Stuffed Pasta

 

Executive Chef, Bryan Moscatello

Stuffed Pasta has got to be my favorite style of fresh pasta.  They are like beautiful little pillows of flavor.  The beauty of stuffed pasta is that it comes in so many variations, textures, flavors, sizes, etc. having grown up in an Italian household I enjoyed the classic ricotta, spinach filling with a hint of nutmeg for many on an almost ritual basis every Sunday.  Now that I am charged with writing, maintaining and evolving an Italian menu I am finding the stuffed pasta element to be the most difficult to sort out.  This is not due to me not being able to think up fillings for them but is due to having too many ideas.  There are so many possible fillings it becomes overwhelming. Last night we held a cooking class devoted to stuffed pasta and covered just 3 of our favorite fillings.

As I sit here and try to decide what filling and potentially what shapes are my favorite It is impossible to settle on one.  So I start with the classic.  A Mezzalune stuffed with fresh ricotta and served with a sauté of fresh plum tomatoes, garlic, basil and Extra Virgin Olive Oil as I enjoyed them at lunch with Alegra Antinori on e fine spring afternoon.  Then there’s the tender braised veal stuffed agnolotti that I still remember from farfalle restaurant.  And what about Luka Palladinos’ classic but very relavent butternut squash ravioli in a sage brown butter?  And George Mahaffeys’ Giant Lobster tortelloni.  Life would not be complete without a perfectly cooked Egg Yolk Ravioli. 

The best part of stuffed pasta is the simple fact that you can use anything as a filling.  Some of my favorites that have been featured on the menus of Zola and Potenza are Roast Capon and live r mousse tortelloni, Truffled rabbit tortelloni, Porcini mushroom ravioli, braised lamb shank ravioli, Presrved tomato and mascarpone mezzalune and the unforgettable Duck and Foie Gras Tortelli.  Anything can be turned into a ravioli and that quite simply is what makes them so much fun to make and so delicious to eat.

Try it for yourself, here’s the recipe from last night’s class:

Basic Pasta Dough

18 ounces flour

1 cup egg yolks

1 ounce extra virgin olive oil

1-2 ounces water

Combine flour, egg yolks and olive oil in a stand mixer. Slowly add water until dough forms.

Butternut Squash and Blue Cheese:

2 c.      Roast Butternut Squash puree,  roasted on herbs with butter, salt and pepper then riced

½ c.     Gorgonzola dolce

tt          adobo sauce from chipotle peppers

combine the squash and gorgonzola then season with the adobo sauce, salt and pepper.

Braised lamb and currant filling:

1.5 c.   Lamb shank, braised and shredded

1/4 c.   Manchego cheese, shredded

¼ c.     re-hydrated currants, in cider

3 T.      Pinenuts, toasted  and crushed

½ ea.    Zest of orange

Pinch of chopped thyme

½ ea.    Zest of lemon

1 tsp    parsley, chopped

1 Tbsp garlic confit

1/2 cup braising liquid from the shanks Note this needs to be reduced to demi glace consistency

Whip together all ingredients except lamb shanks. Once thoroughly combined, fold in shredded lamb.

Braised lamb shanks

3 lb. Lamb shanks                               1/2 cup white wine

1/2 cup onions, chopped                     2 sprigs parsley

1/4 cup carrots, chopped                     1 sprig basil

1/4 cup celery, chopped                      1 tsp peppercorns

4 cloves garlic                                     3 cups chicken stock

1 sprig thyme

Preheat convection oven to 225 degrees. Heat oil over high heat. Once pan is fully heated, add lamb shanks and brown on all sides. Remove lamb and add onions, carrots and celery to the same pan. Sauté until soft. Drain off excess oil and deglaze pan with white wine. Reduce by half and add remaining ingredients. Place lamb in an 8 inch baking dish and cover with liquid. Cover with plastic wrap and foil. Bake for 8 hours.

Artichoke and Proscuitto Filling

2 T.      Olive oil

3 c.      Artichoke bottoms that have been cooked and small diced

4 oz.    Proscuitto, sliced thin and julienne

½ c.     Mascarpone

2 T.      garlic, minced

¼ c.     shallots, minced

2 ea.     Lemon zest

1 t.       tarragon, chopped

1 T.      parsley, chopped

Heat olive oil over medium high heat. Sauté garlic and shallots until soft. Add proscuitto and artichokes and allow to lightly brown.  Add the, herbs and lemon zest. Toss and then season with salt and pepper.  Allow to cool.  Once cold mix the mascarpone into the artichoke mixture.

Tags: pasta