Beef and Spinach Ravioli

(about 6-8 servings)



I have a tendency to do similar things in little spurts. I'll read several books of the same genre back to back, or watch several films, or visit several plant nurseries that happen to specialise in something in particular. The same applies to cooking. My pasta machine is still out on the counter and I'm still thinking of ravioli. I got up early this morning and made double this recipe; most of which will be frozen.

The very first time I ever made ravioli, I made a beef and spinach filling similar to this.  I started adding mortadella or prosciutto in recent years, which seems to work well.

dough
2 1/4 cup unbleached flour
1 cup semolina flour
1 tbsp beet powder, optional (I'm just adding this for colour)
1 tsp salt
4 large eggs
2 tbsp olive oil
1-3 tbsp water, if needed

Place the flours, beet powder and salt into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a dough blade. Pulse a few times to combine. Add the eggs and oil; pulse a few more times. The mixture should look like moist bread crumbs that easily form into a ball if you pinch a few together. If the mixture seems too dry, then add the water a tablespoon at a time until the consistency is right.

For ravioli I like it when the crumbs are on the verge of forming a ball. The mixture is dry enough that it's not necessary to dust everything with flour, yet there's a slight tackiness present.

Gather up the dough and knead a few times. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let rest while you make the filling.

filling
2 tsp butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 lb lean ground beef
2-3 slices of mortadella, diced or 2 oz prosciutto, chopped
1 10 oz pkg of frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry and finely chopped
2/3 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 egg
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and fry for about a minute. Add the onion and cook stirring until the onion becomes translucent. Add the beef and continue to cook, breaking up the meat as you stir until the meat begins to brown. Add the spinach and continue to cook and stir until the mixture appears dry. This takes about 10-15 minutes.

Place the meat and onion mixture into a large bowl and add the mortadella or prosciutto, ricotta and parmesan cheese, egg, salt and pepper. Stir to combine everything well. Set aside.

To assemble and serve
olive oil or butter
grated Parmesan cheese

Remove enough dough to roll out 2 rectangles of dough to about 1/8" thickness to fit the ravioli mold, if you are using one. I do this with a pasta machine, but a rolling pin works well too. Place one sheet of dough on a ravioli mold and press with the top to make indentations. Fill the indentations with the meat mixture.

Brush a bit of water all around the edges of the squares. Place the 2nd pasta sheet on top. Roll with rolling pin until the ravioli are cut out.

Continue until all the dough and filling is used up.              *The photos above are from my mushroom ravioli.

At this point you can place the ravioli in a single layer on a cookie sheet and freeze them for about 10 minutes and then bag them for further freezing.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boil and cook the ravioli in batches. They should float up to the top and be done in about 2-3 minutes.

Drain the ravioli and toss in a bit of olive oil or butter. Sprinkle with cheese

Chicken Picatta

The word 'piccata' or 'picatta' (wish i know which is the correct spelling cos both should sound the same) is generally associated with veal. but the chicken piccata recipe is more popular. Deliciously rich, lemony flavored and it is even made better by the fact it's so simple to prepare. The term 'chicken piccata' is quite a generic one and it gives the gourmets among us a great chance of creative experimenting. Add a little twist to the traditional capers by adding some mushrooms

Ingredients:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 tbsp all-purpose flour season with salt and pepper
4 tbsp oil preferably olive
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 tbsp capers
2 tsp minced fresh garlic
3 tbsp cold butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper for seasoning the chicken breasts
8 ozs spaghetti - cooked till al-dente and kept warm
2 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley





Method:

Trim all visible fat and tendons from the chicken breasts. Cut each one in half to make two pieces about the same size. One at a time, place each breast between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken, and cook for 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.

Add chopped onions, white wine, chicken stock, lemon juice, half of the capers, and garlic , scrape pan to loosen browned bits. Cook until stock is reduced by half.

Turn off heat and add cold butter, stirring until butter is melted. Return the chicken to the pan and add the other half of capers and parsley.

Serve chicken over pasta.


Note:

When a recipe calls for wine as an ingredient, it's nice to find a bottle that is delicious enough to drink but affordable enough to toss a little in the skillet. I used Beringer 2004 pinot grigio as i found this in the pantry. It also has the necessary acidity to greet the potent acid of the capers.

Italian Tomato and Cheese Tart

(one 9" tart)

This is a great summer dish when tomatoes are at their peak.

crust
3/4 cup unbleached flour
1/2 cup wholewheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp salt
6 tbsp butter, cut up and chilled
2-4 tbsp cold water

Place the flours and salt into the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to combine.

Remove the top and evenly distribute the butter pieces. Replace the top and pulse as few times until the butter is roughly chopped and mixed with the flour (small pea sized).

Remove the top again and sprinkle 2 tablespoons of water over the flour and butter mixture. Place the top back on and pulse a few more times. The mixture should look like it's about to clump together. If not, then add a bit more water.

Gather up the dough and shape into a flattened ball. Refrigerate for about 15 minutes.

Roll out the dough on a floured surface into a circle to fit a 9" pie or tart pan. Wrap the dough around the rolling pin and unwrap into the pan. Press into the pan and remove excess dough from the edges and set aside.

filling
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped

1/4 cup roasted or sauteed onions, sliced or chopped
6 oz cheese, shredded (I combined gruyere, garlic cheddar and edam)

2-3 tomatoes, sliced (enough to cover the top)
1 tbsp fresh basil, sliced
2 tbsp parmesan cheese, grated or shredded
freshly ground black pepper
salt, to taste (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375ºF.

Combine the garlic, ricotta, and basil. Spread evenly over the bottom of the tart shell.

Scatter the onion over the ricotta mixture and then cover with an even layer of the shredded cheese.

Arrange the tomato slices over the shredded cheese. Sprinkle the sliced basil and parmesan cheese over the tomatoes. Finish off with some freshly ground black pepper.

Sprinkle a bit of salt, if needed.

Bake for about 50-60 minutes, or until the tart is done.

Mushroom Ravioli

(about 6-8 servings)

Last week I dug out my pasta machine after I came across some beet powder. I'm on a bit of a pasta roll at the moment, and decided to make some ravioli this weekend.

In the past I've usually made fillings with spinach and ricotta cheese, but I'm quite fond of mushrooms and decided to make a mushroom filling after finding some very nice looking baby portabella at the grocery store.

Filling
1/2 oz dried porcini mushrooms
1/2 cup hot water

1-2 tsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 1/4 lb mushrooms, cleaned and finely chopped
1/4 cup marsala
1-2 pinches dried thyme
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Soak the porcini mushrooms in the hot water for at least 30 minutes. Remove and chop; reserve the liquid.

Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet. Add the garlic and fry for about a minute, then add the onion and saute until it's transparent and has a light golden hue.

Add both the porcini and chopped fresh mushrooms, the reserved mushroom liquid, marsala and thyme. Cook until the mixture becomes somewhat dry; about 15-20 minutes.

Remove from heat, cool a bit. Stir in the mascarpone cheese. Check seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.

pasta
1 1/2 - 1 3/4 cup unbleached flour
1 1/2 cup semolina flour
1 tsp salt
4 large eggs
1-3 tbsp water

serve with
lightly browned butter and grated parmesan cheese

Place the 1 1/2 cups flour (to start), semolina and salt into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse a few times to combine.

Add the eggs and 1 tablespoon of water to start. Pulse a few times. If the mixture seems too dry, sprinkle a bit more water over the mixture.

The dough should have the consistency of fresh bread crumbs, and be moist enough to stick together if you gather a small amount and gently squeeze it together. Some people add enough water until the dough forms a ball inside the bowl, but I prefer mine to be somewhat dryer. If I have added too much liquid and get a ball, I add a bit more flour until the ball breaks up again.

by hand
Gather up the dough and knead for a few minutes on a lightly floured surface until you have a smooth ball. Cover and allow to rest for about 20 minutes.

Roll out the dough to about 1/8" thickness in whatever shape you need for how you will make the ravioli. I am using a ravioli form which I will describe below.

with pasta (crank) machine
Gather a small handful of dough and squeeze together. Flatten the piece and run it through the pasta machine at the widest setting a few times. Fold and pass through a few more times, tightening the setting each time. This helps develop the gluten.

Crank out a piece long enough to cover the ravioli form. Place over the form and gently push the pasta sheet down using the plastic domed sheet.

Place a bit of filling into each indentation, wet the edges with a bit of water. Roll out a second sheet of pasta and place over the first pasta sheet and fillings. Roll over with a rolling pin to cut the ravioli; turn over and separate.

Repeat until the dough and filling is used up.

Boil the ravioli in batches in lightly salted boiling water for about 2-3 minutes. Drain and toss with butter and sprinkle with grated cheese.

Italian Salami Pizza

(1 12" pizza)

Occasionally I like to make pizza from scratch. It's really not that difficult or time consuming as one might think. I have a food processor, so that does help speed things up, and I have a wonderful counter top convection oven which bakes stuff more evenly than my gas oven.

Dough
1/3 cup warm water, about 105° F. - 115° F.
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp dry yeast
1 1/4 cup unbleached flour
1 1/2 tsp olive oil

Sauce
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp water
pinch of dried oregano
pinch of dried thyme
pinch of dried marjoram

Toppings
2 tbsp Parmesan, finely grated
5-6 oz fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced or grated
5-8 slices of salami, cut up if they are large
1/4 - 1/2 cup assorted sliced vegetables, such as mushrooms, red pepper, olives; anything you like really


Making the Dough

Combine the water, sugar and yeast. Stir well and allow to sit for about 3 minutes. Pour into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the dough blade. Add the flour and olive oil and pulse a few times. If the dough remains in clumps and doesn't want to ball up, then add a little bit of warm water, followed by pulsing until it does. On the other hand, if it's too wet and sticky, add small amounts of flour until you have a smooth looking ball of dough.

Turn on the food processor and allow the ball of dough to roll around the bowl for about 2 minutes; this should build up the gluten somewhat. Remove and allow to rest, loosely covered, at room temperature for an hour or so; until it looks like it has doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 450° F.

Preparing the pizza

Punch down the dough and roll out to a circle about 12" in diameter. Place onto a pizza pan. (I have a pizza brick, but I'm usually too lazy to preheat it.)

Combine all of the sauce ingredients thoroughly and spread evenly over the dough. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese over the sauce.

Top with the mozzarella, salami and your choice of toppings.

Bake in the lower third of your oven for 8-12 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbling, and the crust is browned.

Creamy Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Risotto

(4 servings)

Risotto is typically made with a starchy short grain rice such as arborio. Hot broth is added in small amounts and cooked until it's absorbed into the rice, creating a creamy consistency. Usually, you can count on using about 4 cups of broth for every cup of rice.

This isn't a dish you can cover and leave as it requires constant stirring as the liquid is absorbed. It takes about 30-40 minutes to make and the time spent is well worth the result, I think.

4 cups vegetable broth
1 butternut squash (about 1 lb)
2 tsp butter
1 sweet onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/4 cup arborio rice
salt to taste
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp rubbed sage
1/2 cup dry white wine
about 5 oz soft goat's cheese, (it was a small package, so give or take a bit)

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Cut the squash into quarters and scoop out the seeds. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for about 30 minutes. When they are cool enough to handle, remove the skin and cut into small  1/2 "cubes, (don't worry if the squash seems undercooked in parts). Alternately, you could skip this step and just remove the skin and seeds and shred them. I don't like fighting it out with the tough skin, so I just throw them into the oven to make the removal easier.

Heat the broth and add the squash. Cook for about 5 minutes, then lower the heat to keep hot.

Melt the butter over med-low heat in a non-stick skillet, and add the onion and garlic. Saute until the onion is light brown in colour, about 10 minutes.

Raise the heat to medium and add the rice, salt, pepper and sage. Stir well until the rice is evenly coated with the onion mixture.

Add the wine and stir frequently until most of the liquid is absorbed. Reduce to heat to about medium low and add the broth mixture by the ladle, and continue to cook and stir until the liquid is absorbed after each addition.

When the risotto is practically done, add the goat cheese and stir well. Let the risotto stand for 2-5 minutes, then serve.

Spaghetti Carbonara

(serves 2)

This is a nice quick dinner. You can easily double or triple this recipe to feed more.

1/2 lb whole wheat spaghetti
4 slices of lean thick cut bacon, cut into 1/2" pieces
1 large clove of garlic, chopped 
1 large egg, beaten (at room temperature)
1 tbsp milk or cream
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper
pinch of nutmeg 
1/2 cup freshly grated romano cheese 

Bring a few quarts of salted water to boil. Add the spaghetti and cook until al dente; about 10 minutes or according to the package directions.

While the spaghetti is cooking, place the cut up bacon into a skillet and turn on the heat to medium. Add the garlic when the bacon begins to crisp. The garlic should flavour the bacon and not be allowed to burn. Stir a minute or two until the bacon is crispy. Remove the bacon and place on a paper towel to drain.

Combine the eggs, milk or cream, salt, pepper and nutmeg (in a mixing bowl large enough to hold the spaghetti) well. Set aside.

Drain the spaghetti, and add to the egg mixture immediately and toss, coating the pasta evenly. The spaghetti  should be hot enough to cook the eggs. Add the bacon and the cheese and toss until well combined.

Serve with salad