Friday, March 20, 2009

Asparagus Ravioli in Parmesan Broth

While I was in Arizona I had the pleasure of meeting my brother-in-law's girlfriend, Lauren. Lauren and I hit it off right away! She and I are so much alike and one of our shared passions is cooking. (She starts culinary school in September... JEALOUS!!!) Since we both love to cook, we got together one night and decided to make ravioli. I have no pictures from this wonderful venture, but I copied the recipe and brought it back to Germany with me.

Fast forward 2 weeks and here I am, back at home, ready to recreate the fantastic meal that I shared with Lauren.

I am very proud of this meal. First off, it is DELICIOUS! If you love asparagus, you will go nuts for this ravioli. It is amazing! Asparagus is Nathan's favorite vegetable, so I am stoked to make it for him when he comes home. The second reason that I am so proud is because my ravioli look so cute! Now, not to toot my own horn or anything, but seriously... I made these and they were awesome. I think that deserves a little toot, no?


The filling for the ravioli is made with pureed asparagus, mascarpone, parmesan, breadcrumbs, and lemon zest. The filling is amazing by itself. Anya and I were eating it by the spoonful as we were filling the ravioli. I have some leftover in the fridge that I am considering just slapping on a piece of bread for lunch! HEE HEE!


The pasta was relatively easy, too. I know pasta can seem daunting, but it really isn't. Plus, with the help of my Kitchenaid pasta roller, it is easy peasy.

So... get some asparagus and make this meal. Or come on over and I'll make it for you. :)


Asparagus Ravioli in Parmesan Broth
Gourmet Magazine April 2009
Pasta Dough:
1 cup cake flour
1/4 cup AP flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 large egg yolks
1 1/2 TBSP olive oil
1/4 cup water
Blend together all dough ingredients in a food processor until mixture starts to form a ball. Knead dough on lightly floured surface, adding additional flour to prevent sticking, until smooth and elastic (6-8 minutes). Wrap dough in plastic wrap and let stand for 1 hour.
(Dough can be made 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated and bring to room temperature before rolling out.)
Ravioli:
1 lb asparagus
5 cups chicken stock
1 (3 inch) rind from a wedge of Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 Turksh or 1/2 California bay leaf
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/4 cup mascarpone
1/4 cup fine dry breadcrumbs
1 tsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
MAKE BROTH AND FILLING WHILE DOUGH STANDS.
Cut off asparagus tips, then halve each tip lengthwise and reserve.
Bring stock, cheese rind, and bay leaf to a simmer in a medium saucepan, then add asparagus stems and cook, uncovered, until stems are just tender, 5-6 minutes. Transfer stems to a paper towel and cool slightly. Reserve broth.
Puree asparagus stems in a food processor with parmesan, mascarpone, breadcrumbs, zest, salt, and pepper.
MAKE RAVIOLI:
Cut dough into 4 equal pieces. Cover 3 pieces with plastic wrap, then pat out remaining piece into a flat rectangle and generously dust with flour.

Set rollers of pasta machine on widest setting. Feed rectangle, short side first, through rollers. Fold rectangle in thirds, like a letter, and feed it, short side first, through rollers. Repeat 6 or 7 more times. Turn dial to next setting and feed dough through. Continue to feed dough through, without folding, until the second or third narrowest setting is used.
Put pasta sheet on a lightly floured kitchen towel with a long side nearest you. Drop 6 rounded teaspoon-size mounds of filling 1 1/4 inches apart in a row down the center right half of the sheet. Brush pasta around mounds with water, then lift left half of sheet and drape over mounds.
Press down firmly but gently around each mound, forcing out the air. Cut pasta witha sharp knife into 2 inch squares. Line a large baking pan lightly with flour and and place ravioli to rest. Make remaining ravioli.
COOK RAVIOLI AND ASPARAGUS TIPS


Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.

Bring broth to a simmer. Add asparagus tips and simmer, uncovered, until tender (2-3 minutes). Season broth with salt and divide among 6 bowls, discarding cheese rind and bay leaf.

Add half of ravioli to gently boiling water and cook just until pasta is tender, 2-3 minutes.

NOTES:

Filling and broth, without asparagus tips, can be made 1 day ahead.

Also, ravioli can be assembled and frozen until needed. Just add a few extra minutes to boiling time.

13 comments:

The McBride Family said...

IT was so so so good Cristine!! Thanks for having us over for dinner!! It was FABULOUS!

Susan @ SGCC said...

Those ravioli look heavenly! What a great dish!

Ingrid_3Bs said...

Hey, I'll be right over. A lot easier than trying to make it myself though probably not cheaper.

Good for you that you made your own pasta!! That asparagus cream sounds wonderful. I'm gonna print it out to make for my Dad who's asparagus lover! I bet I could stuff some chicken with it.
~ingrid

ALLRED FAMILY said...

My mouth is watering! I'm super impressed and I will toot your horn.

TOOT! TOOT! I can't wait to try this one. I just discovered a natural foods store in town with the cheapest produce. I'm stocking up on asparagus!

Coleens Recipes said...

I've wanted to make ravioli (of any kind) for a long time.

Bunny said...

It looks so elegant and wonderful Cristine! I'm jealous , I ve never made homemade pasta!!

priscilla joy said...

Wow, that looks so good. I've never made any kind of homemade pasta before but I need to. Yumminess!

teresa said...

If I made pasta as wonderful looking as that, I'd be tooting my horn all over town, impressive! This looks fantastic!

Anonymous said...

You should be very proud of yourself - those ravioli look better than anything I've ever seen in a store. My kids love asparagus so I'll definitely give them a try.

betty geek said...

I am going to toot your horn for you: THESE LOOK FAB! So delicious. I wish I can have them for tonight's dinner! :)

J.L. Danger said...

those ARE really cute little raviolis! I am jealous- I could never make homemade ravioli!

Spryte said...

Wow!! If I made those I'd sure be tooting my horn!!

That looks AWESOME!!!

Lauren said...

Sorry it has taken me this long to comment. Im starting to make meals for my family and i said why not look at your blog! I think im going to make this raviloi for tomorrow's dinner. I had a blast as well making it with you!! I am hoping to see you soon in Feburary!
Love you,

Lauren

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