If you zipped in the door of the Bluebird Tavern kitchen there is a good chance that you’d catch a glimpse of one of our cooks rolling out beautiful hand crafted pasta. It’s quite fun to watch the pasta dough transform into a variety of shapes and sizes. Most recently our sous chef Nate has been creating garganelli, a hand rolled pasta that is similar in shape to penne.

Nate starts the process by cutting very thin sheets of pasta dough into squares about 1″ wide.

Next he wraps the square around a pencil and dabs a bit of water around the edges to create a seal.

The pasta is then rolled on a ridged board to create a texture and allow the sauce to cling.

Now the completed garganelli is all set for a little sauce!

Because of it’s unique shape and texture our chef Aaron recommends pairing the garganelli with rich meat or mushroom sauces. Recently the kitchen has been offering the garganelli with a house made lamb sausage and mint ragu.

garganelli with lamb sausage and mint ragu

(serves 4)

• 1/2 pound garganelli or penne (rusichella d’abruzzo is a great brand)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 pound merguez sausage (available in Burlington at Healthy Living) or other lamb sausage
• 1/2 cup diced pancetta
• 1/4 cup diced carrot
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 ripe tomatoes, diced
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 2 ounces white wine
• 1 tablespoon mint, thinly sliced
• sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup parmesan (garnish)

Prepare pasta as directed on package, cook until al dente, toss with a dash of olive oil and set aside.

Set a large skillet over medium heat add the sausage and pancetta and cook until the fat has render and meat begins to brown. Add the onion, carrot, and garlic and slowly cook until the vegetables soften. Pour in the white wine to deglaze the pan, scraping anything sticking to the bottom to retain all of the flavors. Add the tomatoes and cook until the ragu begins to thicken (about 20 minutes). Season to taste with sea salt, fresh ground pepper, and red pepper flakes.

Add the cooked pasta to the sauce allow to warm, and toss so well coated. Serve immediately and garnish with parmesan cheese.