CRAZYCOOKER
New member
HERBED BEEF RAVIOLI
1 lb. coarsely diced beef
1 med. onion
1 med. carrot
1 coarsely chopped celery stalk
approx. 10 fresh sage leaves
3 - 4 sprigs fresh thyme, stripped
2 fat cloves garlic, (to taste)
salt and pepper, to taste
PASTA:
1 lb. all purpose flour
3 large, fresh eggs
2 tbsp. good olive oil
extra water, if required
*see cooks notes for additions
FILLING:
Place beef, herbs, vegetables and garlic in the hopper of your meat grinder and, alternating ingredients, mince to a coarse grind. Season mixture with salt and pepper, place a piece of cling wrap over the surface of the mix and refrigerate for approximately 1 hour. This prevents the meat from discoloring.
PASTA:
Place flour in a suitably sized glass or stainless steel bowl and make a well in the center. Crack eggs into the well and add the olive oil.
Using a wooden spoon, slowly bring the flour and liquid together, working from the center of the well outwards until you have a fairly dry but well incorporated mix. Now, using your hands, knead the dough adding very small amounts of water until you have achieved a smooth, elastic dough. It should not be sticky nor dry to the touch. Cover with a damp towel and set aside to rest for approximately 20 minutes.
When rested, shape the dough into a thick log and cut a 1 1/2-inch slice off and shape into a thin, elongated rectangle.
Making sure that your pasta machine is well floured along with your work surface, feed the end of the rectangle into the machine with the rollers set on 1. Roll out to a long thin strip. Repeat with rollers set on 2 then continue repeating until you reach setting number 8. Lay the finished strip on your work surface and trim the edges and ends neat and parallel.
Using a teaspoon, place small balls of the meat mix in a neat line along the edge of the pasta about 1/2 - 3/4 inch in from the edge furthest away from you, leaving space to seal each ravioli on each side. With a pastry brush, paint the pastry on all sides of the filling with water.
Starting from one end gently fold the dough over the ravioli filling so that each edge meets exactly. Using your fingers, push down on the pastry to seal the individual ravioli trying to expel as much air as possible from them. Don't fret if you can't get it all out but as much as possible. Using a sharp knife, cut the ravioli into squares, diamonds or whatever. You can also use a pinking cutter which gives them an attractive frilly edge.
Place in boiling, salted water for no more than a few minutes or the very thin pasta will fall apart and split.
Serve with your favourite sauce or, best of all if you're rich enough, best quality olive oil, a squeeze of fresh lemon and (yum) shaved truffle.
NOTES: Do not EVER add salt to the pasta mix no matter how tempted you are. Pepper, yes, or finely chopped fresh herbs or even minced fresh garlic but not, ever, salt. If you don't have a pasta roller, you can roll by hand but it has to be done very quickly or the dough will dry out. If you don't have a mincer you can cut all the ingredients very finely with a good knife. In fact, there is a lot to be said for the coarser, rustic style of fine cutting.... more texture.
1 lb. coarsely diced beef
1 med. onion
1 med. carrot
1 coarsely chopped celery stalk
approx. 10 fresh sage leaves
3 - 4 sprigs fresh thyme, stripped
2 fat cloves garlic, (to taste)
salt and pepper, to taste
PASTA:
1 lb. all purpose flour
3 large, fresh eggs
2 tbsp. good olive oil
extra water, if required
*see cooks notes for additions
FILLING:
Place beef, herbs, vegetables and garlic in the hopper of your meat grinder and, alternating ingredients, mince to a coarse grind. Season mixture with salt and pepper, place a piece of cling wrap over the surface of the mix and refrigerate for approximately 1 hour. This prevents the meat from discoloring.
PASTA:
Place flour in a suitably sized glass or stainless steel bowl and make a well in the center. Crack eggs into the well and add the olive oil.
Using a wooden spoon, slowly bring the flour and liquid together, working from the center of the well outwards until you have a fairly dry but well incorporated mix. Now, using your hands, knead the dough adding very small amounts of water until you have achieved a smooth, elastic dough. It should not be sticky nor dry to the touch. Cover with a damp towel and set aside to rest for approximately 20 minutes.
When rested, shape the dough into a thick log and cut a 1 1/2-inch slice off and shape into a thin, elongated rectangle.
Making sure that your pasta machine is well floured along with your work surface, feed the end of the rectangle into the machine with the rollers set on 1. Roll out to a long thin strip. Repeat with rollers set on 2 then continue repeating until you reach setting number 8. Lay the finished strip on your work surface and trim the edges and ends neat and parallel.
Using a teaspoon, place small balls of the meat mix in a neat line along the edge of the pasta about 1/2 - 3/4 inch in from the edge furthest away from you, leaving space to seal each ravioli on each side. With a pastry brush, paint the pastry on all sides of the filling with water.
Starting from one end gently fold the dough over the ravioli filling so that each edge meets exactly. Using your fingers, push down on the pastry to seal the individual ravioli trying to expel as much air as possible from them. Don't fret if you can't get it all out but as much as possible. Using a sharp knife, cut the ravioli into squares, diamonds or whatever. You can also use a pinking cutter which gives them an attractive frilly edge.
Place in boiling, salted water for no more than a few minutes or the very thin pasta will fall apart and split.
Serve with your favourite sauce or, best of all if you're rich enough, best quality olive oil, a squeeze of fresh lemon and (yum) shaved truffle.
NOTES: Do not EVER add salt to the pasta mix no matter how tempted you are. Pepper, yes, or finely chopped fresh herbs or even minced fresh garlic but not, ever, salt. If you don't have a pasta roller, you can roll by hand but it has to be done very quickly or the dough will dry out. If you don't have a mincer you can cut all the ingredients very finely with a good knife. In fact, there is a lot to be said for the coarser, rustic style of fine cutting.... more texture.
