Pear and Cheese Ravioli with Caramelized Balsamic Vinegar
Why I Love This Recipe
Another BS Test Kitchen Challenge. Local seasonal ingredients.
So I decided to use the type of pears grown here (Abate Fetel), combined with fresh ricotta, and some strong pecorino cheese. Completed with Balsamic vinegar of Modena (after all, I live in Modena), and of course rounded up with home made pasta.
It was my first time making pasta from scratch, and I enjoyed the process and the result greatly.
Ingredients You'll Need
for pasta:
3 eggs
300 g flour
for filling:
250 g ricotta cheese
50 g Pecorino di Fossa (can be substituted with Pecorino Romano)
1 pear (mine is Abate Fetel)
1 teaspoon butter
2 tblspoons red wine
salt, pepper, a pinch of sugar, nutmeg
for balsamic glaze:
30 g sugar
10 g glucose
1 tblspoon water
60 g Balsamic Vinegar of Modena
+
60 g butter
grated Parmigiano Reggiano
chive
Directions
Sift the flour on the kneading board and make a well in the middle.
Add the eggs, bring everything together, and knead firmly until smooth.
Wrap in a piece od plastic wrap and let rest for 1 hour (time necessary for the dough to relax).
For the filling, cream the ricotta and the grated Pecorino cheese with a fork.
Peal and core the pear, cut it into small cubes and saute at medium heat with a teaspoon of butter.
Add the wine and wait till it evaporates, add a pinch of sugar, salt, pepper and grated nutmeg to your taste.
Let the pear cool for 5 minutes then mix it into the cheese, taste and add more salt if necessary.
Roll the pasta out, one piece at a time and complete with the filling before proceeding with the next one. Also prepare a cardboard tray and sprinkle it with flour.
Take a small piece of dough and keep the rest wrapped while working on it.
First roll it out a little with a rolling pin on a floured board, then pass it through the pasta roller until very thin.
You should get 8 cm wide strips.
Transfer the filling into a pastry bag (without a tip) and place small heaps on the dough (imagine your stripe divided in two and place the cheese on the lower half) 2 fingers distant from each other.
Flip the upper part over the bottom one and carefully close squeezing all the air out. Press gently with your fingers all around the filling.
The ravioli cutter is a perfect tool because not only does it cut them all perfect and uniform in size, but it seals the edges at the same time.
If you dont have one, cut the ravioli with a pizza cutter and seal the edges with a fork.
Place the ravioli on the floured tray, and proceed with the rest of the dough and the filling. I have to say I managed to portion everything perfectly, and used all the pasta and all the filling, making a total of 54 or 55 ravioli.
Cook ravioli in boiling salty water (1-2 minutes should be enough, but taste them anyway).
While the pasta is cooking, melt some butter in a skillet with a couple sage leaves.
Take the ravioli out with a slotted spoon, add to the butter and toss to coat evenly.
Plate ravioli and drizzle with the little balsamic glaze, complete with some finely chopped chive.
For the glaze, melt the sugar and the glucose with the water in a small saucepan. Add the balsamic vinegar and cook on low heat until reduced by half.
If it is ready before the pasta, it will stiffen, but just heat it again on low heat and it will be runny again.
