The Porky Gourmand

I have a friend who detests any form of ravioli because her mum fed her ravioli all the time. It was too easy for her mum to cook up frozen supermarket ravioli & serve it with some supermarket tomato sauce. As for me, I cannot recall having any ravioli while I was growing up, however I discovered it a few years ago and I have loved it ever since.

Since I recently tried my hand at making pasta at home, making my own ravioli seemed to be the next logical step. I modified my pasta dough recipe, added more egg yolks just to enrich it. My choice of the pork sausage filling was one of convenience, there was sausage in my fridge. The brown butter & crispy sage was an idea I picked up from the French Laundry Cookbook.

Pasta Dough

• 200 grams “00″ flour sifted.
• 2 large eggs + two extra egg yolks.
• 1/2 teaspoon salt.

1. Form a large well on a clean work surface with the flour.
   
2. Beat eggs together then pour into the well.
3. Using a circular motion, slowly incorporate eggs into the flour until the mixture is thick. Push all the flour into the centre until all the flour is combined into a thick dough.
4. Clean work surface by scrapping of any unincorporated dough.
5. Lightly dust clean work surface with flour.
6. Knead the pasta dough for at least 15 minutes until it is soft & elastic.
   
7. Wrap the dough in cling film and let it rest for about an hour
8. Dust the work surface with a little flour, unwrap the pasta dough on to the work surface.
9. Using a rolling pin, gently roll out the pasta dough making quarter turns occasionally. Do this until you have a round dough with equal thickness of about 3 mm.
10. Roll out the round dough in one direction to about 1 mm. The dough should be translucent.
    

Raviolis

I used farmers choice pork sausages for my filling. With the sausages, i just took off the skins to get the sausage meat.

1. Cut the pasta dough into two sheets, the two sheets will make the top & bottoms of the raviolis.
2. Spoon the sausage meat on to the bottom pasta sheet.
   
3. Cover the bottom pasta sheet with the other pasta sheet, press pasta sheet down around sausage stuffing to shape the raviolis.
4. Cut the raviolis out using a round cookie cutter.
   
5. Place raviolis on lightly floured tray to dry for about 45 minutes in the refrigerator.

Crispy Sage

1. Separate sages leaves from sage sprigs.
2. In a small saucepan heat some vegetable oil till almost hot.
3. Fry sage leaves until crisp.

Brown Butter – Buerre Noisette

1. Melt some butter in a saucepan on gentle heat
2. Cook butter until it has hazelnut/brown colour & aroma.
3. Pass the butter through a fine strainer.
4. Season the brown butter with salt and a few drops of lemon juice.

Putting it all together

1. Cook the raviolis in a large pot of salted boiling water for 5 minutes. Strain off the raviolis.
2. Serve raviolis with the crispy sage and a drizzle of the brown butter

This was yummo, everything tasted well together…. I’m doing this again.