Ravioli Plus Food

RAVIOLO AL UOVO

Steps:

• Cover the porcinis with hot or room temp water and allow to sit for 30 minutes. Remove from the liquid with a slotted spoon before dicing into small pieces.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Toss the chanterelles with olive oil and season with salt. Put on a sheet tray and roast in the oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Reserve for garnish.
• To a saute pan over medium-high heat, add the guanciale and render until crispy. Transfer the guanciale with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel-lined plate. To the guanciale fat in the pan, add the sage leaves and fry until crispy, about 30 seconds. Season the sage leaves with salt. Crumble the sage and set aside. Reserve the guanciale and sage for garnish.
• In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, Parmigiano, parsley, 2 whole eggs and the diced porcinis; mix well and season with salt.
• Dust a clean work surface lightly with all-purpose flour and lay out 2 sheets (at least 12 inches long) of the rolled Chef Anne's All-Purpose Pasta Dough; brush them lightly with water. Equally space 4 dollops of the ricotta mixture on each pasta sheet, then use a spoon to make a "nest" or small hole in the center of each dollop. Carefully separate the remaining 8 eggs one at a time and put a yolk in each ricotta "nest" the ricotta should lovingly nestle each yolk (if a yolk breaks, scoop it out with a spoon and don't use it).
• Cover each sheet of ricotta "nests" and egg yolks with another sheet of pasta. Use your index fingers to press around each ricotta nest to seal the edges, then use a fluted ring cutter or dough roller to cut around each ravioli (they should be 3 to 4 inches in diameter). Reserve the ravioli on a tray generously dusted with semolina.
• Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. In a large saute pan, melt 1/2 stick of the butter and add 1/4 cup of the chicken stock (you're going to use the remainder for your next batch); add a sage sprig and season with salt. Bring this to boil and reduce to a simmer.
• Add 4 of the ravioli to the boiling water and cook for about 2 minutes, no more. Using a spider or slotted spoon, carefully transfer the ravioli from the water to the pan with the butter and chicken stock and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. If the sauce reduces too much, add a few drops of the pasta cooking water. The sauce should cling to the ravioli in a buttery hug. Repeat with the remaining 4 ravioli, using the remaining 1/2 stick butter, 1/4 cup chicken stock and 1 sprig sage to make the sauce.
• Transfer the ravioli to serving plates, 1 per plate. Spoon a little extra sauce over each one and finish with a sprinkey-dink of the grated Parm, guanciale, chanterelles and fried sage.
• 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, water and salt.
• Using a fork, beat the eggs together with the olive oil, water and salt. 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 to 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 after that, do not refrigerate.
• Roll and cut the pasta into the desired shape. How smooth and supple!

RAVIOLO AL' UOVO

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, Parm, parsley and 2 whole eggs; mix well and season with salt.
• Dust a clean work surface lightly with all-purpose flour and lay out two sheets of pasta about 12 inches long; brush them lightly with water. Equally space 4 dollops of the ricotta mixture on each pasta sheet; then use a spoon to make a "nest" or small hole in the center of each dollop. Carefully separate the remaining eggs (reserve the whites for another purpose) and put a yolk in each ricotta "nest"--the ricotta should lovingly nestle each yolk (if a yolk breaks, scoop it out with a spoon and don't use it).
• Cover the ricotta nests and egg yolk with another sheet of pasta. Use your index fingers to press around each ricotta nest to seal the edges, then use a fluted ring cutter or dough roller to cut around each ravioli (they should be 3 to 4 inches in diameter). Reserve the ravioli on a tray generously dusted with semolina.
• Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. In a large saute pan, melt half the butter and add half of the chicken stock (you're going to use the remainder for your next batch); season with salt and toss in half the sage. Bring this to a boil (BTB) and reduce to simmer (RTS).
• Add 4 of the ravioli to the boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. Using a spider or slotted spoon, carefully transfer the ravioli from the water to the pan with butter and chicken stock and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. If the sauce reduces too much, add a few drops of the pasta cooking water. The sauce should cling to the ravioli in a buttery hug.
• Transfer the ravioli to serving plates, spoon a little extra sauce over each one, and finish with a sprinkey-dink of grated Parm. Repeat with the remaining ravioli.
• Mound the flour on a clean, dry work surface. Make a big hole (called a well) in the center of the flour pile--bigger is definitely better here. Crack the eggs into the hole along with the extra yolk, olive oil, and 2 tablespoons water; season with salt. Using a fork, beat the eggs together with the olive oil, water, and salt and begin to incorporate the flour into the egg mixture. Be careful not to break the well or the egg mixture will run everywhere and you'll have a big fat mess on your hands (and your board). When enough flour is incorporated that you can handle the dough, use your hands to combine everything really well. If the mixture is tight and dry, wet your hands a bit. When the mixture is homogeneous, start kneading...
• To knead the dough, it's VERY important to put your body weight into it, to get on top of the dough, and really stretch it. Be careful not to tear it--the idea is that you stretch the dough, not rip it. Use the heels of your palms and roll the mixture over itself. When it's done it should be smooth, supple, and velvety and look like the head of a preemie Cabbage Patch Doll. Kneading will take anywhere from 8 to 15 minutes, depending on how experienced you are. (Don't hold back: This is where the perfect, toothsome texture of your pasta is formed. Get in there and work it!)
• When the pasta is ready, wrap it in plastic and let rest for at least an hour at room temperature before rolling. If you're making the dough ahead of time, wrap, refrigerate, and bring to room temperature before using.
• To roll out the pasta, you need to run the dough through the pasta roller a bunch of times to get it long and thin. To start, cut off about a quarter of the dough (remember, the bigger the piece you start with, the longer your dough is going to get), keeping the rest wrapped up so it doesn't dry out. Squish the dough to flatten it--this will help it run through the pasta roller more easily. Where do we start? We start at the beginning! Run the dough through the pasta roller starting on the widest setting, number 1. Then dust the dough with flour, fold it into thirds, and put the dough through this setting two more times. If the dough ever feels sticky or tacky, give it a little dusting of flour. Now adjust the setting to number 2 and repeat the process again--changing the setting each time until your dough is the desired thickness. Once the dough is rolled out, be sure to keep the pasta sheets covered so they don't dry out. Depending on what I want to use the pasta for, I usually stop around number 5 or 6. For long noodles, I keep it thicker, and for ravioli or stuffed pasta, I keep it thinner. All pasta machines are different, so you need to judge how your pasta machine works and adjust your rolling accordingly. Once you get the thickness you want, repeat this process with the remaining pieces of dough.

RAVIOLI (DOUGH AND CHOICE OF 4 FILLINGS)

Steps:

• MAKING THE FILLING: Ricotta Filling#1: In a large bowl, blend all filling ingredients together until smooth, set aside filling until needed.
• Ricotta Filling#2: In a large bowl, blend all filling ingredients together until smooth, set aside filling until needed.
• Beef and Spinach Filling: Brown beef and veal in butter with the whole clove of garlic.
• Remove garlic and let meat mixture cool.
• Mix spinach, parsley, eggs, cheese and nutmeg into cooled meat until well blended, set aside filling until needed.
• Sausage Filling: Brown sausage in frying pan, drain fat and allow sausage to cool.
• When sausage has cooled, mix in eggs and cheese, set aside filling until needed.
• MAKING THE RAVIOLI DOUGH: Sift flour and salt together.
• Place flour mixture on a board, making a well in the center of the flour.
• Drop eggs into the flour well, using your hand or a fork, break the yolks and beat eggs slightly.
• Combine the eggs and flour together, gradually adding enough warm water to make a stiff dough.
• Knead dough well, until smooth; cover the dough and let it rest for 15 minutes.
• Cut dough in half and roll each half of the dough out on a floured board, into a very thin sheet (about 1/16 to 1/8 inch thick).
• FILLING THE RAVIOLI: Drop about 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoonfuls of filling about 1 1/2 inches apart all along the dough.
• When the sheet of dough is fully dotted with dabs of filling mixture, cover filling with other sheet of dough.
• Using your fingers, gently press dough between each dab of filling to seal it.
• Cut ravioli into squares with a (zig-zag edged) pastry cutter, or very sharp knife.
• DRYING THE RAVIOLI: Allow ravioli to dry for one hour before cooking.
• COOKING THE RAVIOLI: Drop ravioli into 6 to 8 quarts of boiling, salted water and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until dough is tender.
• Remove cooked ravioli from pot carefully with a skimmer or a large slotted spoon, and drain well.
• Place drained ravioli on a serving platter in layers, alternating layers with your favorite sauce and a sprinkling of grated cheese between each ravioli layer.
• Serve hot.

HOMEMADE RAVIOLI

Steps:

• To make the pasta, put the flour in a bowl and make a well in the middle. Add the eggs and egg yolks and mix with a fork, bringing more of the flour in from the sides as you mix. Once the mixture comes together into a ball, tip it out onto a work surface and knead for 10-15 mins until firm and smooth. Wrap and leave to rest for 30 mins.
• Meanwhile, make the filling. Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and fry the garlic for 30 seconds. Add the spinach with a few tablespoons of water, and cook until the spinach has wilted and is dark green and the water has evaporated. Stir in the lemon zest, grate over some nutmeg and season. Tip the mixture into a bowl and leave to cool.
• Cut the pasta dough into four pieces so it's easier to work with. Run one piece through a pasta machine (leaving the remaining pieces covered to prevent them drying out), starting with the widest setting and working down to the thinnest setting. Keep the machine and the pasta well floured to prevent sticking or tearing.
• Mix the ricotta into the spinach mixture and season well. Do this just before you're ready to fill the pasta, or chill until needed.
• To make the ravioli, cut a sheet of pasta in half so you have two equal lengths. Lay out on a well-floured work surface, then spoon heaped teaspoons of the filling, spaced 5cm apart, over one of the pasta sheets. Brush the exposed pasta around the filling with water. Gently lift the second pasta sheet over the fillings, and use the side of your hand to press the pasta sheets together around the fillings to seal, ensuring there are no air bubbles.
• Stamp out the ravioli using a round cutter (position it so the filling is in the centre of the circle), or use a sharp knife to cut out square ravioli. Arrange in a single layer over baking trays dusted with flour, then repeat the process with the remaining pasta dough pieces. Will keep, covered and chilled, for up to two days.
• To cook, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and gently lower in the ravioli using a slotted spoon. Boil for 2-3 mins until the pasta is cooked through, then remove to a bowl using a slotted spoon. (You may need to cook the ravioli in batches to ensure it's evenly cooked.)
• Heat the butter in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat, drop in the sage and fry until the butter turns a nutty brown and the sage leaves are crisp. Remove from the heat and toss in the ravioli. Sprinkle with parmesan and some lemon juice, then season with cracked black pepper and toss gently in the butter to coat. Divide between warm bowls and sprinkle with more parmesan before serving.