone.

Nutrition: Per serving

Calories
520kcals
Fat
28g (13g saturated)
Protein
15g
Carbohydrates
48g (1.3g sugars)
Fibre
7.7g
Salt
0.5g

Ingredients

  • 300g YQ wheat flour (or similar sustainably-grown strong wholemeal flour), plus extra to dust
  • 3 medium free-range eggs
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 80g salted butter
  • Juice 1 lemon
  • 20g dill, fronds chopped

Specialist kit

  • Pasta machine
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Method

  1. Sift the flour with a good pinch of salt onto a clean work surface in a mound (you’ll lose a few coarse flecks of flour here but that’s okay). Press the base of the sieve into the flour to make a large well in the centre. Crack the eggs into a jug with the oil, whisk to combine, then pour the mixture into the well.
  2. With your fingers shaped like a claw, gradually incorporate the flour into the beaten egg mixture. Make circular stirring motions to bring increasing amounts of flour into the egg mixture. When the mixture has come together as a dough it’s ready (you may not need all the flour).
  3. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes as if you’re making bread – it needs to be smooth and spring back to the touch. If the dough is too dry and cracks start to appear, add 1-2 tbsp water and knead for a bit longer. If the dough is too wet and sticky, add a little more flour. Form the dough into a ball, flatten into a disc, then wrap well and chill for 30 minutes.
  4. Divide the dough into 4 batches, keeping the rest wrapped while not being rolled out. Flatten and shape a portion of the dough into a rectangle (making sure it will fit widthways through the pasta machine rollers). If the dough seems a little wet, lightly dust it with flour. Set the pasta machine to its widest setting, then carefully pass the dough through the rollers and fold in half, end to end. Repeat 2-3 times, folding and passing the dough through the rollers each time. If the dough is sticking, sprinkle the machine and work surface with a little flour. Once the dough has gone through the widest setting 2-3 times, narrow the machine setting by a notch, then continue to wind the pasta through, without folding the dough. The dough will get longer and thinner. Carry on rolling the dough through, narrowing the rollers by a notch each time, until you’ve reached the thinnest setting and have a thin sheet. You can divide the strip in half if it becomes too long and unmanageable.
  5. Once you’ve finished rolling out a sheet of pasta, lay it on a lightly floured work surface and use a pizza wheel to cut into rough squares, around 5cm wide (although it doesn’t matter too much). Dust the squares with a little flour and set aside while you make the rest.
  6. Melt the butter in a large pan, then continue cooking over a medium heat until it turns nutty and golden. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pan of salted boiling water for 1-2 minutes until just tender. Drain the pasta, reserving some of the water. Add the pasta to the pan of brown butter along with the lemon juice, dill and a glug of the pasta water. Cook, stirring, until coated in the buttery sauce. Season with black pepper and and serve with lemon wedges, if you like.

Nutrition

Nutrition: per serving
Calories
520kcals
Fat
28g (13g saturated)
Protein
15g
Carbohydrates
48g (1.3g sugars)
Fibre
7.7g
Salt
0.5g

FAQs

What is YQ flour?
Population wheats take “a number of varieties, cross them every which way so they are genetically diverse and then plant them all in a field.” says baker Anna Higham. “Each year, as you grow and resow that population, the plants that survive will be best suited to that piece of land, giving the crop strength and resilience.” The Organic Research Centre (ORC) has been working with Wakelyns Agroforestry since 2001, using 20 different varieties to produce a wheat which offers good levels of Yield and Quality: YQ wheat. It's available from brands including Hodmedods, Wildfarmed and Matthews Cotswolds Flour.

Buy ingredients online

Recipe By:

Emily Gussin
Food producer and sustainability lead, delicious.

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