This is a noodle made on both sides of the Alps, although this is the Italian version. I’ve seen some Austrian versions of blood pasta where they’ve added finely minced fennel fronds to the pasta dough, which I think would be pretty cool. Use your own taste as a guide. You can get pork or beef blood from ethnic markets, especially Asian markets. A good butcher or local producer at your farmer’s market is even better. Do use the rye flour in this recipe, as it creates a more rustic flavor. The traditional sauce would be browned butter, sage and a grated cheese. I went with a more Mediterranean sauce, however.
Grated blood orange zest and pecorino cheese for garnish
Instructions
To make the pasta, whisk together the two flours and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour and crack the egg into it. Pour in the blood and stir everything together with a fork.
When the dough is a shaggy mass, begin to knead it in the bowl. It will be sticky at first, but will smooth out as you knead, first in the bowl, and then on a floured work surface. Knead for 5 minutes.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and set at room temperature for 2 hours, or in the fridge up to 1 day.
Roll out the dough into 3/8-inch flat noodles that are not too thin. I use No. 6 on my Atlas (No. 9 is the thinnest). Set aside to dry.
To make the sauce, reduce the orange juice by half, turn off the heat and add salt to taste. Set aside.
Bring a large pot of salty water — the water should taste like the ocean — to a boil. When it boils, melt the butter in a large saute pan over medium-high heat and fry the sage. Add the pasta to the boiling water.
By the time the pasta is floating, the sage will be nicely fried. Add the orange juice mixture to the butter and sage.
Allow the pasta to cook 1-2 minutes after it begins to float, then transfer it to the pan with the sauce. Sprinkle some salt over everything and toss to combine. Serve at once with the orange zest and grated cheese.