A nice modern French style ravioli for the autumn season made with American western ingredients!
French style pasta creations tend to be nothing like traditional Italian pasta entrees. The French tend to use their own traditional sauces. Cream sauces are often the sauce for French pasta entrees. French chefs tend to over sauce a pasta, when compared to the amount of sauce that Italian chefs prefer to call a tasteful. There are two types of pasta that seem to be the most popular for modern French pasta creations and they are fettuccine and ravioli. French ravioli stuffings can be very creative. American French chefs like to use seasonal local ingredients for pasta stuffings. Mission figs happen to be in season. The mission fig and florence fennel stuffing in this ravioli recipe is a pleasant surprise, when tasted. Many types of fruit go well in savory recipes and their are many mushroom flavors that match nicely with fruit. Cepes and pears go well together. Lobster mushrooms are nice with figs in this recipe. Lobster mushrooms are not really mushrooms. They are an attacking parasitic fungus that grows on two species of mushrooms. Depending on which species of mushroom they take over, the flavor can be spicy peppery or the flavor can taste like seafood. Fresh pasta making is not difficult. A mechanical hand turned sheet pasta roller, that is pictured above, was used to make the pasta sheets. The pasta making and shaping techniques are best if learned in person from an experienced Italian pasta chef, but the techniques can be learned on your own with practice. I wrote an extensive introduction to pasta making as a recipe a week ago and the information is good. I will post that information with this first round of fresh pasta recipes, so viewers can catch on.
Pasta Making Information: This recipe is not a simple semolina and water pasta dough recipe for pasta extruding machines. This is a standard pasta recipe for hand turned pasta sheet rolling machines. A rolling pin can be used to roll sheets of pasta, but a hand cranked pasta rolling machine is much easier to use and it makes sheets of pasta that are very uniform in thickness. An economical Italian hand cranked pasta rolling machine costs about $18 to $40 dollars and it is a good investment for home usage. A heavy duty restaurant grade pasta sheet roller costs about $350 to $650 dollars and it will last a lifetime, because it is rebuildable. Pasta Dough Making Tips: Pasta dough can be started in a metal gear driven electric cake mixer with a dough hook, but it still must be folded and pressed by hand to finish blending the ingredients. The dough does not need to be extensively kneaded, because it will be run through the pasta rolling machine several times at the widest setting and folded each in half each time. Using the pasta rolling machine to finish the kneading of the dough is one of the tricks of the trade. Before the dough is rolled out as pasta sheets, the dough must rest in a refrigerator for 3 to 4 hours, so the dough becomes smooth and elastic. Pasta dough is usually made in batches and the extra dough can be refrigerated. It is best to drape a cloth that is lightly soaked with olive oil over the block of pasta dough inside of a sealed container, when refrigerating pasta dough. The outside of the pasta dough block nearly always turns a grayish color after a couple of days, because of oxidization. This is nothing to worry about and the gray surface does not need to be trimmed off. The gray color will disappear after the dough is worked and after the pasta is boiled. Like all fresh products, fresh pasta has a Servesafe 7 day refrigerated shelf life. Pasta dough can be frozen, but it is better when it is fresh. Good pasta dough should not be too stiff and it should not be too soft. The dough should dent when heavy pressure is applied by one finger and the dough should only slightly or partially spring back. A pasta dough with this texture will produce some fine pasta. I usually use a mixture of semolina and all purpose flour to make pasta. This is how we made pasta when I apprenticed. Only a tiny fraction of salt is added to the dough recipe. A tiny fraction of olive oil is also added to the dough. The eggs are the key to the texture of the pasta and no water should be added during the initial mix. When the dough tightens, becomes stiff and starts to crumble, that is the time to start sprinkling very small amounts of water on the pasta dough, while kneading, till the dough becomes smooth and workable again. Too much water in a pasta dough will result in a sticky stretchy dough that is hard to manage when shaping fine pasta.
Pasta Dough Recipe: 1 cup of flour per egg is the approximate proportion for Italian pasta! Place 1 1/2 cups of semolina in a large mixing bowl. Add 1/2 cup of all purpose flour. Add 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt. Mix the dry ingredients together. Pile the dry ingredients on the center of the mixing bowl. Form a shallow well on the center of the mound of the flour mixture. Place two whole eggs in the well. Add 2 teaspoons of olive oil. Use a fork to gentle stir the eggs in the flour well, just like you are mixing eggs for scrambled eggs. As you stir the eggs in the well, allow the eggs to slowly and gradually gather the surrounding flour. Stir like this, till a dough starts to form. Scrape the ingredients from the fork back into the mixing bowl. Start using your fingers to gradually incorporate the remaining dry flour mixture into the dough mixture. At this stage, at some point, the dough will become dry and crumbly. Now it the time to add a small sprinkle of water. Do not add to much water! Add a small amount, then work the dough. Add small amounts of water till the dough becomes workable again. The dough should be stiff in texture. Fold the dough and press with the heels of your palms after each fold. Fold and knead the dough this way, till it becomes blended. Press the dough with 1 finger under pressure to make a dent in the dough. The dough should only partially spring back when it has the correct texture. The texture of the dough can be corrected by adding a sprinkle of water and more kneading if it is too dry. If to wet, then work the dough on a flour dusted surface, till it becomes the correct texture. Form the dough into a thick rectangular block shape and place it in a sealed container. Refrigerate the dough for 3 to 4 hours, till the semolina in the dough becomes smooth. Pasta Rolling Machine Techniques: Follow these instructions and tips for rolling out sheets of pasta! A very light dusting of flour on the work surface is best, when rolling sheet pasta. Sometimes I do not dust with any flour at all, if the room temperature is chilly. When running sheets of pasta through a pasta sheet rolling machine, the pasta will pile up like an accordion and stick together, so pause while running a pasta sheet through the roller and gently use the backs of your fingers to carry the pasta sheet from under the machine out over the work surface, so the pasta sheet does not accordion. For the widest setting on a pasta roller, the pasta is run through several times, till it becomes smooth and till it starts to become wide. If the pasta sheet has rough edges, then fold the sheet in half and keep running it through till the pasta sheet has smooth edges. This is only done at the widest setting on the pasta rolling machine. Cut a 1/2" thick, 10" long slab of pasta dough for making the first pasta sheet. Gently feed the thick slab of dough through the rolling machine at the widest setting to start the process. The first past through will usually result in a rough broken pasta sheet. Fold and press the sheet and pieces together, before running the dough through a second time. On the second pass through the pasta roller, the dough will hold together and start to look like a rough sheet. After the pasta sheet is uniform looking after being rum through the pasta rolling machine at the widest setting several times, then it is ready for the next step. The pasta dough sheet can be run one time through each successive smaller thickness setting on the rolling machine, till the pasta sheet becomes the desired thickness. The pasta sheet can now be turned into desired shapes!
Finocchio Mission Fig Ravioli Filling: This recipe makes enough for 4 to 5 ravioli or 1 ravioli portion! Heat a saute pan over medium low heat. Add 1 pat of unsalted butter. Add 1/2 teaspoon of vegetable oil. Add 1 teaspoon of minced shallot. Add 1 tablespoon of finely chopped florence fennel bulb. (anise bulb) Gently saute till the vegetables turn a translucent color. Add 1/2 teaspoon of ginger paste. Add 2 finely chopped mission figs. Stir and saute, till the mission fig starts to become soft and sugary. Add 2 ounces of brandy. Add 2 ounces of dry white wine. Add 1/2 teaspoon of honey. Add 1 pinch of sea salt and white pepper. Add 1 small pinch of fenugreek. Reduce the temperature to low heat. Simmer and reduce the liquid, till the liquid has nearly evaporated and the stuffing becomes like a paste and nearly dry. Place the finocchio and mission fig filling in a small bowl and set it aside to cool.
Finocchio Mission Fig Ravioli: Place a 16" long sheet of pasta on a lightly flour dusted countertop. Place a straight edge or yard stick down center of the length of the pasta sheet, so the pasta sheet is divided in two lengthwise. Center 4 small mounds of the finocchio mission fig filling once every 3" to 3 1/2" on one half of the pasta sheet. The portion of the filling should be the size of 1/2 tablespoon to 3/4 tablespoon in size. (Refer to the photographs above to see the placement of the mounds of filling. Remove the straight edge guide. Brush the area around the mounds of filling, with a wide streak of egg wash or milk. Drape the bare half of the pasta sheet over the filling. Use 1 finger to gently press the pasta in place, starting with the folded edge, then the spaces between the mounds and finally the open seam edge. This way any excess air will escape! Use a fancy pasta wheel cutter, a pizza cutting wheel or a knife to cut square ravioli shapes. The filling should be centered on each ravioli. Place the ravioli on a screen drying rack, if they are not going to be cooked immediately. The pasta scraps can be reshaped to make more pasta.
Lobster Mushroom a Vin Blanc Creme: This recipe makes enough for one serving! Start boiling a pot of salted water to cook the ravioli with later in the recipe. Heat a saute pan over medium/medium low heat. Add 2 pats of unsalted butter. Add 7 or 8 very thin slices of fresh lobster mushroom. (Reconstituted dried lobster mushroom can be used during the off season. Fresh lobster mushrooms are available during late summer and autumn.) Add 1 teaspoon of minced shallot. Add 1/2 of a minced garlic clove. Saute till the shallots start to turn clear and till the thin slices of lobster mushroom start to become tender. Stir gently, so the thin mushroom slices do not become damaged! Add 3 ounces of dry white wine. Simmer and reduce the wine, till it becomes nearly evaporated. Add 6 ounces of cream. Add 1 pinch of minced fresh basil leaf. Add 1 pinch of finely chopped florence fennel green top leaves. Add sea salt and white pepper. Reduce the temperature to low heat. Gently simmer and reduce, till a thin cream sauce is formed. Add 1/2 pat of unsalted butter while stirring. (monte au beurre) Reduce the temperature to very low heat and start cooking the ravioli!
Finocchio Mission Fig Ravioli with Lobster Mushroom a Vin Blanc Creme: Wait to cook the ravioli, till after the sauce is finished and kept warm! Bring a large pot of water to a gentle boil over medium high/high heat. Add some sea salt. Place the fresh ravioli pasta in the hot water. As soon as the ravioli begin to float, then they are done cooking. Note: The pasta should be fairly firm and not overly soft when it is ready. There is no such thing as al dente fresh pasta, but there is such a thing as overcooked mushy fresh pasta! Use a fryer net to remove the hot cooked ravioli from the hot water. Hold the fryer net over the pot of hot water and allow any excess water to fall off of the ravioli. Add the ravioli to the warm sauce in the pan. (If the sauce became too thick, while holding, then add a few spoonfuls of cream!) Gently toss the ingredients together. Use a spoon to overlap the ravioli in a row across a plate. Spoon a generous amount of the sauce over and around the ravioli. Garnish with a sprig of the florence fennel green top leaves.
This is a very elegant tasting modern French style ravioli entree! I seriously doubt if any other chef has ever thought of combining the ingredients of this recipe to create this wonderful flavor combination. I was a professional saucier for a very long time and I do have a way of creating new elegant flavors for the viewers of this blog to try! Pop a nice bottle of French chardonnay and enjoy this special tasting Finocchio Mission Fig Ravioli with Lobster Mushroom a Vin Blanc Creme! Bon Appetite! ... Shawna
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