spork me

Beetroot, Sage and Goat’s Cheese Ravioli

Ages ago, I took a stab at Chew Town’s beautiful ravioli recipe, without first stocking up on pasta flour. I was ready to make both batches of ravioli to freeze for later, but instead did my version of a “best of” rav with my 3 favorite ingredients from what I had prepared, and tried my best to find creative ways to eat pureed pumpkin for the next 2 days.

I still have a lot to learn making pasta; due to the lack of dough (and the last lot I tried making being way too doughy), I overcompensated and made them too thin. I also overfilled them since I had so much filling. But they froze well, and I’d do it again, provided I check that I have the right ingredients first.

Herb Crusted Roast Eggplant with Ravioli

I bought some fresh ravioli for a quick weeknight meal, it’s so much better when you throw together a quick sauce instead of using pre-made, and it barely takes any time.

Ingredients:

1 eggplant, cut in half
Half a bulb of garlic
1/2 cup chopped sage
2 cans of whole roma tomatoes
1 cup of water
1/4 cup red wine
1/8 cup brown sugar
1 tsp nutmeg
Olive oil, salt and pepper

In a mortar and pestle, mash up the garlic with a bit of salt, adding the sage at the very end.

Spread about 1 tbsp on each half of the eggplant with some olive oil. Roast in the oven for about 30 minutes until golden.

In a big saucepan, saute the rest of the garlic/sage mixture in a bit of oil. Add the tomatoes, water, wine, brown sugar and nutmeg. Cook down for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, and mash up the tomatoes with the back of a spoon before adding the fresh pasta straight into the pan. Cook for another 10 minutes, and serve with the eggplant.

Salmon and Fennel Ravioli with Scampi, Flying Fish Roe, and Salmon Crackling

We had a bet going at my house over who would win Masterchef, and I lost. The winner got an amazing 3 course dinner cooked for them, so I pulled out the stops and made some new things, mostly Masterchef inspired. Serves 4.

Ingredients (ravioli filling):

1 large fillet of salmon, diced, skins removed and set aside
1 fennel bulb, pureed
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

Mix and set aside for about 2 hours. Drain before using, removing as much liquid as you can.

Ingredients (pasta):

1 1/2 cups Type 00 Flour
3 eggs
Pinch of salt
2 tbsp olive oil

Mix and knead, adding more flour if the dough is too wet. Wrap in cling wrap and pop in the fridge while you prepare the rest.

Ingredients (everything else):

150ml olive oil
1 chili, diced
3 gloves garlic, crushed
8 scampi, heads and shells removed and set aside
1 lime, skin removed and in sections
Flying Fish Roe
Chopped chives
Salmon skin

Grill the salmon skin until crispy and break into bits.

In a saucepan on low, add the oil, garlic, chili, and some of the scampi shells and heads. Simmer very very low for about 20 minutes, and strain to separate the chili oil.

Roll out the pasta dough in strips until very thin. Better yet, use a pasta maker. Put 2 tbsp of the strained salmon mixture onto the dough, top with another thin piece of dough and press together, squeezing out air. Cut into a square. Repeat for the rest of the pasta and salmon.

Cook the pasta in boiling water until they float. Saute scampi in a touch of the chili oil and add the lime for the last minute. Season with salt and pepper. Plate the pasta, add scampi, chives, salmon crackling, chili oil and finish with a bit of the roe.