menu for last night's Italian dinner

R

randi

Well-known member
I had a few days where I could eat anything I wanted and took advantage of it!

I had to frolic in the, usually forbidden, fields of wheat and make pasta. oh what an evening last night was smileys/smile.gif

to start

tuna carpaccio

wedges of globe artichokes marinated in olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and anchovie filets

radishes

carmelized onion and roasted beet ravioli in a butter & chive sauce

main course

Ligurian style pasta sauce with raw tomatoes, olives, capers and anchovies

green salad with EVO & balsamico

to finish

anicini (anise & almond biscotti)

fresh strawberries

crusty bread, of course

the wines.... oh my!

1986 estate bottled bordeaux

1986 Brunello di Montalcino

1999 Barbera d'Alba

1999 Valtellina Superiore

 
REC: Beet and Onion Ravioli with butter and chives T&T hereya go Joe smileys/smile.gif

Beet and Onion Ravioli with butter and chives

Raviolini di Rape e Cipolla col Burro e l'Erba Cipollina
Marcella's Italian Kitchen by Marcella Hazan

1 large or 2 medium red beets, about 1 1/2 oz
green tops of 6 scallions
1 1/2 lbs onoins, peeled and sliced as thin as possible
3 TBs butter
salt
fresh ground pepper
1 cup freshly grated parmigiano
1/3 cup fine, dry, unflavored bread crumbs
1 egg yolk

discard the green tops of the beets and wash the bulbs thoroughly. put them in a pot with water to cover and bring to a boil. cook until pierced easily with a fork. drain, peel and chop extremely fine, using a food processor or any other method.

wash the scallion tops and cut them into the thinnest possible rings.

in a skillet or saute pan put the butter, onions and scallions. cover the pan and turn the heat to very low. cook until the onion is very soft, no less than 1 hour. when the onion is very soft, add salt and liberal grindings of pepper and turn the heat to high. cook, stirring frequently, until the onion becomes colored a pale, nut brown. transfer to a bowl with and let cool completely.

when cooled, add the chopped beets, cheese, bread crumbs and yolk and mix thouroughly.

prepare your pasta dough and make the raviolis. drop into gently boiling water (not a rolling boil) and boil for about 4 minutes or until pasta is tender. drain with a slotted spoon and place in a a bowl with 6 TBs soft butter. sprinkle with chopped chives and serve with plenty of grated cheese on the side.

Notes: I just rinse the beets and roast them. the onions are easy if you use a mandolin or V-slicer. make sure you cut the onion rings into quarters after slicing and before cooking or they will be a bear to mix with the rest of the ingredients and stuff. so far, I haven't used the egg yolk and the filling holds up just fine. also, the next time I will brown the butter before tossing with the cooked ravioli.

you can make the onions and the beets ahead of time, just don't chop the beets until you're ready to use them. I prepare them a day ahead of time.

these really do need a good, home made egg pasta dough. I tried using goyza wrappers and was dissapointed with the end result.

it's a great recipe MANGIA!

 
the dry, earthy Brunello di Montalcino was just perfect with the ravioli. my friends

are waaay to generous with their wine cellar smileys/smile.gif

 
Thanks, Randi, and a question: Are the thinly sliced scallions the chives that top the final dish,

or do you saute all the scallions for the filling and top the dish with real chives.

 
I have to admit that I forgot to add the scallion greens this time. I did use chives for the finish

but next time I'll finely chop the white part of the scallions and use them instead of the chives. it will add a bit of a "kick" to them.

Shaun, they should freeze beautifully. my friends requested the recipe and want me to teach them how to make fresh pasta for ravioli. smileys/smile.gif

 
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