It’s the second day of spring! My birthday is tomorrow! I leave for a week-long trip to Mexico on Saturday! So in celebration of sunshine and parties and vacations, here’s one last dish for winter.
This was my second-ever attempt at making ravioli. The first was this past Christmas, when my family decided we would attempt to make classic ravioli filled with ricotta and spinach at my sister’s house in Massachusetts. We’d use my mom’s KitchenAid pasta roller attachment to do this. After several hours on the road from New York, already well into Massachusetts, my mom realized she’d forgotten the attachment. If there is anything to know about me, you should know that this is the very specific type of situation in which I excel. Give me a scenario in which we’re missing something we need, we’re in a moving vehicle on a highway and driving that vehicle is a father who WILL NOT take a detour. I will locate a Bed Bath & Beyond that is nearly on the way, call them to confirm they have the item and have them hold it at the register. I will sprint into the store to purchase it (accompanied by my generous aunt who used the opportunity to gift the item to my sister). We will be back on the road in no time, and we will arrive at the destination only 2 minutes behind our initial ETA. It’s called real-world problem solving, and I’m great at it.
Anyway, back to ravioli. That first batch at Christmas was a little frustrating. We just kept overstuffing them and couldn’t seem to find our rhythm. But they were very tasty. So when I saw this recipe for little ravioli stuffed with a taleggio filling, I felt like I knew the ropes already. And I have to say, this time it was much easier. This is never going to be a quick dinner. It’s a weekend project. But once you get the hang of it, you can churn your ravioli out pretty quickly. They also freeze well and are great for a dinner party.
The filling is incredible. You need to like strong cheese- taleggio is no shrinking violet- but the overall flavor is very savory and well-rounded. It also pairs so well with the radicchio with which it’s served- cooked very quickly with onion, honey and some toasted walnuts. It’s truly one of the best meals I’ve had in awhile, and I’ve found myself turning to the radicchio recipe on its own when I’m feeling uninspired about vegetables for dinner.
So with that, here’s to searing and grilling and churning your own ice cream…it’s spring, and I could not be more thrilled.
Ingredients
- For the Pasta:
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (170g) tipo 00 flour, or 1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons (170g) all-purpose flour, plus some for dusting
- 7 tablespoons (55g) durum flour
- 9 egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons (45ml) water, plus more as needed
- 7 oz. (200g) Taleggio cheese
- 1/2 cup (120g) mascarpone cheese
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons (15g) walnuts
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) olive oil
- 2 tablespoons (21g) finely chopped yellow onion
- 3 cups (110g) julienned radicchio
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) honey, plus some for drizzling
Instructions
- Combine the Taleggio and mascarpone in a food processor and puree until the cheeses are smooth. Taste the mixture, adding salt and pepper until it tastes good to you. Add the egg and process until blended. Spoon the filling into a ziploc bag, seal closed and refrigerate it for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.
- Next make the pasta. This recipe makes 1 pound of pasta- you'll only need half for this recipe, so you can freeze the other half for up to 3 months.
- Combine both flours in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or mix together the flours on a work surface and make a well in the center. On medium speed, or with your fingers, add the egg yolks, oil and water, adding them one ingredient at a time and mixing just until the dough comes together, 2 to 3 minutes. If necessary, add a little more water, 1 tablespoon (15ml) at a time, for the dough to come together.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead it until it feels silky and smooth, about 5 minutes, kneading in a little tipo 00 flour if necessary to keep the dough from sticking. The dough is ready if when you stretch it with your hands, it gently pulls back into place.
- Shape the dough into a ball, then flatten the ball into a disk. Cut the dish in half, and refrigerate one half for at least 30 minutes or wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 3 days. You can also freeze the other half of the dough for up to 3 months. (Thaw the dough overnight in the refrigerator before using it).
- To roll out the dough, cut it into 2 equal pieces. Let the pieces sit, covered, at room temperature for 10 minutes if chilled. The dough should be cool but not cold. Shape each piece into an oval wide enough to fit the width of your pasta roller. Lightly flour your work surface and set the pasta roller to its widest setting. Lightly flour 1 piece of dough, pass it through the roller and then lightly dust the rolled dough with flour, brushing off the excess with your hands. Pass the dusted dough through the widest setting again. Set the roller to the next narrowest setting and pass the dough through, dusting again with flour and brushing off the excess. Pass once again through the roller. Fold the dough in half lengthwise over itself and cut about 1/4 inch off both corners at the fold. This folding and cutting helps to create an evenly wide sheet of dough. Continue passing the dough once or twice through each progressively narrower setting. For ravioli, you want your sheets to be about 1/32 inch thick, which is about a 6 or 7 on a KitchenAid attachment. They should be thin enough to read a newspaper through.
- Lay a pasta sheet on a lightly floured surface and trim the edges square. Fold the sheet in half crosswise and cut a small notch at the fold to mark the center of the sheet. Unfold the sheet so it lies flat again. Snip a corner from the bag of filling and pipe 3/4-inch balls of filling in 2 rows along half the length of the sheet, leaving a 1 1/2-inch margin between the balls and stopping about 1 1/2-inches from the center mark of the sheet. Lightly mist the dough with water to keep it from drying out and to help create a good seal. Lift up the empty side of the sheet and fold it over the balls of filling. Use your fingers to press out the air around each ball. Using a round cutter (preferably fluted) 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter, punch out ravioli along the rows. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. As the ravioli are formed, transfer them to floured rimmed baking sheets. You should have 30 to 40 ravioli.
- Cover the ravioli and use them within 1 hour, or freeze them in a single layer on a floured rimmed baking sheet, transfer them to a ziploc bag and freeze them for up to 2 weeks. Take the pasta straight from the freezer to the boiling pasta water.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Working in batches to prevent crowding, drop in the ravioli and cover the pot to quickly return the water to a low boil. Gently cook the ravioli until they are tender but still a little chewy when bitten, 4 to 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, toast the walnuts in a large, dry saute pan over medium heat, shaking the pan now and then, until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the nuts to a cutting board and chop them. Heat the oil in the same pan over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the onion and sweat it until it is soft but not browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the radicchio and cook it until it is tender but still a little crunchy, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the honey.
- Dish out the radicchio mixture onto warmed plates, placing it to the side of each plate. Using a spider strainer or slotted spoon, drain the ravioli, let them drip-dry for a moment. Arrange the drained ravioli on the other side of each plate. Drizzle the ravioli with honey and sprinkle with the walnuts.
Notes
From Mastering Pasta
