Ravioli vs. Tortellini {Lemon Mushroom & Spinach Pancetta}

Will all the dedicated pasta lovers please stand up?

Yea, you. I'm talking to you. I'll even stand with you if it makes ya feel better. I'd be lying if I said I didn't love pasta. It's carby, gluteny, and absorbs buttery things realllll well, y'all. It's almost summer though. I should be making/eating fresh things. Clean things. Summery things. So what gives?

Well, last week I was reading drooling over pictures and recipes at Beyond the Flavor and stumbled across this gem: Duck Confit Tortellini. Holy yum.

Naturally, my recipe-creating juices started flowing and I decided that tortellinis had to happen, stat. I toyed around with the idea of Boursin and duck confit and back-and-forth with a few other flavor combos. I settled on two versions -- a lemony mushroom one and a garlicky, spinach pancetta one.

Why these flavors? I challenged myself to make summer-style tortellinis. When I eat pasta, I often find the dishes to be delicious and well-crafted, but I also find them to be rich. And heavy. Rich in such a way that after eating them, I feel like a stuffed Christmas goose ready for basting. Don't get me wrong -- I enjoy that feeling from time-to-time, but more often than not, it just ain't enjoyable.

I wanted my tortellinis to taste fresh, while also satisfying my carby craving.

Don't let sheets of pasta deter you from making these yummies. Many Whole Foods locations sell pasta cut (or not) to your liking -- I may have mentioned my love for this service here.

If you don't have a Whole Foods in your area, try searching for local pasta vendors. Richmonders, I used pasta sheets from Bombolini because I just didn't feel like making pasta dough (keeping it real). The next time I make this, I may use this recipe or this recipe for pasta dough, and this tool, this tool, or this tool to make much prettier raviolis. The stamp seems more practical for me because it eliminates the need for an egg wash to seal the edges. 

In case you haven't noticed, the initial plan was to make tortellinis. After purchasing my pasta sheets from Bombolini, I realized that they were far too thick to make tortellinis. Solution? Raviolis with a biscuit cutter. Because this blog is about successes and flops, you can find my pretty hideous tortellinis below. Only took two of those for me to change my game-plan. 

It doesn't matter if you decide to make tortellinis or raviolis, we all know that what really matters is the filling. 

Lemon Mushroom Filling (enough filling for 48 raviolis or tortellinis - 1 tsp filling/each)

What You'll Need

• 3-4oz. mixed mushrooms (mine were cremini, porcini, and chanterelle)
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 C pecorino, shredded
• 1 C ricotta cheese

How To Make It

• Melt butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. 
• Add mushrooms, salt, and pepper to the butter and sauté until softened.
• Add sautéed mushrooms, lemon zest, and pecorino to a food processor and pulse/blend until a "dip" consistency forms.
• Empty mixture into a bowl and fold in ricotta cheese.

Spinach Pancetta Filling (enough filling for 48 raviolis or tortellinis - 1 tsp filling/each)

What You'll Need

• 1 bag spinach
• 1 package pancetta (about six slices)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 C parmesan, shredded
• 1 C ricotta cheese

How To Make It

• Chop pancetta and add to a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook until almost crispy.
• Using a slatted spoon, remove pancetta from the pan and allow to rest.
• Add spinach to left over pancetta grease and wilt down. 
• Add minced garlic to the wilted spinach and toss to coat. 
• Add pancetta, wilted spinach with garlic, and parmesan to a food processor and pulse/blend until a "dip" consistency forms. 
• Empty mixture into a bowl and fold in ricotta cheese.

Ravioli

What You'll Need

• Pasta dough of your choosing or sheets of pre-made pasta. If you decide to buy it, tell the person at the counter what you're making and that you need it pressed thin, especially if you're making tortellinis.
• A cookie cutter or biscuit cutter to make your ravioli/tortellini rounds (I used a 3" biscuit cutter).
• Sheet pan for your completed raviolis to rest on. 
• Flour for coating your surface and your pans so that the dough doesn't stick and to ensure that the raviolis/tortellinis don't stick to one another.
• 1 egg - you will need an egg wash to seal the filling between the pasta sheets. 

How To Make It

• Flour the surface that you will be cutting your ravioli rounds on. Also, flour your sheet pant for your completed raviolis. 
• Before cutting your sheets, have a plan as to how many rounds you will be able to get from one sheet. 
• Start cutting. You can either cut all the sheets at once and then fill them, or cut one sheet and fill one sheet, cut one sheet and fill one sheet, and so on. I prefer the latter method, so that your pasta doesn't dry out before you get to filling them. 
• Crack an egg in a bowl and mix to combine the yolk and the white. 
• Once you're ready to fill, using a teaspoon, spoon your mixture into the center of one disc. Using a brush or your finger, spread egg wash along the outer edge of each disc and seal together. You want to make sure that the "pocket" containing your filling has no air in it that can escape while cooking. Repeat this process until you have made 48 raviolis or to your liking.
• When ready to eat, boil a pot of salted water adding five raviolis at a time and cook for 7 to 8 minutes. You can add a touch of butter or a little olive oil to the boiling water to keep the raviolis from sticking to one another.

My biggest fear was that my edges weren't sealed well enough and that my delicious filling was gonna spew out into my boiling water. I'm happy to report that they faired just fine.

To complete the pancetta spinach raviolis, just melt some butter in a pan on the stove and sprinkle garlic salt into the butter, then drizzle over top the raviolis. Top with a little shredded parmesan and you're good to go.

To complete the lemon mushroom raviolis, make the lemon cream sauce below, and top with fresh lemon zest and shredded pecorino.

Lemon Cream Sauce

What You'll Need

• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 C whipping cream or half & half
• 1/8 C fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest

How To Make It

• Melt butter in a small sauce pan.
• Add cream to the melted butter and simmer for a minute or two.
• Once simmering, add the lemon juice and lemon zest and continue to simmer for another minute.
• Remove from heat and drizzle over mushroom raviolis.

One good thing about both of these fillings is that they can be used in various dishes such as plain pasta noodles or as a dip for crackers. I had leftovers of each, but the spinach one is perfect on crackers! I will definitely be making it in the future to take to get-togethers. It's also good on bread, a spoon, or a finger! Not that I know or anything. The mushroom one is pretty divine on pita chips. Even if making raviolis isn't your thing, these would make perfect party dips for any occasion!

O and the lemon cream sauce? Yea, you can soak it up real nice with some crusty bread and make a meal off just that.

The best part? These fillings are delicious and refreshing -- just serve these summer-style raviolis with a side salad and you've got a wonderful summer-time dinner. 

If you want more information on tortellini/ravioli making, try visiting this site for some useful tid-bits.

Have you ever made ravioli? If so, what kinds of fillings did you make? Were they meaty or cheesy? Did you use any special tools to make them?

-Sue

Bratwurst Pizza with Caramelized Onions and Balsamic Reduction - BMB Knockoff

Hey there! 

Been a little off the grid lately -- super busy doesn't begin to explain the past month or so of my life. Mostly involved things like exams, Easter, family time, the Monument Avenue 10k, brewery visits, cooking a few yummy meals here and there, trying not to cut jerk my nose off my face because of the pollen that decided to finally make its appearance this year, andddd a whole lot of other boring stuff for the in between moments -- ya know, like sleeping, driving, etc. 

So I mentioned breweries (a whole post to come with deets). Last weekend I paid a visit to Devil's Backbone Brewing Company, Bold Rock Cidery (officially in love -- cider is about to be the new craft beer -- mark my words), and Blue Mountain Brewery. If you're not familiar with these, that's ok. Their beverages are yummy, but their views are even better! Seriously -- this part of Virginia is one of, if not my absolute favorite (mountain momma at heart, remember?). 

From what I gather, once breweries have been around for a little bit, it's only natural to introduce food/restaurant flare into the mix of things. This can be good and bad, depending on the person in charge of your menu/kitchen. I didn't taste anything at Devil's Backbone {besides beer}, but by the time I made it to BMB my tummy was ready for some yummy. I got the crab dip and it was pretty decent. I definitely want to feel a fierce presence of crab in my crab dip and I didn't with this dip -- nonetheless, still good. 

After finishing off the crab dip, I continued to peruse their whole menu and stumbled across a pizza (Bratwurst w/Apples and Onions) that kept me coming back -- I seriously considered ordering it over and over. I didn't order it but I did snap a pic of the description so that I could make it at home. 

Monday evening came and here's the result:

Bratwurst Pizza with Caramelized Onions and Balsamic Reduction - BMB Knockoff

What You'll Need

• Pizza crust -- I bought mine from Whole Foods because I needed easy, not hard (work smarter, not harder).
• Sauce -- also purchased from Whole Foods -- ditto on the easy.
• Two bratwursts (or a package) -- I bought two from the case at WF becuase I cannot control my actions when I buy bratwurst, and would put them all on the pizza if I were forced to buy an entire package.
• 1 package of mozzarella
• 1-2 oz. of cream cheese
• Blue cheese crumbles
• Pepper
• 2-3 tbsp.vinegar (white or white balsamic)
• 1/2 - 1 C regular balsamic vinegar
• 1 yellow onion
• Olive oil

How To Make It 

• Rub olive oil on a pizza stone and roll out your pizza crust on the stone.
• Slice yellow onion and sautee in a bit of olive oil until caramelized.
• Preheat your oven to 400F.
• Next, you'll make a blue cheese whip. That's right. I said whipped blue cheese. Mine was more of a sauce than a whip becuase I didn't want to pull out a food processor for just a little bit of whip (if you do want to go all out, then follow this recipe for the whip). 
• So for my whip/sauce -- Just put an ounce or two of cream cheese in a bowl and melt it in timed increments in the microwave. Then add blue cheese crumbles to the warm cream cheese (however much you want) -- stir to melt/distribute. Add a dash of black pepper and white vinegar (about 2 tbsp to the mixture). Stir and heat again if needed. Honestly, just make this to taste and to the consistency of your choosing . . . or not at all if you're not a blue cheese lover addict. 
• Squeeze your brats out of their casing into a skillet, separate into crumbles and brown until almost cooked through (kinda like ground beef for spaghetti).
• While you're cooking your brats, pop your pizza crust in the oven for about 8 minutes.
• Next, put ~1/2 C of balsamic vinegar into a sauce pan and heat over medium heat (don't boil) to make a reduction (like this).
• Once crust has cooked for about 8 minutes, take her out and dress her up! 
• Spread sauce over somewhat cooked crust, sprinkle mozzarella over sauce, sprinkle brat crumbles over mozz, add dabs/drizzle blue cheese whip, place onions all over pizza, then finish with balsamic reduction drizzle.
• Pop her back in the oven for about 20 minutes, broil for 1 minute before taking her out.
• Enjoy!

I don't know how BMB's pizza is, but I'll have to order it next time so that I have something to compare my own to. 

I promise -- deets to come about the breweries.

-Sue

Pan Seared Scallops and Squid Ink Pasta with Peanut Sauce and Spicy Sesame Oil

TGIF!

Whose got plans this weekend? I'm gonna finish painting/distressing a trunk that I bought a month or so ago and organize some things - my life is the most disorganized it's ever been! Which isn't good and it's really strange for me because I have to have organization. I suppose living between two different zip codes will do that from time to time.

Switching gears - who watched the Top Chef finale this week? I'm guilty of having watched every season of Top Chef. I love it, what can I say!? I didn't get to watch the finale when it aired but I recorded it on my DVR and plopped down with a plate of food last night to watch it. I literally laughed out loud and said, "You've got to be kidding me" when Brooke and Kristin began to make their second dishes. Scallops. They had to use scallops in some form (pics of their dishes here). What was I eating at that very moment? Scallops. I'm sure you can see the irony. So I guess if I had been on Top Chef in Seattle, this is how I would have made my scallop dish (recipe at the bottom).

If you're not sure what you have planned for the weekend, how about trying your hand at this awesome dish? This could be served multiple ways - as a one bowl meal for you and your special someone, plated like I did as a centerpiece/appetizer/fancy meal-for-one, or as an amuse-bouche in a chinese serving spoon kinda like the ones here. No matter how you serve it, your peeps are gonna love it!

Also, let's talk scallops for a second. You need fresh ones. You're probably thinking, "Duh!" Sometimes it just has to be said though. I buy mine from seafood markets or Whole Foods depending upon the availability in my area (which is always, since I live so close to the ocean). By fresh, I mean never frozen and never injected. And by injected, I mean never filled with water or other foreign crud. You can ask before you purchase them and more than likely (depending upon where you're at), they will break things down for you about their product. Don't be afraid to ask! You're the paying customer, and no one wants to pay dolla-dolla bills for scallops, get home, and their dish not turn out. 

Now to address the elephant in the room - squid ink pasta. You're probably thinking, "This girl is cray!" Well that's probably true, but let's be honest here - regular pasta just doesn't give you the color contrast or wow-factor that this pasta will. By all means, feel free to use a spinach or whole wheat pasta - it will achieve the same flavors, but c'mon - black pasta is pretty darn cool. 

What is squid ink pasta? Squid ink pasta is just that - it's pasta that's colored with squid ink. It has the same flavor/texture as other pastas, it's just a little more unique! Where can you get it? Good 'ol Whole Foods. Not every Whole Foods has a pasta case, but many do. Not many will carry this type of pasta either, but if you're near the ocean it's a good possibility they will.

Pan Seared Scallops and Squid Ink Pasta with Peanut Sauce and Spicy Sesame Oil

What You'll Need

• Scallops - quantity will depend on who/what you're cooking for (I can eat 3 to 4 decent-size scallops and be a happy girl).
• Squid Ink Pasta - I used one sheet (linguine cut) and it produced seven amuse-bouche servings. You could probably get eight servings from one sheet if you're using serving spoons because they will need a little less pasta.
• Smoked Salt - not essential, but definitely adds to the flavor profile of this dish.
• Pepper
• White Sesame Seeds and Red Pepper Flakes
• Olive Oil - for searing the scallops - about 3 tbsp.
• 1/2 C Sesame Oil - I used toasted sesame oil because I wanted that deeper flavor, but you could easily sub non-toasted sesame oil if that's what you have on hand.
• 5-6 tbsp. Honey
• 3 tbsp. Soy Sauce
• 1-2 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes 
• 1/2 tsp. Cayenne Pepper 
• 3 tsp. Peanut Butter (I used a good quality, crunchy peanut butter for added texture) 
• 1 tsp. Warm Water 
• 1 tsp. Vinegar 
• 1 tsp. Soy Sauce 
• 1/2 tsp. Honey

How To Make It (this looks intense, but I promise it's not)

• Pull your scallops from the fridge and inspect to see if they need to be pat-dried or not - if they look a little wet, just pat them dry with a paper towel (be gentle). If not, let's season them. Sprinkle smoked salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper on both sides of the scallops.
• Get a small pot of water on your stove with about 1/4 tsp smoked salt added to it. Don't boil it just yet.
• Now let's make our sauces. 
• Spoon out your peanut butter into a small bowl. Heat on stove top/microwave just so that it's broken down and more liquid-like. 
• Next, add your water, vinegar, soy sauce, and honey - mix to incorporate. 
• You're done with sauce #1 - just set aside. You may need to re-warm just before serving. 
• Go ahead and bring your pasta water to a boil and begin to make your second sauce. 
• For sauce #2, place sesame oil in another small sauce pan. Heat over low-medium heat for a few minutes. Watch your oil because you don't want to burn it. 
• Next, add the honey, soy sauce, minced garlic, red pepper flakes, and cayenne pepper to the oil. 
• Continue to heat for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. 
• You're done with sauce #2 - just set aside. 
• Now your water is probably boiling. Place your pasta in the boiling water for ~3-5 minutes. (Fresh pasta takes far less time to cook than boxed pasta does.) 
• Once your pasta is finished, do not strain it in a strainer! 
• Remove the pasta from the heat. 
• Have a bowl ready with a tad bit of your spicy oil in the bottom. 
• Using a fork, pull a small bunch of noodles from the hot water and add to the spicy oil bowl. Continue to do this until all the noodles are in the spicy oil bowl. You can add a little bit of oil each time and mix to incorporate noodles and oil. Set aside. 
• Now for the scallops. 
• Add a little bit of olive oil to a non-stick skillet pan over medium-high heat. Bring the oil to temperature and then add your scallops to the pan, but don't crowd them. Cook on one side for ~2 minutes, flip them, then cook for another 1 & 1/2 minutes. You want a nice sear on each side but you don't want to overcook them. Scallops can get very rubbery very quickly! 
• Now you have all of your components ready. 
• Plate how you like! 
• If you liked my plating, just grab a spoon and fork for your pasta. Grab a couple noodles with your fork and twist them into the spoon making a round "bunch" (like this guy is doing). Just place each "bunch" on your plate. Garnish pasta with sesame seeds. Then add one scallop to each "bunch," drizzle a tad bit of spicy oil over each scallop, and garnish with red pepper flakes. 
• Now you're ready to enjoy!

It may seem like there's quite a bit of cayenne pepper and red pepper flakes in this dish - because there is. But that's ok! I like my food really spicy so you can definitely cut down on the spice to match your taste preferences. The peanut sauce recipe listed above makes about 4 tbsp. worth of sauce which may not seem like much, but it would be very easy to double/triple ingredients to make a larger quantity. As for the oil, you will definitely have some left over because you just want it to coat your noodles - you don't want them saturated. Try saving the leftover oil and using it as dressing for chicken or salads for later in the week. 

Hope you enjoy!

-Sue