Stuffed Pasta: Agnolotti, Ravioli, Cappelletti, Tortellini

This entry is dedicated to the art of stuffed pasta. Few things make me as excited as a big plate of agnolotti or ravioli. I know that these long Italian names can be intimidating, so let me break down the different shapes for you.



Agnolotti - "Priests' Cap." Crescent shape stuffed pasta



Ravioli - Little square or round pillows



Cappelletti - "Little hats." Hat-shaped stuffed pasta



Tortellini - "Little twists." Small and stuffed pasta.
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Now, in our last entry, we made pasta dough.

This recipe picks up with a room temperature ball of dough. Let's do this thing:

Place your dough ball onto a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough into four equal pieces. Take 1 piece (covering the remainder with the damp towel) & flatten it with your hand until it’s flat enough to run through your pasta machine. If you don’t have a machine you can roll your dough out with a rolling pin. Continue to run it through the machine until you have achieved a very thin strip. Repeat this with the other 3 pieces of dough until all are uniform.

At this point put on a large pot of water of boil. Season it liberally with salt, and a few drops of olive oil.

At this point, you will pipe (or spoon) your filling onto the dough. We will talk about fillings after we finish the method.

Onto TWO dough strips, pipe (or spoon) about a tablespoon of filling at equal intervals along the strips.



Place the strips without filling on top of the ones with filling, and press down well around the filling. Using a pastry wheel cut your pasta into equal sized squares. Cover your completed filled pasta with a kitchen towel while you are preparing the sauce & waiting on the water to boil. If you leave it out in the open, the pasta will dry out, possibly crack, and nobody wants exploding stuffed pasta.

When the water comes to boil, add your filled pasta (cook a few at a time, if you crowd the pan, there's more of a chance they will stick together, or cook unevenly.) Once the filled pasta rise to the top, they are done. They will cook very quickly. Remove with a slotted spoon & set onto a plate.

Toss the cooked filled pasta into the sauce pan, and you've got a gourmet pasta dish fresh from Italy.

Now, what do I fill it with? What kind of sauce?

Here are some of my favorite fillings:

Ricotta & Asparagus Agnolotti

Asparagus - 7 pencil thin spears
Ricotta - 1 cup, fresh (drained)
Salt - 2 teaspoon
Pepper - ½ teaspoon
Parmigiano-Reggiano - 1 cup (shredded)

Method: Cook asparagus in boiling salted water until they are tender (about 2 minutes depending on thickness) - remove and shock in ice water. Cut asparagus thinly, on a bias - Mix ricotta, asparagus, salt & pepper, and Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Pumpkin & Sage Ravioli

Pumpkin Puree - 1 (small) can
Sage (fresh) - 1 tablespoon
Walnuts - ½ cup (finely chopped)
Butter - 2 tablespoon
Salt - 1 teaspoon
White Pepper - ½ teaspoon

Method: In a small sauté pan, add pumpkin puree and cook until heated through. Stir in sage, walnuts & butter. Add salt & white pepper - remove from heat and let cool.

Mozzarella & Spinach Tortellini

Buffalo mozzarella - 1 cup (shredded)
Asiago cheese - ½ cup (shredded)
Ricotta cheese - ½ cup
Milk - ¼ cup
Parsley - ½ teaspoon
Nutmeg (ground) - ¼ teaspoon
White pepper - ¼ teaspoon
Spinach (frozen) - 1 (10 oz.) package (thawed, drained, chopped)

Method: Blend together in food processor.

Italian Meat Cappelletti

Ground beef - ½ lb
Italian sausage - ¼ lb
Egg - 1, slightly beaten
Breadcrumbs - ¼ cup
Parmigiano-Reggiano (grated) - 2 tablespoons
Parsley (fresh) - 1 tablespoon (minced)
Onion (grated) - 1 tablespoon
Salt - ½ teaspoon
Basil (dried) - ½ teaspoon
Lemon zest - 1 teaspoon
Lemon juice - ½ teaspoon
Black pepper - ¼ teaspoon

Method: Brown ground beef and sausage in skillet (drain fat after cooking). Allow to cool. After cooled, add other ingredients and mix well.

As far as sauces go, your classic tomato, or alfredo sauce would work well on all of these, aside from the pumpkin/sage ravioli. For that, I use a sage-brown butter sauce. Here's the recipe.

Sage-Brown Butter Sauce

Unsalted butter - 6 tablespoons
Sage (fresh) - 15 leaves)
Chicken broth - ¼ cup

Method: Melt butter in a frying pan until the solids have brown. Add sage and chicken broth and simmer until the sauce has reduced and slightly thickened. Season with salt and black pepper.

I hope this has peaked your interest in fresh pasta. It can be a fun, family event or it can be a labor of love that one person makes for that special person, or people in his/her life.

Copyright 2010, Brian Griess, All rights reserved

Pasta Dough

This pasta dough is fool-proof. Since I started making pasta, I have played around and I honestly can't find a better recipe than Thomas Keller's recipe. So here it is:

Thomas Keller's Pasta Dough
[from The French Laundry Cookbook by Thomas Keller]

1 3/4 cups (8 ounces) all-purpose flour
6 large egg yolks
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon milk

Mound the flour on a board or other surface and create a well in the center, pushing the flour to all sides to make a ring with sides about 1 inch wide. Make sure that the well is wide enough to hold all the eggs without spilling.

Pour the egg yolks, egg, oil, and milk into the well. Use your fingers to break the eggs up. Still using your fingers, begin turning the eggs in a circular motion, keeping them within the well and not allowing them to spill over the sides. This circular motion allows the eggs to gradually pull in flour from the sides of the well; it is important that the flour not be incorporated too rapidly, or your dough will be lumpy. Keep moving the eggs while slowly incorporating the flour. Using a pastry scraper, occasionally push the flour toward the eggs; the flour should be moved only enough to maintain the gradual incorporation of the flour, and the eggs should continue to be contained within the well. The mixture will thicken and eventually get too tight to keep turning with your fingers.

When the dough begins thickening and starts lifting itself from the board, begin incorporating the remaining flour with the pastry scraper by lifting the flour up and over the dough that's beginning to form and cutting it into the dough. When the remaining flour from the sides of the well has been cut into the dough, the dough will still look shaggy. Bring the dough together with the palms of your hands and form it into a ball. It will look flaky but will hold together.

Knead the dough by pressing it, bit by bit, in a forward motion with the heels of your hands rather than folding it over on itself as you would with a bread dough. Re-form the dough into a ball and repeat the process several times. The dough should feel moist but not sticky. Let the dough rest for a few minutes while you clean the work surface.

Dust the clean work surface with a little flour. Knead the dough by pushing against it in a forward motion with the heels of your hands. Form the dough into a ball again and knead it again. Keep kneading in this forward motion until the dough becomes silky-smooth. The dough is ready when you can pull your finger through it and the dough wants to snap back into place. The kneading process can take anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes. Even if you think you are finished kneading, knead it for an extra ten minutes; you cannot overknead this dough. It is important to work the dough long enough to pass the pull test; otherwise, when it rests, it will collapse.

Basically, knead til your arms hurt.

Double-wrap the dough in plastic wrap to ensure that it does not dry out. Let the dough rest for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour before rolling it through a pasta machine. The dough can be made a day ahead, wrapped and refrigerated; bring to room temperature before proceeding.

Here are pictures of the 3 basic stages of the recipe:

"Well Method"

"Shaggy" - Starting to come together..

Success!

I really can't describe the difference between dried and fresh pasta. Once you try it, you will see the final product is well-worth the small amount of labor.

Good luck, guys. I'll be blogging about some of my favorite pasta dishes next. Get this dough made, and chilling in the fridge. Then we can decide what to do with it!

Copyright 2010, Brian Griess, All rights reserved

Gourmet Pizza

Last week, I gave you my recipe for a really great pizza dough, however I didn't give you any actual pizza recipes. Now I'm back to do just that.

Starting off, there are 4 foundations I use on my pizzas:

• traditional red pizza sauce
• white sauce (garlic aioli)
• basil pesto sauce
• extra virgin olive oil

Let's get to it:

• Traditional Pizza Sauce (1 serving):

** I don't cook my pizza sauce. I think it dulls the brightness of the tomato. I like to dress my pizza with a cold sauce, and let the sauce cook while the pizza does.

San Marzano Tomatoes (whole, crushed) - 2.5 cups
Tomato Puree - 1 cup
Fresh Garlic (minced) - 3 cloves
Oregano (dried) - 1 tablespoons
Basil (fresh, chopped) - 2 tablespoons
Salt - 1 tablespoon
White pepper - 2 teaspoons
Crushed red pepper - 3 teaspoons

Method: Put in food processor, and puree until smooth. Let it sit overnight in order for flavors to marry and reach their full potential flavor.

• White Sauce [Garlic Aioli] (1 serving):

** A traditional aioli uses egg yolk and Dijon mustard. I like to simplify it and use store-bought mayonnaise instead. I also like to make a little extra, and reserve some of this to dip the crust into. It's awesome.

Mayonnaise - 4 cups
Garlic (minced) - 4 tablespoons
Water - 2 tablespoons
Lemon juice - 1 tablespoon
Salt - 2 teaspoons
White pepper - 1 teaspoon

Method: Combine in food processor and pulse until combined.

• Basil Pesto (1 serving):

** I use walnuts in my pesto instead of the usual pine nuts because walnuts are a superfood with many nutritional benefits. It's a nice way to sneak in somethin' like that.

Basil (fresh, whole leaves) - 2 cups
Parmesan Cheese (grated) - 1/2 cup
Extra virgin olive oil - 1/2 cup
Garlic (minced) - 4 cloves
Walnuts - 1/3 cup
Salt - 2 teaspoon
White pepper - 1 teaspoon

Method: Combine basil, Parmesan cheese, garlic, and walnuts into food processor. Mix. Once it starts coming together, drizzle in extra virgin olive oil. Season and chill.

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil:

** Simply brush Extra Virgin Olive Oil on your crust.

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Now that you have your foundations, it's easy to pick toppings that will compliment the sauce. Below are my go-to's when I'm making a pie:

Traditional red sauce: Pepperoni, Sausage, Bacon, Ground Beef, Roma Tomatoes, Mushrooms, Jalapenos, Caramelized Onions, Sun-dried Tomatoes, Fresh Basil, Roasted Peppers, Pineapple, Mozzarella Cheese

White sauce/garlic aioli: Grilled Chicken, Sausage, Bacon, Roma Tomatoes, Mushrooms, Artichoke Hearts, Banana Peppers, Jalapenos, Asparagus, Caramelized Onions, Roasted Walnuts, Baby Spinach, Roasted Zucchini/Eggplant, Asiago Cheese, Goat Cheese, Gorgonzola Cheese, Feta Cheese, Ricotta Cheese, Mozzarella Cheese.

Pesto: Grilled Chicken, Roma Tomatoes, Kalamata Olives, Avocado, Sun-dried Tomatoes, Caramelized Onions, Goat Cheese, Feta Cheese, Mozzarella Cheese

Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Artichoke Hearts, Pears, Mushrooms, Prosciutto, Avocado, Jalapenos, Banana Peppers, Caramelized Onions, Cantaloupe/Melon, Sun-dried Tomatoes, Fresh Basil, Roma Tomatoes, Roasted Peppers, Baby Spinach, Kalamata Olives, Roasted Zucchini/Eggplant, Asiago Cheese, Gorgonzola Cheese, Feta Cheese, Ricotta Cheese, Mozzarella.

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Some of my favorite combos:

extra virgin olive oil - pears (thinly sliced) - Gorgonzola (crumbled) - mozzarella (shredded)

pesto sauce - kalamata olives - mozzarella (shredded) - sun-dried tomatoes (thinly sliced) - avocado (thinly sliced)

extra virgin olive oil - mozzarella (shredded) - asiago (shredded) - Gorgonzola (crumbled) - ricotta (spooned on top, one dollop per slice)

red sauce - pepperoni - mozzarella (shredded) - pepperoni - mozzarella (sliced) - dried Italian herbs

white sauce - grilled chicken - red pepper flakes - feta cheese (crumbled) - mozzarella cheese (shredded) - buffalo sauce (IE Frank's Red Hot)

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I hope you use some of these recipes, and let your creative flag fly as you venture into the art of gourmet pizza-making.

Copyright 2010, Brian Griess, All rights reserved

Bananas Foster Cheesecake

Cheesecake is one of my most favorite desserts. Even after a big meal, I can usually find room for this velvety, sumptuous slice of Heaven. Cheesecake itself can be a blank canvas. Usually it's topped with a berry coulis. I find by mixing in unique flavors, you can remix traditional cheesecake into something truly incredible.

In this recipe, I've paired my favorite dessert with the very close second favorite: Bananas Foster. This New Orleans classic is super simple, yet fancy. Bananas, sliced, tossed in butter and brown sugar. Pour in a little rum, and ignite! Flames shoot from the pan as the butter and brown sugar turn into a lovely caramel, blanketing every banana slice. This mixture is then spooned over vanilla ice cream.

Now for the 1, 2 punch:

• BANANAS FOSTER CHEESECAKE

Crust:
Graham Crackers (crushed) - 1 ½ Cup
Sugar - ¼ Cup
Butter (melted) - 5 tablespoons

Method:
1. Mix the graham crackers and sugar

2. Add butter and mix until completely moistened.

3. Press mixture into the bottom of a springform pan.

4. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Filling:
Cream Cheese (room temperature) - 36 Oz.
Light Brown Sugar - 1 Cup
Cornstarch - 2 Tablespoon
Cinnamon (ground) 1 teaspoon
Eggs - 4 whole + 2 yolks
Bananas (pureed) - 1 ½ Cup
Bacardi (or whatever kind you like better) Rum - 4 Tablespoon
Vanilla Extract - 3 teaspoon

Method:
1. In large bowl, combine cream cheese, brown sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon until smooth.

2. Add eggs and egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition.

3. Beat in all remaining ingredients.

4. Pour into crust-lined pan.

5. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes or until center is firm to the touch.

6. Allow it to cool before serving.

7. Store in refrigerator.

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I like to drizzle it with a little creme anglaise (or just melt some vanilla ice cream) to make it a little more traditional, yet new.

Copyright 2010, Brian Griess, All rights reserved

Pizza Dough

bG's Perfect Pizza Dough
(Recipe for 2 good-sized pies)

A.P. Flour (use bread flour for a crispier crust) - 3 cups
Warm water - 1 cup
Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 1 ½ tablespoons
Dry Active Yeast - 1 packet
Kosher Salt - 2 teaspoon
Sugar - 1 teaspoon

*This recipe can also be made in your electric mixer.*

Method:

1. Bloom the yeast in warm water. Add olive oil & sugar, whisk. Let stand for 2-3 minutes.

2. Put half of the flour into a large bowl. Add salt.

3. Add the wet ingredients into the bowl of flour. Mix thoroughly. Begin to add the remaining flour little by little until it is all incorporated. The dough should be slightly sticky.

4. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface, and knead for 5 minutes. Dough should be smooth, and not sticky.

5. Place dough into an oiled bowl, and set in a warm area (I heat my microwave for 25 seconds just to warm it) so it can proof (it will double in size). This will take 1 hour.

6. Preheat oven to 500° F.

7. Divide dough in 2 sections.

8. Shape as desired, and roll out to a 1/8-inch thickness.

9. Add sauce, cheese, toppings, etc.

10. The pizza will take about 10-12 minutes to cook depending on toppings and thickness of crust.
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Once you have this method down, your creativity can run wild. Imagine impressing your friends or co-workers with a pear & gorgonzola pizza. how about a prosciutto & cantaloupe pie? of course a classic pepperoni pizza topped off with some buffalo mozzarella is never a bad thing.

The key is to be adventurous, try what you like. Don't be confined by the traditional red sauce, try just olive oil, or a white sauce on your pizza.

One of my favorite pizzas is a buffalo chicken pizza - garlic white sauce, grilled chicken, mozzarella cheese - drizzle on Frank's Red Hot sauce when it comes out of the oven. It's innovative, yet classic.

Stay tuned for more recipes, including some Big Time Live gourmet pizza party ideas.

Copyright 2010, Brian Griess, All rights reserved