Chestnut Ravioli With Sage Browned Butter Food

CHESTNUT RAVIOLI WITH SAGE BROWNED BUTTER

Steps:

• Coarsely chop chestnuts.
• Cook pancetta in 3 tablespoons butter in a large heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring, until crisp on edges, about 5 minutes. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until onion is softened. Add chestnuts and water and simmer, stirring, until liquid is reduced by half. Discard garlic.
• Transfer mixture to a bowl and mash to a coarse paste with a fork. Peel half of apple and cut enough of peeled half into 1/4-inch dice to measure 3 tablespoons. Reserve remaining (unpeeled) apple. Stir diced peeled apple into chestnut mixture with parmesan, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste.
• Put 1 won ton wrapper on a work surface, keeping remaining wrappers in plastic wrap, and mound 1 scant tablespoon of filling in center. Lightly brush edges of wrapper with water and top with a second wrapper, pressing down around filling to force out air. Trim excess dough with cutter and seal edges well, pressing them together with your fingertips. Transfer ravioli to a dry kitchen towel, then make more in same manner.
• Cut enough of unpeeled apple into 1/4-inch dice to measure 3 tablespoons and toss with lemon juice.
• Heat remaining 4 tablespoons butter in a large heavy skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides and butter begins to turn brown. Stir in sage and cook, stirring, until sage is crisp and butter is golden brown. Season with salt and pepper.
• Add ravioli to a 6-quart pot of salted boiling water, then cook at a slow boil, stirring gently occasionally, until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Carefully transfer ravioli with a slotted spoon to a colander to drain. Slide ravioli into sage butter and cook over moderate heat, stirring gently, 1 minute.
• Sprinkle ravioli with unpeeled apple and season with pepper.

CHESTNUT RAVIOLI WITH BROWNED BUTTER AND THYME

Steps:

• Place the chestnuts and 1/2 cup water in a small heatproof bowl. Microwave until the water is hot and the chestnuts have softened, about 3 minutes. Drain the chestnuts (reserving the liquid) and place in the bowl of a food processor. Blend with 1 tablespoon of the reserved liquid until finely ground. Add the 1 1/2 cups of the Parmesan, the ricotta and a large pinch of salt and pepper. Blend until completely smooth. Taste for seasoning and adjust with additional salt and pepper if needed. Add 1 egg and blend until well combined. Transfer to a mixing bowl and reserve.
• Bring a large stockpot of salted water to a boil (it should taste like sea water).
• While the water is coming to a boil, form the raviolis. Whisk the remaining egg in a small bowl with 1/2 teaspoon water. Place 5 wonton skins on a lightly floured work surface. Brush the wonton skins with the egg wash. Place a leveled tablespoon of the chestnut filling in the center of each wonton skin. Place 5 more wonton skins directly on top. Use your fingers to gently press the skins together. Use a 2 1/2-inch round cookie or biscuit cutter lightly dipped in flour to cut around the filling. Transfer the filled raviolis to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and cover with a slightly damp paper towel. Make 15 additional raviolis with the remaining wonton skins and filling.
• Once all of the raviolis are made, make the brown butter sauce. Place the butter, garlic and thyme in a large, straight-sided saute pan. Heat over medium heat until the butter starts to bubble and foam, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Continue cooking until the foam subsides and brown specks start to appear, 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Turn off the heat and cover with a lid to keep warm while you cook the raviolis.
• In batches, add the raviolis one at a time to the boiling water, stirring after every addition. Cook until the raviolis float to the top, about 2 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove from the water and add to the browned butter; it is okay if some pasta water gets in the sauce. Toss the raviolis in the sauce. Continue with the remaining raviolis.
• To serve, remove the thyme sprigs and garlic from the sauce, reserving the thyme. Divide the raviolis and sauce among 4 plates. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and crispy thyme leaves. If desired, lightly drizzle with balsamic vinegar. Use a peeler to thinly shave whole chestnuts over the entire dish.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH RAVIOLI WITH SAGE-BROWN BUTTER SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Place the squash cut side up on a baking sheet. Place 1 tablespoon butter in the hollow of each half. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Cover the squash with a sheet of aluminum foil tucking in the edges.
• Bake squash in preheated oven until tender and easily pierced with a fork, 45 to 65 minutes.
• Scoop the cooked squash into a bowl, and mash until smooth. Mix in the allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, and Parmesan cheese until well blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Fill a deep pot with lightly salted water and bring to a boil.
• To make the ravioli, place a wonton wrapper on a clean, flat surface. Brush edges with the egg white. Place about 1 tablespoon of the squash mixture in the middle of the wonton. Cover with a second wonton wrapper. Repeat with remaining wonton wrappers and squash mixture until all have been used.
• Drop the ravioli into the boiling water, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until tender. Remove, drain, and keep warm until sauce is prepared.
• To make the sauce, melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the sage. Continue to cook and stir until the sage is crispy but not browned. Add salt and pepper to taste. Place 6 to 8 raviolis on serving plates, and drizzle with sauce.

CHEESE RAVIOLI WITH BROWN BUTTER AND SAGE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; add ravioli, and cook until al dente, according to package instructions. Drain, and divide among 4 plates.
• In a medium skillet, heat butter over medium. When it starts to foam, add sage. Continue to cook until butter is golden brown and sage is slightly crisp, 1 to 2 minutes; season with salt. Drizzle ravioli with brown butter and sage; serve.

BASIC RAVIOLI WITH A BUTTER-SAGE SAUCE

Steps:

• For the filling: Add the ricotta, Parmigiano and eggs and sprinkle with salt in a bowl. Adjust seasoning if needed. Put the filling in a pastry bag and reserve.
• For the pasta: Set the pasta roller on the widest setting (#1). Start with half the pasta dough; keep the other half covered until ready to use. Using your hands, flatten the dough as much as you can to facilitate it going through the pasta roller. Run the dough through the roller, twice dusting it in between rolls if it feels sticky. Fold the dough into thirds and turn it 90 degrees (a quarter turn) and run it through the pasta machine 2 to 3 times. Move the roller to the next setting (#2) and run the pasta through. Dust lightly with flour if the dough feels sticky. Continue to run the dough through the machine reducing the opening (or moving the setting to the next larger number) in between every roll. Stop when you get to the correct thinness, this will usually be around number 5 or 6 on the dial, but every machine is different, you will have to be the judge of your own pasta thickness.
• To assemble the ravioli: Lay out the dough on a flat surface. Brush the lower half of the dough (the part that is closest to you) lightly with water. This is the glue that will hold the ravioli together. Use the glue sparingly, if you use too much the pasta will slide and not stick. Pipe 1-inch balls of filling onto the pasta that has been brushed with water, leaving about 2 inches between each ball. Fold the top half of the pasta down over the filling to meet the bottom edge. Using your index fingers, poke around each filling ball to seal the ravioli shut, AND to make sure that there are no air bubbles. Using a fluted round cutter or a fluted pastry wheel or even a drinking glass, cut out each ravioli. Transfer to a sheet tray dusted with semolina or polenta and reserve until ready to use.
• To cook the ravioli and make the sauce: Add the butter to a large saute pan and bring to a medium heat. Add 1 cup of chicken stock and season with salt. Shake the pan to incorporate the butter and stock, and simmer until the stock has reduced a bit and the sauce looks velvety and is the consistency of heavy cream. If the sauce thickens too much, adjust the consistency with chicken stock. Add the sage and season with salt.
• Add the ravioli to the pot of boiling water and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Carefully remove the ravioli from the cooking water and put them immediately into the sauce. Bring the sauce to a boil, shaking frequently to be sure that the ravioli don'(TM)t stick to the bottom of the pan.
• Transfer the ravioli to a serving platter. Mangia Bene!
• Put the flour on a clean, dry work surface. Make a hole (this is also called a well) in the center of the flour pile that is about 8 inches wide (bigger is definitely better here). Crack all of the eggs and the yolk into the hole and add the olive oil, salt and water.
• Using a fork, beat the eggs together with the olive oil, salt and water. Using the fork, begin to incorporate the flour into the egg mixture; be careful not to break the sides of the well or the egg mixture will run all over your board and you will have a big mess! Also, don't worry about the lumps. When enough flour has been incorporated into the egg mixture that it will not run all over the place when the sides of the well are broken, begin to use your hands to really get everything well combined. If the mixture is tight and dry, wet your hands and begin kneading with wet hands. When the mixture has really come together to a homogeneous mixture, THEN you can start kneading.
• When kneading it is VERY important to put your body weight into it, get on top of the dough to really stretch it and not tear the dough. Using the heels of your palms, roll the dough to create a very smooooooth, supple dough. When done, the dough should look VERY smooth and feel almost velvety. Kneading will usually take from 8 to 10 minutes for an experienced kneader and 10 to 15 for an inexperienced kneader. Put your body weight into it, you need to knead! This is where the perfect, toothsome texture of your pasta is formed. Get in there and have fun!
• When the pasta has been kneaded to the perfect consistency, wrap it in plastic and let rest for at least 1 hour. If using immediately do not refrigerate.
• Roll and cut the pasta into desired shape. How smooth and supple!

RAVIOLI W/BROWNED BUTTER, SAGE OR BASIL AND PINE NUTS

Steps:

• Toast pine nuts in a dry fry pan over low/medium heat on the stove top until golden brown. Careful not to burn! Set aside.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add salt to the boiling water. Meanwhile, while waiting for the water to boil --.
• In a large frying pan melt the butter over medium/high heat until pale golden brown flecks appear. About 4 minutes.
• Add the ravioli to the boiling water until they are cooked through, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes, drain.
• NOTE: Once ravioli rises to the top of the boiling water, give it another minute or two and they are done. Careful not boil too vigorously or they will fall apart.
• Add the cooked ravioli to the butter mixture, toss in pine nuts, sprinkle in basil or sage leaves and top with some grated parm-reggiano. Place on plates or in a covered casserole dish for serving.
• Serve with freshly grated cheese at the table.

CHESTNUT RAVIOLI

Steps:

• Cook bacon in 2 tbsp butter until crisp on edges.
• Add shallot and garlic, cook until soft.
• Add chestnuts and water, simmer until liquid is reduced. Discard garlic.
• Transfer to bowl, mash to paste with fork and add parsley and parmesan.
• Season lightly with a dash of salt.
• Fill won ton wrappers with mixture. Lightly brush the edges of the wrappers with water and press closed.
• Brown 3 tbsp butter, stir in sage and season lightly with salt.
• Boil ravioli in water for 2-3 min until it rises to top.
• Remove from water and cook in butter sauce 1 minute.
• Serve, and enjoy!

SAGE & BROWNED BUTTER RAVIOLI

Steps:

• Cook ravioli according to package directions. In a large heavy saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Heat 5-7 minutes or until golden brown, stirring constantly. Immediately stir in sage and salt; remove from heat., Drain ravioli, reserving 2 tablespoons pasta water. Add ravioli, pasta water and lemon juice to butter mixture; gently toss to coat. Serve with cheese.