Le Zoo’s Tagliolini at Bal Harbour Shops

Welcome to another tasty edition of Chefs Share. Each month, we share a home chef-friendly recipe from one of Miami’s culinary stars. If you’ve never worked in a professional kitchen before, don’t worry: These recipes do not require any formal experience, and the ingredients can be found at your local specialty store or supermarket.

This month’s dish hails from Le Zoo (9700 Collins Ave. #5, Miami Beach; 305.602.9663), where Julian Baker is cooking up exquisite French Mediterranean cuisine, although there was a time when he thought he’d go pro in an entirely different field.

Passionate about cooking from a young age and authoring his own recipes while still in primary school, the Sheffield, England, native grew up in a family with deep roots in the police, fire and military sectors. Baker took the exams necessary to enter public service, but ultimately decided culinary school was the best path, the first of many fortuitous decisions leading to his role as executive chef of STARR Restaurants’ Le Zoo.

If you haven’t been to Le Zoo, located at Bal Harbour Shops, you’re missing out. The restaurant is known for items like escargots, steak tartare, trout amandine, moules frites and its decadent tagliolini – the dish you’ll be making this month.

We asked Baker why it’s one of Le Zoo’s most popular menu selections, and he had an answer at the ready.

“It’s pure indulgence, a guilty pleasure and, of course, there’s truffle. It’s

actually quite light as a pasta dish so the guilt is minimal. But once bitten, forever smitten.”

If that description hasn’t sold you, your first bite will. Before you get started, be sure to read the entire recipe. Baker has offered some alternatives to truffle as well as some tips for cooking the pasta perfectly.

TAGLIOLINI

Servings/Yield: 1 entrée portion

INGREDIENTS

·     4 ounces fresh tagliolini pasta

·     3 ounces fresh chicken stock

·     1/2 teaspoon white truffle oil

·     1 teaspoon truffle paste

·     3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter

·     1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

·     1 teaspoon fresh shaved black or white truffle (may be omitted for a bit more butter and Parmesan, or fresh spinach)

·     Kosher salt to taste

PREPARATION

·     Cook pasta in salted water 45-60 seconds, being careful not to overcook; as soon as you see pasta beginning to float, it’s ready. Pasta will finish cooking in its sauce, which helps achieve the creamy consistency you’re looking for – better too little than too much time in the water.

·     Drain pasta and set aside, reserving some cooking water.

·     In separate pan over medium heat, cook butter, chicken stock, truffle oil, truffle paste and Parmesan cheese.

·     Add pasta to sauce and season with salt to taste.

·     Work pasta into sauce, adding a bit of reserved cooking water if needed.

·     Plate pasta, add shaved truffles and serve.