Saffron Ravioli With Wild Mushrooms And Cashew Cheese Recipes

SAFFRON RAVIOLI WITH WILD MUSHROOMS AND CASHEW CHEESE

Steps:

• To make the ravioli filling: the day before using, put the cashews in a bowl and add enough cold water to cover them. Cover and let soak overnight in the refrigerator. Do the same for the cashews you will use to make the Cashew Creme Fraiche (see recipe below).
• In a large sauté pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, shallots and leek and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook until their liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Drain well and set aside to cool.
• Drain the liquid from the cashews and rinse under cool water. Put the cashews, the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and the water, lemon juice, nutritional yeast and salt in a food processor fitted with the metal blade and process until smooth. Add the mushroom mixture and pulse a few times, until the mushrooms are incorporated.
• To make the pasta: soak the saffron in the water for about 30 minutes. Put the flours, egg replacer, saffron-infused water and salt in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the palm oil and mix well. The dough should be smooth and not stick to your fingers.
• Press the dough into a rectangle and roll it, a small section at a time, through a pasta machine. You may have to repeat several times to reach the desired thickness of approximately 1/8 inch. Sprinkle the surface with a small amount of cornmeal or semolina flour to prevent the dough from sticking. Cut the pasta sheets into 2-inch rounds or squares.
• To assemble the ravioli, put the pasta pieces on a floured surface. Place a teaspoonful of filling in the center of each square, brush the edges of the dough with a bit of water, top with another piece of pasta, and press the edges with your fingers to seal, and then crimp with a fork. Spray the ravioli with canola oil cooking spray on one side, then flip them over and spray the other side. (If you don't have cooking spray, brush both sides lightly with olive oil.)
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the ravioli until just tender, about 2 minutes.
• To serve, spoon tomato sauce into shallow bowls. Top with alternating layers of ravioli and Cashew Crème Fraîche. Scatter a bit of parsley over the sauce, top with a spoonful of capers and serve at once.
• Drain the presoaked cashews, rinse under cold water and drain again.
• Transfer to a blender. Add the lemon juice, olive oil, water and salt and process until smooth. The mixture will keep covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Place the butternut squash on a rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with the olive oil, and toss with your hands until evenly coated. Bake the squash for 45 minutes.
• Let cool, then transfer to a large bowl. Add the nutmeg and sage and mash until smooth. Season with salt to taste. Use as an alternative filling for ravioli, following the instructions above.

WILD MUSHROOM RAVIOLI WITH EGGPLANT AND GOAT CHEESE

Steps:

• Place a pot of water on the stove to boil for pasta.
• Trim half of the skin from the eggplant. Leaving a little skin on will add color and texture to the dish. The small, firm eggplants are not too bitter and when they are firm, they will not soak up as much oil, so they do not need to be salted and pressed. However, if you leave all the skin, especially when you use baby eggplant, the skin overpowers the flavor of the flesh and the texture is too tough overall.
• Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cut the eggplant into 1-inch-by-1/2 inch bite size pieces. Add 2 turns of extra-virgin olive oil to the pan, the garlic and the eggplant. Turn and toss the eggplant and season it with salt and pepper. Let it brown lightly at edges, about 5 minutes, then reduce heat to medium low and continue to cook.
• Add salt and ravioli to the pasta water and simmer to package directions, about 5 or 6 minutes, until just tender.
• While the pasta cooks, dice tomatoes and add them to the cooking eggplant. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
• Drain cooked pasta and plate individually or on a platter. Top with eggplant and tomatoes and all of the basil and cheese. If you plate individually, use 1/4 of the basil and 2 ounces of cheese, crumbled, per portion.

FOUR-CHEESE RAVIOLI WITH MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Heat oil and 2 tablespoons butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then cook shallots, stirring, until golden, about 2 minutes.
• Add mushrooms and increase heat to high, then sauté, stirring, until liquid mushrooms give off is evaporated and mushrooms are golden, about 4 minutes. Add wine and boil until liquid is evaporated and mushrooms are tender, about 2 minutes. Stir in salt, pepper, parsley, and remaining 2 tablespoons butter until butter is melted.
• While mushrooms are sautéing, cook ravioli in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until ravioli are al dente. Drain in a colander.
• Return drained ravioli to large pot and add mushroom mixture, stirring gently until combined.

WILD MUSHROOM RAVIOLI

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, combine water and porcini mushrooms. Bring to a boil. Remove from the heat; let stand for 30 minutes. Drain, reserving liquid. Finely chop mushrooms; set aside., In a small nonstick skillet, saute onion and shiitake mushrooms in 2 teaspoons butter until tender. Add porcini mushrooms and 1/4 cup soaking liquid. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 3-5 minutes or until liquid has evaporated. Remove from the heat. Stir in the cream cheese, salt and pepper. Cool to room temperature., Spoon about 2 teaspoons of mushroom mixture in the center of a wonton wrapper. (Keep wrappers covered with a damp paper towel until ready to use.) Moisten edges with water, being sure to moisten wrapper all the way to the filling. Top with another wonton wrapper, pressing down around filling to seal. Trim about 1/4 in. from edges if desired. Repeat with remaining wrappers. , Bring a large saucepan or Dutch oven of water to a boil. Add ravioli. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer; cook for 1-2 minutes or until ravioli float to the top and are tender. Drain and keep warm., In a small saucepan, saute button mushrooms and garlic in remaining butter. Add tomato sauce; heat through. Serve over ravioli. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and parsley.

LOBSTER RAVIOLI WITH SAFFRON CREAM SAUCE

Steps:

• Make the pasta according to directions --
• While waiting for the water to boil, make the sauce:
• Add butter to a saute pan over medium-low heat. Add the shallot and cook for 2-3 minutes or until translucent.
• Add the wine, stirring until the wine evaporates, about 3 minutes.
• Add the cream and saffron, lower heat and simmer.
• Cook until the sauce has reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat.
• Add the cooked ravioli to the saute pan and stir to coat.
• Add the ravioli to a plate and spoon with more sauce. Garnish with a little cayenne pepper if you like some heat and some chives.