Pasta Striptease - Ravioli Gnudi al Forno

Well, I am finally on the mend from my bout with strep throat. I suppose I should have known that I would eventually catch it after switching climates. But I thought I was gonna get lucky this year, since it's almost JULY. I was wrong. This has put a damper on my cooking as well as my ability to sit and write a post. ;) But my fever has broken and I am feeling a much better.

SO lets get naked!!! - Naked Ravioli that is. (keep it clean people - This is a family blog after all) ;)

Basically, all Ravioli Gnudi is, is ravioli filling, sans pasta wrapper. The addition of a little flour will to hold it together so it can be boiled without falling apart and turning into soup. This particular recipe is very similar to a Ricotta Gnocchi. This is a great alternative for anyone on a pasta free diet. (though I find it hard to imagine life without pasta) LOL

The "al Forno" part? Well, after I boil them, I like to toss them with melted butter, place them in a gratin pan, sprinkle them with more cheese and bake them for about 15 minutes at 300 degrees... YUM.

Ravioli Gnudi al Forno

24 oz (675 g) Fresh Spinach (though Swiss Chard is nice too)
8.8 oz (250 g) Ricotta Cheese
4.6 oz (130 g) AP Flour
3 large Egg Yolks
5 oz (150 g) Freshly Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus a little more for topping
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1 Shallot, finely minced
4 oz (227 g) Unsalted Butter; divided
Kosher Salt

Wash the Spinach and drain the spinach, but do not spin it dry.

Place it in a large pot, with the water still clinging to the leaves.

Add a little salt....

Cover and place over medium heat, cooking for 15 minutes.

Drain and let cool enough to touch it.

Squeeze out as much water as possible.

Then chop it finely.

Melt 2 oz butter in a sauce pan.

Add minced shallot and saute for about 2 minutes.

Add the spinach and a pinch of salt, cooking for an additional 5 minutes.

Set aside to cool.

Mix AP Flour, Ricotta and Egg yolks in a medium bowl.

Stir until you have a soft dough (Just like making gnocchi)

Add Nutmeg and a pinch of Kosher Salt.

Add the spinach and stir to combine.

Finally, stir in the Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Cover with plastic wrap and chill for about 1 hour (this will make it easier to handle)

Lay a large piece of Wax paper on the counter and remove the Ravioli filling from the refrigerator.
Spoon out about 3/4 tsp of the filling.....

and "roll" it into a small oval "pellet".

Continue until all the filling has been used. (It seriously helps if you have someone to assist)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

Melt 2 oz (4 TB) of butter in a small sauce pan.

Boil Ravioli Gnudi, in batches, for about 3 minutes...

or until they float.

Remove with a strainer.

Toss with the melted butter and lay out in a gratin pan.

Continue until all the Ravioli Gnudi are cooked and tossed with butter.

Sprinkle a small amount of Parmigiano-Reggiano over the top.

Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes. (Until the cheese melts)

Serve while still hot.

Mangia!!
~~

Ravioli, It Really Get's My Goat - Ravioli di Chevre y Noce

Have you ever just been sitting there, minding your own business and you are suddenly whacked in the back of the head by one of the Muses from ancient Greece? Hmmmm, Yeah. Well, whichever one of the nine it was, she gave me whiplash. (I wonder if you can sue a Muse) Anyway, that is how this recipe came to being.

Which also begs the question, which muse IS responsible for culinary inspiration? Food is kind of like a dance, or at least running around the kitchen is kind of a dance, especially when there is more than one person cooking. But then again, the prepared dish is kind of like poetry or music that you can taste and smell. So would it be Calliope of the Epic Poem, Erato of Lyrical poetry, Euterpe of Music, Polyhymnia of Choral Poetry, or Terpsichore of the Dance? I would say that it was the tenth Muse, but I am pretty sure that Plato already bestowed that honorific on Sappho.

I suppose, in order to forgo stepping on any of Sappho's toes, I should propose that there is an eleventh muse out there in this age of Foodistas, Gastronomes, Foodies, Gourmands and the ever "Epicurious". I have decided to call her Culinathyra (kull-in-a-THEE-ra). At the least, this give me an idea of who I need to serve papers too.. LOL

As far as the resulting ravioli is concerned, I always make my filling first, so it has time to cool while I am prepping the pasta sheets. So here is the inspired recipe

Chevre and Walnut Ravioli in Sage Brown Butter

1 TB Butter
1 large Shallot, minced
6 Sage Leaves, Minced
6 oz Chevre
4 oz Mascarpone
1 large Egg
1/2 cup Walnuts, toasted and chopped fine
Zest of 1 Lemon
2 TB Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Kosher Salt
Fresh Ground Black Pepper

First melt the butter over medium heat and add the shallots when the foam subsides.

Sauté over medium heat until the shallot caramelizes (This takes awhile - 15-20 minutes).

Stir in the chopped Sage and set aside to cool. (the hot shallots will draw out the oils)

Toast the walnuts and allow to cool before chopping fine, set aside.

In a medium sized bowl, mix Chevre, Mascarpone, and Egg until smooth.

Add the Walnuts and Caramelized Shallots and stir to combine.

Finish off with the Lemon Zest and Parmigiano-Reggiano,

Then adjust the seasoning by adding Kosher Salt and/or Black pepper as needed.

Cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator until the pasta is ready for filling.

Makin Pasta...

I made a double batch of Pasta (cause I wanted some extra left over for something else) so the amounts in the pictures will not match the recipe.

3/4 cups Semolina Flour
3/4 cups AP Flour
1/4 tsp Kosher Salt
2 large Eggs (room temperature)
2 1/2 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

In a large bowl place the Semolina flour, AP flour, and the salt; Blending well with a whisk

Create a well in the center and crack eggs into the well and add the olive oil.

Remove any rings you may have on.

Stick your fingers in the eggs and break up the yolks (Come on, lets get acquainted with our food, don't be shy)

Working your fingers in a circle begin incorporating the flour into the eggs/oil mixture until it begins to thicken.

Eventually you will need to dump it onto a board and knead it

until it is smooth and elastic.


Bringing it all together....

Now I get to play with 2 toys today. The Kitchen Aid Pasta Roller (Yay!)

and my Ravioli Press.

Divide the dough into 4 pieces and wrap them in plastic wrap (which I forgot to do at first)

Take the first piece of dough and run it through the widest setting on your roller, fold and run through again, using the roller to knead the dough a little more.
Begin tightening the roller 1 notch at a time and running the dough through each setting until you reach size 6 (as opposed to 8). This is where I stop for Ravioli.

Take the resulting sheet and cut it in half, then lay 1 sheet over the ravioli press.
Use the top plate to press pockets into the pasta.

Fill with the Chevre/Walnut filling (mine makes small squares so it only takes about 1 tsp of filling).

Brush all the edges with water and lay down another pasta sheet over the top and press down gently to partially seal before running a rolling pin over the press to cut and crimp the pasta (you may need to make a couple passes)

Flip the press over....

and cut the ravioli apart with a knife if necessary.

Place on a flour dusted baking sheet, to prevent sticking.
Continue with the next piece of pasta dough until all the filling or all the dough has been used whichever comes first.
Cover with Plastic wrap and place in the freezer, then move to a Zip-Loc bag for longer storage.


How to Serve...

Bring a large pot to a boil.
Warm some Browned Butter with a few fresh Sage leaves in it.

Drop ravioli; when they float, they are done.
Toss with browned butter and garnish with a sage leaf or two and some toasted walnuts.

I think these would be just as delicious tossed with Pesto Genovese, but the nutty flavor of the browned butter really enhances the walnuts and lemon zest in the ravioli filling.

Mangia!!
~~