Fresh Pear And Pecorino Ravioli Recipes

PEAR AND PECORINO RAVIOLI WITH SAGE BUTTER SAUCE

Steps:

• Place pears in large bowl. If too much liquid, drain through fine strainer. Mix in pecorino, mascarpone and egg yolk.
• Place 1 wonton wrapper on work surface. Place 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons mixture in middle of wrapper. Brush edges with water, and fold wrapper over. Press firmly to seal.
• Fill 4-quart saucepan two-thirds full of water. Add salt; heat to boiling. Gently slide in 5 ravioli. Cook 3 to 4 minutes or until done. Repeat until all of the ravioli is cooked.
• In 8- to 10-inch skillet, heat butter and sage over medium-high heat until butter is golden brown, reducing heat if needed to keep butter from burning. Remove sage; pour butter over ravioli. Sprinkle with extra cheese as desired.

RICOTTA, PECORINO AND PARMESAN RAVIOLI

Steps:

• Make the pasta by plonking the eggs and flour in a food processor, turning it on and within 30 seconds it should look like chewy-looking bread crumbs. These will start to come together into larger balls of dough. Take the dough out and work by hand for 2 minutes or until smooth, silky and elastic. Wrap in plastic and allow to rest in the refrigerator.
• Prepare the filling by mixing everything except the whole marjoram leaves together, checking the seasoning.
• Cut off pieces of the pasta and roll out on a lightly floured clean work surface to about 1mm thick, then cut into pieces about 14 by 14cm (6 by 6 inches). Place a good heaped teaspoon of filling on 1 side, then using a clean pastry brush and some water, lightly but evenly brush the pasta. Pinch 1 side of the pasta over the filling so it forms a parcel, then with your thumb or the base of your palm gently pat the pasta down all around the filling. (The most important thing about ravioli is it must be sealed completely, so if there are any rips, chuck them out.) Trim and cut the ravioli into shape with a knife or crinkly cutter.
• Cook the ravioli in salted, gently boiling water for 3 to 4 minutes.
• Meanwhile, fry the marjoram leaves and sage leaves in the olive oil until crispy, then drain on kitchen paper.
• Put the cooked ravioli in a warmed small frying pan, add a little of the cooking water and another tablespoon of the grated pecorino, and toss. To serve, spoon the ravioli into a dish, sprinkle some of the crispy herbs on top, and add another grating of Parmesan and some freshly ground black pepper to finish.

HOMEMADE PEAR AND GORGONZOLA RAVIOLI

Steps:

• Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add pears and thyme; cook, stirring often, until pears have softened, about 10 minutes. Crumble Gorgonzola cheese over pears; cook and stir until melted, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and cool filling completely.
• Cut pasta dough into 3 equal pieces. Flatten the first piece of dough on a floured work surface; roll with a rolling pin 5 or 6 times. Turn the dough 45 degrees and roll again, 5 to 6 times. Keep rolling and turning in the same direction until dough has a consistent thickness of about 1/16-inch. Repeat with remaining 2 pieces of pasta dough.
• Gently transfer 1 pasta sheet to a floured surface and cut in half to form 2 evenly sized rectangles. Drop about 1 teaspoon filling onto 1 rectangle, spacing the filling about 1-inch apart. Brush the spaces around the filling with water.
• Lay the second rectangle on top of the first. Gently squeeze out the air around the filling and press firmly with your hands to seal the edges and all dough around the filling.
• Cut square ravioli shapes using a ravioli cutter. Transfer the ravioli to a floured plate or board. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. Let the ravioli stand for about 30 minutes.
• Bring a saucepan of lightly salted water to the boil; gently add ravioli, working in batches. Cook until ravioli float to the top, about 3 minutes. Remove using a slotted spoon and transfer to a warm bowl.

PEAR AND GORGONZOLA RAVIOLI WITH WALNUTS AND ROSEMARY BUTTER

Steps:

• Filling -- In a medium non stick sauce pan on medium heat add the pears, dried and fresh, shallots and cook until the pears start to break down. The pears should give enough moisture so no oil or butter is needed. Cook until they are soft but not "mush." You still want a little texture to it. Remove and let cool.
• Add the cooled pear mix to the gorgonzola, ricotta and pepper and mix well. I like to chill this before I use this as a filling.
• Make the ravioli -- take a wonton wrapper and wet the edges just using water and your finger and then add a teaspoon of the filling to the wonton and press corner to corner to make a triangle. Press well to make sure the edges are sealed and get all the air out around the center around the filling. Once done, move to a cookie sheet lined with parchment or wax paper until you finish making the rest of the raviolis.
• In a large pot of boiling water it is time to cook the ravioli. I like to cook this on a medium boil. NOT on high. To high of heat will just cause the raviolis to bread up. Add the raviolis 6 or 7 at a time, don't over crowd the pot and boil 1-2 minutes until they float to the surface. Once they float -- they are done. Remove and set on a cookie sheet until cooled.
• Now you can pan saute and serve them now or you store them in a ziplock for a day or so until ready.
• Saute -- In a medium non stick pan add 1 teaspoon of the butter and heat to medium. Add the ravioli and lightly pan sear. You just want to lightly brown and slightly crisp up, just a minute or so per side is all they need, and to heat up. Remove the ravioli to a serving bowl and cover.
• Sauce -- Add the wine to the pan and then the remaining butter, rosemary and walnuts, a little salt and pepper to taste. Cook another minute and pour over the ravioli.
• Enjoy them! They are a treat.

FRESH PEAR AND PECORINO RAVIOLI

Steps:

• Peel and core the pear, and shred it against the large holes of a box grater. Stir the shreds with the shredded cheese in a bowl, and blend in the mascarpone.
• Following the master method, page 189, roll dough strips for filling. For each raviolo, scoop a scant tablespoon of the filling, shape it round and drop in place. Cover and cut ravioli by master method.
• Cook the ravioli as in master method, page 192. Meanwhile, heat the butter until simmering in a large skillet and thin it with a cup of the boiling pasta water. Lay the cooked ravioli in the skillet, and coat with the hot butter. Remove the pan from the heat, and sprinkle over it the grated aged Pecorino, mixing gently so the cheese begins to melt into a sauce, then grind coarse black pepper all around.
• I serve these with a melted-butter sauce and sprinkles of black pepper and more Pecorino Romano-details are in the recipe. If you can, find a mild, one-year-old aged Pecorino for the finishing touch.