Ravioli Napoletana Food

PASTA NAPOLITANA

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium heat; drain and set aside. Discard drippings. In same pan, cook ground beef and sausage in olive oil until beef is no longer pink, breaking into crumbles. Add onion; cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain. Add tomato paste; cook and stir until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Stir in bacon, marinara sauce, broth, wine, mushrooms, pepperoni, sugar, garlic powder, oregano, basil, parsley, rosemary, marjoram, sage, seasoned salt, pepper, pepper flakes and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until thickened and flavors have combined, about 2 hours. Serve with spaghetti and Parmesan cheese.

JOE WICKS' RAVIOLI ALLA NAPOLETANA

Steps:

• Pile the flour into a large bowl or a clean work surface and make a well in the middle. Separate the eggs and add the yolks to the well (pop the egg whites in the freezer for making meringues another day). Use a fork to whip up the egg yolks, then gradually bring the flour in from the outside. When it becomes too hard to mix, get your clean floured hands in there and bring it together into a ball of dough. Knead on a flour-dusted surface for around 4 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Wrap in a damp cloth and leave to relax for 30 minutes.
• To make the filling, tear one piece of prosciutto into rough pieces and finely chop the other. Place in a bowl, finely grate in the lemon zest and add a good grating of nutmeg (about ¼), then grate in the Parmesan and crumble in the ricotta. Use a fork to mash everything together and season with black pepper.
• On a clean flour-dusted surface, roll out the pasta dough so it's 1mm thick. Spoon heaped teaspoons of filling every 7cm or so along your sheet of pasta in the very middle. Brush the exposed pasta lightly with water and fold the sheet of pasta in half over the filling.
• Working from one side, gently seal around the filling, pushing out the air. Cut into squares with a knife or roller cutter, or stamp them out with a pastry cutter, placing them on a semolina-dusted tray as you go.
• To make the quick tomato sauce, peel and finely slice the garlic. Place a large pan on a medium heat with 1 tablespoon of oil. Cook the garlic and chilli flakes for 2 minutes, or until lightly golden, then scrunch in the tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper and tear in the basil leaves, reserving a few baby ones for garnish.
• Cook the ravioli in a large pan of boiling salted water for 3 minutes, or until tender, then drain - you may need to work in batches.
• To make the lemon sauce, melt the butter in a small frying pan over a medium heat and add the lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Toss in the cooked ravioli, then grate in the Parmesan, 1 tablespoon of oil and a little starchy cooking water.
• To serve, spoon the tomato sauce onto serving plates, and top with the lemon sauce-coated ravioli. Grate over a little Parmesan and sprinkle with the reserved baby basil leaves, to finish.

PASTIERA NAPOLETANA

Steps:

• For the Pasta Frolla, combine dry ingredients in food processor and pulse to mix. Cut butter into 8 pieces and add. Pulse to mix in finely. Add eggs and pulse until dough forms a ball. Remove from work bowl, wrap and chill dough.
• Soak the wheat in water to cover overnight if possible. Drain the wheat and place in a pan with salt and water to cover by 3 to 4 inches and simmer until tender, about 2 hours. Add water as necessary to keep from drying out and sticking. Cool and refrigerate until needed.
• For the pastry cream, combine sugar and flour in a small, non-reactive saucepan. Stir well to mix and add the milk, slowly, whisking it in smoothly. Whisk in the egg. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the pastry cream thickens and comes to a boil. Boil, stirring vigorously, about 1/2 minute. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and scrape into a clean bowl. Press plastic wrap against the surface and chill.
• For the filling, place ricotta in a mixing bowl and stir the cooled pastry cream to make a smooth, creamy mixture; stir in the sugar, eggs and remaining ingredients. Stir in the cooked wheat kernels.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and set a rack in the lowest level. Butter a 9-inch cake pan, 2-inches deep. To assemble, cut off 1/3 of the Pasta Frolla and reserve it. Roll the 2/3 of the dough into a 14-inch disk and line the prepared pan with it. Allow the dough to hang over the edge of the pan. Pour in the filling and sprinkle it with the cinnamon. Roll the remaining 1/3 of the dough into a 10-inch square. Cut it into 10 1-inch wide strips. Paint the strips with the egg wash. Moisten the rim of the dough on the pan with the egg wash, and adhere 5 strips in each direction, forming a diagonal lattice. Trim away any excess dough even with the top of the pan and push the dough all around off the top rim of the pan so that it is completely within the pan.
• Bake about 45 minutes, until the filling is set and the pastry is light golden. Cool in the pan before unmolding. To unmold, invert onto a flat plate, lift off the pan, replace the pan with another plate or platter, then re-invert, so that the Pastiera is right side up. Serve the Pastiera at room temperature.