Tagliatelle with Shad Roe, Pancetta and Spinach
- 2 cups water
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- ½ small onion, thinly sliced
- ½ celery stalk, thinly sliced crosswise
- 1 sprig thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pair shad roe (about ½ pound) ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 ounces thinly sliced pancetta, cut into ¼-inch-wide strips
- 6 shallots, minced
- 2 small garlic cloves, minced
- ¾ pound Fresh Pasta, cut into tagliatelle
- 3 cups lightly packed flat-leaf spinach, trimmed of thick stems, washed, dried, and cut into ¼-inch-wide strips
- ½ teaspoon finely chopped fresh tarragon
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions:
Take care not to overcook the roe during the initial poaching, or the resulting sauce will be grainy rather than creamy.
- Bring the water, white wine, onion, celery, thyme, and bay leaf to a boil in a medium saucepan. Season with salt and pepper. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Gently slip the roe sacks into the liquid (you don’t want the membranes holding everything together to rupture) and simmer for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the roe to cool in the liquid.
- Carefully remove the cooled roe sacks from the poaching liquid. Remove the blood vessel and any thick pieces of membrane. Split the membranes holding the roe, and scrape it into a bowl. Use a fork to mash the clumps into individual eggs. Remove any obvious remaining membrane. Season with salt and pepper, cover tightly, and refrigerate.
- Put a large pot of water on to boil.
- Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a medium sauté pan over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook until the fat starts to render, about a minute. Don’t let it get too crispy. Add the shallots and garlic and cook until tender, about 2 minutes. Keep warm.
- Season the boiling water with salt and add the pasta, stirring so the individual strands remain separate. Cover the pot if necessary to bring the water back to a boil. Cook for 1 minute, then stir again. Continue to check periodically to make sure the strands aren’t sticking together, and cook until the tagliatelle is tender but still offers a little resistance when you bite into it, about 3 minutes. Before draining the pasta, use a measuring cup to scoop out ¼ cup of the pasta water. Set it aside.
- Pour the pasta into a colander. While it’s draining, return the pancetta, garlic, and shallots to high heat. Add the spinach and tarragon and toss quickly, just until the spinach has wilted. Season with salt and pepper; remove from heat and keep warm.
- Transfer the pasta to a large warm bowl. Pour the spinach mixture over it and add the roe. Toss well. If the sauce seems too thick to coat the pasta, add a little of the reserved pasta water to thin it, then toss again. Season with the lemon juice, salt, and pepper, being especially generous with pepper. Serve immediately.