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Valentine’s Day Dinner:
Beet Pasta Ravioli with Ricotta and Radicchio Filling

February 13, 2017 By Deborah Dal Fovo Leave a Comment

Beet Pasta Ravioli with Ricotta and Radicchio Filling

How do I love thee? Let me count the ravioli. Seriously, there’s no better way to say “I love you” than with a plate of handmade pasta lovingly crafted and offered as a token of your affection. After all, you put a little bit of yourself into every bite by kneading, rolling and shaping the pasta even before it is cooked. The act in itself is a delicious labor of love. Then why not take it to the next level with colored pasta and make a real statement? Those were my thoughts last year when I created these Beet Pasta Ravioli with Ricotta and Radicchio Filling for Valentine’s Day. Yes, I make other colored pasta, like these green tagliatelle colored with spinach that I did here. But these Valentine’s ravioli were begging to be red—really, really red—the color of love, of passion, of beets. In fact, for these ravioli the pasta dough is stained deep magenta-red with beets before it lovingly envelopes a creamy ricotta and radicchio filling to form pretty half-moon shaped ravioli. They look stunning on the plate, dressed in a rosy sauce of beet-tinted melted butter and scattered with toasted pine nuts and delicate wisps of shaved Parmigiano. A romantic meal never looked or tasted so good!

Beet Pasta Ravioli with Ricotta and Radicchio Filling

It took a little love on my part to get this beet pasta recipe the way I wanted it. You see, beets stain but they also bleed. That means when red pasta cooks, the color can leach into the boiling water and fade —taking the pasta from bright magenta to drab pink. But that wasn’t good enough for me and I was determined to get an intense red pasta that held up to cooking. And I did…here’s how. I use more beets than most but it works because of a few tricks I’ll share with you. First, I roast the beets so they don’t get watery like they can if you boil them. Then I puree the beets using a fine blade in my food mill, but you can also process in a food processor. Next—and most importantly—I squeeze all the liquid out of the beet puree (saving it for the sauce) in a cotton napkin I don’t mind staining until it’s dry like play dough. This creates a concentrated pigmentation agent to add to the egg before incorporating flour, so less flour is needed and the pasta dough is darker. After kneading the dough until smooth and soft, it is dark magenta and almost purplish in color. But don’t worry because some of the color will fade during boiling and the cooked ravioli will be a lovely shade of red.

Beet Pasta Ravioli with Ricotta and Radicchio Filling

You should know that while red beets color pasta dough beautifully, they can stain your hands and counter tops if you’re not careful. To avoid this, I work on washable cutting boards and wear disposable latex gloves when making the pasta dough. Once the dough is made, roll it thin—either with a rolling pin or using a pasta machine. Cut the pasta sheet into circles, dab each with a spoonful of ricotta and radicchio filling, then fold and seal the edges well to form half moon shaped ravioli. This filling comes together quickly with a mixture of ricotta cheese, egg, Parmigiano and caramelized radicchio. Radicchio is red chicory with a bittersweet peppery flavor that adds spice to the mild ricotta and compliments the beet infused pasta. I like to use Treviso radicchio, but if you can’t find it, the Chioggia variety works well too.

Beet Pasta Ravioli with Ricotta and Radicchio Filling

Once the ravioli are made the work is done leaving plenty of time to get dressed and light the candles on the table. Then, just a few minutes before serving, the pasta cooks while a quick yet sumptuous sauce is made from reserved beet juice and butter to toss the ravioli in and coat them with even more color and flavor. Arranged on plates with a smattering of toasted pine nuts and Parmigiano shavings over top, they make quite an entrance and are sure to set the mood for your romantic meal. Happy Valentine’s Day…or should I say…beet mine?

Beet Pasta Ravioli with Ricotta and Radicchio Filling

 

BEET PASTA RAVIOLI WITH RICOTTA & RADICCHIO FILLING
Ravioli di Barbabietola con Ricotta e Radicchio

Created by Deborah Dal Fovo on February 8, 2017

Beet Pasta Ravioli with Ricotta and Radicchio Filling The pasta for these half-moon shaped ravioli is tinted deep magenta red by pureed beets then filled with creamy ricotta and caramelized radicchio. They look stunning arranged on a plate dressed in rosy beet-infused melted butter and scattered with toasted pine nuts and Parmigiano shavings.    © 2016 Deborah Dal Fovo. All rights reserved.

  • Prep Time: 2h
  • Cook Time: 10m
  • Yield: 24 ravioli
  • Category: First Courses - Primi Piatti, Pasta, Recipes

Ingredients

Beet Pasta Dough:

  • 6 ounces /160g red beets, trimmed
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup/120g all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
  • 1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten
  • Kosher or fine sea salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Ravioli Filling:

  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon/14g unsalted butter
  • ½ small shallot, finely minced (2 tablespoons)
  • 2 ½ ounces/70g radicchio (preferably Treviso variety), cut into thin strips and rinsed
  • 4 ounces/113g ricotta cheese
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 2 tablespoons/6g freshly grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano Reggiano
  • Kosher or sea salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Sauce:

  • 1/4 cup reserved beet juice (see instructions)
  • 8 tablespoons/113g unsalted butter, cut into dice
  • 2 tablespoons pine nuts, lightly toasted
  • 2 tablespoons Shaved Grana Padano or Parmigiano Reggiano

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375F/190C degrees.
  2. NOTE: When working with red beets, wear disposable latex gloves and use cutting boards and glass bowls to avoid staining skin and work surfaces.
  3. Wash the beets well under cold water then place in center of a sheet of aluminum foil. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Wrap the foil over the beets and crimp ends together to form a leak-proof packet then set on a baking sheet. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes until beets are tender when pierced with the point of a knife then remove from oven and cool. Peel the beets, cut into pieces and puree through a food mill or in a food processor until smooth. Place the beet pulp in the center of a clean, cotton napkin (that you don’t mind staining) and squeeze out all excess liquid into a bowl (about ¼ cup) until the pulp is dry like play dough. Set beet juice aside for later use.
  4. To make pasta dough, mound the flour on a cutting board (or in bowl) and form a well in the center. Place the egg yolk, beet pulp and 1/4 teaspoon salt in the well and beat with a fork, gradually dragging in the flour, a little at a time, until a crumbly mass forms. Gather the dough into a ball with your hands and knead on a floured board for 6 to 8 minutes until soft and smooth, adding more flour as needed if sticky. Form dough into a ball then wrap tightly in plastic wrap and set aside to rest.
  5. For the filling, place olive oil, butter, and shallots with 1 tablespoon water in a skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle lightly with salt and cook until shallots are soft and moisture has evaporated, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the radicchio, season with salt and pepper and cook until wilted and lightly caramelized, stirring, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.
  6. Mix the ricotta, egg yolk and grated cheese together in a bowl until smooth then add the radicchio and stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
  7. Divide the pasta dough into quarters and work with one piece at a time (keeping the rest wrapped in plastic until needed). Using a pasta machine or rolling pin on floured surface, roll the dough into a thin sheet about 1mm thick (you should see your hand in transparency through the pasta). If using a pasta machine, pass the dough repeatedly through the rollers increasing the setting each time to reduce roller thickness and thin dough.
  8. Lay the pasta sheet on a lightly floured board and cut six 3-inch circles using a floured pasta cutter or wine glass. Place a teaspoon of filling in the center of each circle then fold one side over the filling to form a half-moon shape. Press the dough around the filling with your fingers to expel air pockets and seal edges. If the dough doesn't stick together, brush it very lightly with water before sealing. If desired, use a zig-zagged pasta cutter to make a decorative edge. Arrange the ravioli in a single layer, without touching, on a floured parchment-lined baking sheet and repeat process with remaining dough and filling. (Ravioli can be refrigerated, uncovered, for a few hours.)
  9. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat then add a generous handful of kosher or sea salt. When the water returns to a boil, add the ravioli and stir gently to prevent sticking. Cook the ravioli until ‘al dente’, tender yet firm to bite, 2 to 3 minutes.
  10. While the ravioli cook, boil the reserved beet juice in a large skillet over medium-high heat until thick. Add the butter and melt, stirring to create a smooth sauce. Scoop the ravioli from water using a slotted spoon and place in the sauce. Toss ravioli in the sauce over heat for less than a minute until well coated, adding a little pasta cooking water if needed.
  11. Arrange six ravioli on each plate and drizzle with sauce. Scatter toasted pine nuts over top and sprinkle with cheese shavings. Serve immediately.
Source: Deborah Dal Fovo
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Filed Under: First Course - Primo Piatto, Pasta, Recipes, Uncategorized, Vegetables

An Ode to Pasta:
Straw and Hay Pasta with Truffles

October 16, 2016 By Deborah Dal Fovo Leave a Comment

Today, October 17, is National Pasta Day! To celebrate, I’m honored to partner with premier Italian cookware maker Lagostina for my first ever giveaway. I’m giving a Lagostina Martellata Hammered Copper Pastaiola, like the one you see in this post, to one of lucky readers/followers (a $249.99 retail value!!). Lagostina gave me one of these beautiful pots to make my recipe for pasta day and review it in my post. You can get one of your very own by entering to win my Lagostina giveaway here.

An Ode to Pasta - Handmade egg and spinach tagliatelle (straw and hay pasta) is the ultimate delicacy and only requires 4 ingredients: flour, eggs, spinach and love!

Oh pasta, how I love thee so,
your vision makes my weak heart glow.
Whilst your form hath many shapes,
the simple you is that I crave.
A bit of flour, some egg is all,
for silky ribbons that enthrall.
Once bathed and dressed in buttery bliss,
this feast for me is like a kiss!

It’s no secret that my pasta is my favorite food. I’m a pasta fanatic and love to cook it as much as I enjoy eating it. For me, every day is pasta day. But today, October 17, is officially National Pasta Day so I can openly gush about pasta and share one of my most popular recipes with you in hope you will share in my enthusiasm. When Lagostina asked me to cook up a special pasta with their hammered copper pot for National Pasta Day, I didn’t have to think long about what to make. As a professional Italian chef, I have many delicious pasta dishes in my repertoire. But to appropriately honor the name of pasta, I dedicate this post to handmade fresh egg pasta—known as pasta fresca or pasta all’uovo in Italy—to truly capture the essence of what a delicacy pasta is.

Making spinach pasta dough starts by first cooking the spinach then chopping fine and adding to egg and flour. It's that simple!

For me, it’s more about the quality of the pasta and less about the sauce. Sure, I love a good Carbonara, but when I talk about pasta…I mean fresh pasta. The kind that’s made from nothing more than flour and eggs then stretched into transparent, paper-thin sheets and cut into long ribbons. To make them even more beautiful, I add cooked spinach to the half the dough and make paglia e fieno pasta that, well, looks like its name: straw and hay. Making fresh egg pasta is easier than you think and gives so much satisfaction. I’ve been making fresh pasta for decades and teach special workshops on it to eager students. When they see how easy it is they are amazed. But when they taste…oooh, that’s a whole other pasta experience. They close their eyes, they smile, they swoon.

Plain egg pasta and spinach pasta doughs are both easy to make with few ingredients. Just flour eggs and spinach!

All you need to make delicious egg pasta is flour (preferably Italian 00 grade), eggs and some elbow grease. The secret is to incorporate the flour gradually into the eggs so they absorb only what they need without becoming dry and stiff. Then, after about 10 minutes of kneading (here you can recruit a friend, family member or glass of wine to help), you’ll have a soft and elastic ball of dough to roll out and cut. For this, you’ll need a pasta machine with rollers. I use both the hand crank type and a pasta roller attachment on my electric mixer to equal effect.

Spinach and egg pasta dough (called straw and hay) is shaped into smooth balls and rest for 30 minutes before rolling.

When rolling out the dough for fine pasta, the thinner the better. This is accomplished by repeatedly passing the dough through the machine rollers while reducing the width of the setting with each pass to gently stretch and thin out the dough. Here, these pasta sheets are rolled to setting number 5 on my Kitchen Aid pasta roller attachment for my electric mixer. Once rolled thin, the pasta sheets need to dry slightly before cutting or else the ribbons will stick together. Lay the sheets flat on a cloth covered table until leathery but still quite pliable then cut into long ribbons using a pasta cutting attachment or sharp knife.

Handmade egg pasta dough is stretched thin until almost transparent using a pasta roller attachment on an electric mixer.

These pasta ribbons can be cooked immediatley or formed into nests to dry and store for later use. Thin, egg pasta ribbons cooks up in as little as one minute when fresh and only 2 to 3 minutes when dried. They make a colorful tangle on your fork and are tender and delicate to the bite. I like to pay them the ultimate compliment by serving simply dressed in a silky sauce of melted butter and pasta cooking water, melted Grana Padano or Parmigiano then scattered with sinful shavings of fragrant, earthy truffles. What more could you ask for?

Straw and Hay Pasta ribbons are made with half egg pasta dough and half spinach pasta dough then rolled into thin sheets and cut into long ribbons. They cook in 1 to 2 minutes and are tender and delicate!

Straw and Hay Pasta is made from half handmade egg dough and half spinach dough that is rolled thin, cut into long ribbons and rolled into delicate nests to dry.

An Ode to Pasta - Handmade egg and spinach (straw and hay) pasta ribbons simply dressed with butter sauce and adorned with fragrant truffle shavings is the ultimate delicacy and ode to pasta.

I am passionate about pasta and Lagostina loves it as much as I do. In fact, they created a special pot to perfectly cook pasta called the Martellata Hammered Copper Pastaiola. Made of high quality materials with elegant design, it not only looks beautiful in your kitchen, but its professional level features make cooking a pleasure. The hammered copper exterior gives it and eye-candy appeal while conducting heat superbly and is lined with sturdy stainless steel for ease of cleaning. A removable strainer insert lets you cook pasta then drain it easily while reserving essential pasta cooking water for adding to the sauce is also handy to make stock or boil vegetables. In fact, I used it to cook the spinach for my green pasta dough. As a professional chef, I also love that Lagostina thought to sandwich an aluminum core in the triple thickeness of the pan for uniform heat distribution and it can go from stove top to oven to table. I can honestly say that the Lagostina Martellat Hammered Copper Pastaiola cooks as good as it looks and was a true pleasure to use. Thank you Lagostina, for making this National Pasta Day more like Christmas by offering a giveaway of your product to one of my lucky readers!

Click here to enter the Lagostina Martellata Pastaiola giveaway!

An Ode to Pasta - Handmade egg and spinach pasta (called straw and hay) is a true delicacy and only requires 4 ingredients: flour, eggs, spinach and love. Dressed in butter and adorned with shaved truffles, it's the ulimate ode to pasta!

**In this video I show students how to roll fresh pasta ribbons into nests for drying and storing.

STRAW AND HAY PASTA WITH TRUFFLES
Paglia e Fieno al Tartufo

Created by Deborah Dal Fovo on October 16, 2016

An Ode to Pasta - Handmade egg and spinach pasta ribbons simply dressed with butter sauce and adorned with fragrant truffle shavings is the ultimate delicacy and ode to pasta. Nothing says Autumn like a plate of delicate, handmade egg pasta ribbons dressed oh-so simply in melted butter and a touch of cheese then crowned with a luxurious smattering of fragrant, fresh truffle shavings. Here I use half plain egg dough and half spinach dough for “paglia e fieno”, or straw and hay pasta, to create a colorful surprise. © 2016 Deborah Dal Fovo. All rights reserved.

  • Prep Time: 1h
  • Cook Time: 10m
  • Serves: 4
  • Category: First Courses - Primi Piatti, Pasta, Recipes

Ingredients

For the plain egg pasta dough:

  • 1/2 cup /200g Italian 00 flour (all purpose flour can be substituted)
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher or fine sea salt
  • 2 large eggs

For the spinach pasta dough:

  • 8 ounces /226g fresh spinach leaves with stems removed, thoroughly washed but not dried
  • 1/2 cup /200g Italian 00 flour (all purpose flour can be substituted)
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher or fine sea salt, plus more to cook the spinach
  • 1 large egg

To cook and dress the pasta:

  • Kosher or sea salt for the pasta cooking water
  • 8 tablespoons /113g unsalted butter
  • 1 to 1-1/2 ounces/28-42g fresh truffles, surface cleaned with a soft brush
  • 6 tablespoons freshly grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano Reggiano

Special equipment:

  • Large clean work surface for kneading dough (unvarnished wood or formica/polyethelene preferable over marble or stone)
  • Plastic or metal bench or dough scraper
  • Hand crank or electric pasta roller and cutting machine
  • Truffle shaver

Instructions

To make the spinach pasta dough:

  1. Bring a large pot of water to boil with 1 tablespoon salt. Add the spinach, cover and cook until tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove spinach from water and transfer to an ice water bath for a few minutes to cool and preserve bright green color. Drain then gather spinach into a ball and squeeze to remove excess water. Place ball of spinach in the center of a clean tea towel and wring out all remaining water until dry and putty like. Chop spinach finely.
  2. Mound the flour on a clean, dry work surface and sprinkle with the salt. Form a deep, wide well with a uniform retaining wall in the center of the flour. Break the egg into the well and add the chopped spinach. Use a fork to beat the eggs and spinach while dragging flour, a little at a time, from the inner walls of the mound into the liquid center without letting the walls collapse. The eggs will thicken as they absorb as much flour as needed to form a soft, crumbly mass. Gather the moist dough together with your hands and set aside while you prep the kneading surface.
  3. Use a dough scraper to push the remaining flour to one side then scrape any caked dough from work surface. Sift the flour through a mesh strainer to remove any lumps of dough then place it to the side of the clean surface. Wash and dry your hands to eliminate all traces of flour and dough.
  4. Dust the work surface lightly with some of the sifted flour and place the mass of dough in the center. Knead the dough with your hands while adding as much or little of the reserved flour as the dough will absorb without becoming stiff and dry. When you have a soft dough that is no longer sticky to handle, scrape the board clean and wash and dry your hands again.
  5. Knead the dough by pushing it away from you with the heel of one hand then folding in half from top down and turning 90 degrees. Repeat the motion (pushing, folding and turning) for 8 to 10 minutes until dough is smooth, elastic and compact, adding a slight amount of flour if sticky. Test the dough by pushing a finger into the center of it. When it comes out clean with the slightest whisper of moist feel, the dough ready. If your finger sticks, knead the dough again adding a little more flour. Form into a neat ball, wrap in plastic and let rest for at least 30 minutes before rolling.

To make the plain pasta dough:

  1. Repeat the same procedure for the spinach pasta omitting the spinach and adding the extra egg.

To roll and cut the pasta sheets:

  1. Divide the dough balls into quarters and run each piece through the widest setting of a pasta rolling machine (usually number 1). Fold dough in thirds like a letter and run through the wide setting again. Repeat a few times with all the dough then run each piece through the machine once for each setting, reducing the width of the rollers consecutively until pasta sheets are the desired thickness. You should see your hand in transparency through the thin sheet of pasta. Repeat with all the dough then lay the pasta sheets on a large, clean cloth to dry until slightly leathery yet pliable. Cut sheets into pasta ribbons using the cutting roller of your machine. Cook pasta ribbons as directed below or form into nests and dry completely before storing in airtight containers for up to one month.

To cook and dress the pasta:

  1. Bring 5 to 6 quarts of water to boil in a large pot over high heat. Season the water with a generous handful of salt then return to a vigorous boil. Drop all the pasta ribbons into the water and stir to prevent sticking. Boil the pasta until cooked "al dente", tender yet firm to the bite, 1 to 2 minutes for fresh pasta and 2 to 3 minutes for dried pasta.
  2. While the pasta cooks, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat for 2 minutes until golden. Add 1/2 cup of pasta cooking water, all of the grated cheese and half of the truffles sliced wafer thin. Stir over low heat until smooth.
  3. Drain the cooked pasta, reserving the water, and place directly in the skillet with the butter. Toss the pasta ribbons in the sauce for 1 minute, lifting and folding to evenly coat and adding more pasta cooking water if needed to maintain a loose, juicy pasta.
  4. Arrange the pasta ribbons in neat nests on warm plates by lifting the strands with a fork and twirling onto the center of the plates. Shave the remaining truffles over the top of each portion and serve immediately.
Source: Deborah Dal Fovo
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Filed Under: First Course - Primo Piatto, Giveaways, Pasta, Recipes

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Ciao, I'm Italian chef & cooking expert Deborah Dal Fovo and welcome to my delicious world! In this blog I share my art of creating the beautiful Italian lifestyle known as "la bella vita". Enjoy! Read More…

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