Friday, October 10, 2014

Rosie Rambles And Comes Up With Ravioli. And A Special Sauce.

 Here's the goal today:

 This is homemade ravioli stuffed with a crab meat and cheese mixture and covered with a roasted red pepper, cream, and Parmesan sauce.  Sherry was involved.  It was intensely good.

Good neighbor, Zippy, recently brought us a load of sweet red bell peppers. 
 Mr. Hawthorne has been happily roasting the peppers and canning them. 

  
After blackening over an open flame, plunge the peppers into ice water.
Rub off the skin. 
Don't be OC on the skin.  You can leave a little char.
 Canned roasted red peppers.  
What a joy!

Today, I'm making homemade ravioli.
I'm stuffing them with a crab meat and cheese mixture and I'm making a roasted red pepper and cream sauce for the ravioli to take a bath in.

That said, let's make some pasta!
Pasta
1 lb flour
4 eggs
water, as needed
Make a well in the flour and add the eggs.
Mix by hand, trying to keep the eggs from breaching the flour wall.
Knead, until smooth and elastic.
Mine seemed a little dry, so I added a tablespoon or so of extra virgin olive oil.

You want a supple, elastic, smooth dough.
Cover with a towel and let rest for 20 minutes.

Cut into four pieces.
I covered 3 loaves with plastic wrap and refrigerated them for another time and place.

 I ran the fourth section through my pasta machine.
This is the pasta on #4 setting.

 This is the dough on the #5 setting.
I'm not good at this at all, so I stopped at #5.
I still had #6 and #7 settings to go.

 
This is what the #5 setting looks like.
Really not as thin as I'd like it, but I was scared to go to #6 - #7.
I needed an extra pair of hands.
 Place a sheet of dough over the ravioli frame

 Press dimples with the tray.

 Fill with crab meat mixture.

Crab Meat Mixture 
8 oz. crab meat
1/2 stick unsalted butter
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 oz. goat cheese
2 oz. cream cheese
Melt butter, goat cheese, and cream cheese in small saucepan.
Add lemon juice and gently fold in crab meat so as not to break it up.
Heat through.

 Place another sheet over top.

 Take a rolling pin to it.

 Turn over and spank it onto a floured surface.

Yes, I am aware that I suck at ravioli making.
But this is only the second or third time I've made them.
I will get better.
Cut individual ravioli.
Let dry one hour.
Turn and go for another hour.
Cook now or cover and refrigerate for the next day, which is what I did since I wanted this for lunch.

 Now I'm ready to make the sauce for the ravioli.

Roasted Red Pepper Cream Sauce
1 TB unsalted butter
2 oz. prosciutto, chopped
1/3 cup dry sherry
3/4 cup cream
1 roasted red pepper, puréed
4 oz. crab meat
2 TB grated Parmesan cheese

Melt butter in small sauce pan over medium high heat.
Add in prosciutto and brown.
Remove pan from heat and add in 1/3 cup sherry.
Return pan to heat and scrape up the goodie bits.
Reduce heat to low and let the sherry cook down to 1-2 TB.
Add in the cream and pepper purée.
Reduce by half over low heat/bare simmer.
Gently add in crab meat and Parmesan.  Heat through.

Spoon sauce over crab meat stuffed ravioli.
Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Roast a red pepper over an open flame.
Keep turning until it's evenly blackened.

Immediately submerge in ice water.
Rub off the charred skin.

Get some cream, Parmesan cheese, and parsley.
Chop up some prosciutto.
Purée a roasted red pepper.

 Melt the butter.  Add in the prosciutto.  Brown it.  Add in the sherry. Reduce.
Add in cream and roasted red pepper and reduce.  Add in crab meat and Parmesan.  Heat through.

That sauce is something else!
The difference between freshly made pasta and the dried grocery store stuff is astonishing.




6 comments:

Rocquie said...

That looks amazing. I would not say you suck at ravioli making--the fact that you even make it elevates you super-hero status. You inspire me to try pasta making. --Rocquie

Rosie Hawthorne said...

You're too kind, Rocquie. Please try making pasta. You won't believe the flavor and texture! And it cooks in a fraction of the time. Thanks for commenting!

zzzadig said...

I.....don't......like....you......at ....all.

Nothing is better than this in my book.

Rosie Hawthorne said...

Ahhh, my friend, zzzadig - The fact that you don't like me ... at all ... ? There's nothing better than this in my book!

Jill K. said...

Rosie, madam,

Your cooking inspires me. Really. I made the ravioli, messed the sauce up just a wee bit and it was still great. I can only imagine what yours tasted like.

Cheers!

Rosie Hawthorne said...

Hi, Jill.
Thank you so much for your comment. It's a food blogger's dream to hear someone say, "Your cooking inspires me." This is what I try to do. I appreciate that you made this. Thank you again.
Rosie

PS How was the sauce messed up? Maybe I can help.