Speck and Truffle Linguini from Le Serpent

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Look no further for an amazing pasta recipe! Le Serpent‘s Speck and Truffle Linguini is one of our favourite pasta dishes ever! It is a great pleasure to be able to share the recipe with you here.

But first, the quick little backstory. Le Serpent opened in 2013 and is one of the best Italian restaurants in Montreal. In the beautiful Darling Foundry, the restaurant took over the space previously occupied by the Cluny. With very high ceilings and many windows, the industrial space was very impressive to begin with. On the roof of the Foundry is a spiral chimney which, at the turn of the century, was used to reduce the fumes of molten metal from the foundry. It is this spiral that inspired the name of the restaurant, almost 100 years later. The address is one of the most beautiful restaurants in Montreal.

Le Serpent is a contemporary Italian restaurant known for its delicacies of all kinds, but particularly for its pasta and risotto. Among the best dishes of the house, we find their famous Speck and Truffle Linguini—a perfect blend of Italian flavours. Trust us, they will leave no one indifferent. To taste them is to fall in love with the cuisine of chef Michele Mercuri. And now, you can fall in love with them in the comfort of your own home!

Speck and Truffle Linguini

Serves: 4
Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooking: 8 minutes

Ingredients

The dough
  • 375 g flour
  • 2.5 g salt
  • 10 ml olive oil
  • 2 whole eggs
  • 5 egg yolks
The sauce
  • 500 g chicken stock
  • 40 g unsalted butter
  • 140 g cauliflower (blanched and finely sliced)
  • 50 g truffle paste
  • 50 g speck (sliced and julienned)
  • 300 g fresh linguini
  • Salt and pepper
  • 25 g chopped chives
  • 1 drizzle truffle oil
  • 60 g grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
  • 16 g chopped roasted almonds

Method

The dough 
  1. In a mixer, on low speed, combine the flour and salt. Gently fold in the liquid ingredients and mix for about 7 to 9 minutes, until a ball forms.
  2. Wrap the ball of dough in plastic wrap and let stand for 20 minutes at room temperature.
  3. Cut off a piece of the dough ball and flatten it so that it fits easily into the widest setting of the pasta machine.
  4. Decrease the setting of the pasta machine by one notch at each pass until the desired thickness is reached, about 3 mm.
  5. Do this for the entire dough.
  6. Insert the dough into the hand-cranked machine and cut into sections of about 10 inches.
The sauce 
  1. In a large saucepan, combine all the ingredients except the truffle oil, Parmigiano Reggiano and butter and simmer gently over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes.
  2. Cook the pasta in boiling salted water until desired doneness. Reserve some cooking water before straining.
  3. Add the cooked pasta to the sauce in the large skillet and cook together for 45 seconds, then add the butter and Parmesan cheese, stirring until smooth. If necessary, add a little cooking water if the mixture is too thick.
  4. Finish with a drizzle of truffle oil.

The Le Creuset Braiser‘s wide shape and curved sides make it the perfect piece of cookware for putting this dish together. Simply toss the pasta in the delicious sauce and serve it tableside!

Bon appétit!

Photography by Alison Slattery

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