Homemade ravioli: simultaneously easier and more difficult than I expected.
We assembled our ravioli on Monday night, and I was surprised at how (relatively) easy it was to make the dough, and get it into the right shapes, and put all the yummy stuff in, and keep all the yummy stuff from falling out. They looked so lovely, and tiny, and the dough was silky, and it was all so tactile and fun. And good smelling.
Last night we decided it was time to cook up one of the two batches we made, and while they were very, very good, something was not quite 100%, and we all know what a perfectionist I am. I am now determined to master the art of ravioli making.
Of course, last night’s dinner was still pretty darned awesome, and, what with the ravioli already assembled, freakishly easy. I figured that roasting tomatoes would be one of the best things to do with them, in their sad and pale wintry state, and I believe I was right. It also turns out that in their sad and pale wintry state they don’t caramelize as well in the hot, hot oven. I assume it’s because there is less sugar in winter tomatoes, but what do I know?
All I really did for this dinner was cut up some roma tomatoes and broccoli, toss it all with olive oil and a little salt and pepper in a big roasting dish, and stick it in a 400F oven for about 45 minutes. I stirred the whole lot maybe once or twice, but pretty much left it alone. When the tomatoes and broccoli were almost done with the roasting (and we got so hungry I was tired of waiting for the tomatoes to caramelize), we cooked up the raviolis in a pan of very salted, oily boiling water for about five minutes. The tomato broccoli mix and the ravioli went into bowls, and the whole thing was drizzled with a bit of truffle oil (heaven) and some parmesan cheeese. Easy as pie, full of good vegetables, and super tasty.
The ravioli filling was an early morning inspiration of The Crystal, and the combination was excellent: balsamic portabellos and brie. The sweetness of the balsamic was paired perfectly with perfect buttery brie, and oh, yum, goodness, losing my power of words.
Here’s how she did the inside parts:
Balsamic Portabello and Brie Ravioli
- about 8 oz. portabella mushrooms, diced very finely
- 1/2 c. balsamic vinegar
- 2 T. olive oil
- about 8 oz. good brie
Add half the balsamic and 1 T. olive oil to a skillet, and cook over medium-high heat until the balsamic starts to reduce. When it’s reduced about about 1/3 of the way, add half the mushrooms, and cook for about 7 minutes. Continue to reduce the balsamic by tilting the pan, keeping the mushrooms at the top and letting the balsamic cook down in the bottom of the pan. Cook through until the balsamic is completely reduced and absored into the mushrooms. Then remove them from the pan, and do the same with the other half of the shtuff. Salt and pepper the whole bit a little and voila. This stuff goes into the pasta circles, or squares, or whatever you choose to make, with about 1/2 tablespoon of brie for each ravioli. Sealthem up with either an egg wash or some warm water. Be sure to smooth all of the air out of each ravioli before sealing: apparently, that is how they pop.
I would probably, in the future, drain the mushroom mix a bit on some paper towels. It was very wet, which made it hard to fill the raviolis enough.
This was a super awesome meal, thought I think my dough needs a little work. It got just a tad gummy, and felt a little more grainy than I wanted, but it tasted superb. Overall, an excellent first ravioli attempt.
Coming up: Artichoke Lemon ravioli with Yellowfin Tuna in a light caper cream sauce. I think.