maury@darwin.mitre.org (Maury Neiberg) (02/05/91)
[These are adapted from an article in the Boston Phoenix, Dec 18, 1987. The Phoenix being the kind of paper it is, I bet they are tickled pink that they are connected with something like this...] Handmade Ravioli dough (makes approx. 3 dozen dumplings) 1 cup unbleached flour pinch of salt 1 egg beaten warm water Mix flour and salt in a bowl, and make a well in the center. Add the egg and using a fork begin to incorporate flour from the edges. When the flour and egg are mixed _cautiously_ add a few drops of water. Don't let it get sticky. Form a rough ball with the dough and turn out onto a lightly floured bread board. Add more water by the dropfull to encourage the dough to remain in a ball, but at this stage it should still seem stiff and rather dry. Begin to knead, flattening the ball with the hell of your hand, them grasping at the squashed circle of dough at a point analogous to 3:00, rotating that point a 1/4 turn to noon. Still grasping that point, fold the dough over on itself, and begin the cycle again by flattening the new mound. Continue to knead in rhythmic, meditative earnest for about 10 minutes. When dough is firm, warm, smooth and elastic, place it in a clean bowl, cover it with a damp cloth and let it relax for 45 minutes. [Ok, I know that the recipe says that this is a lot of work, and the more you do by hand the better they will be, but I have a philosophy: This is too much work. I make this dough in my food processor, and knead it a bit more by hand after it has relaxed. Those of you with industrial-strength mixers should probably go that route.] Assembly: Roll out dough [using a pasta machine unless you are more crazy than I am. I did it once by hand. That was one time too many.] until very thin [thinnest setting on machine. That's a 7 on my Atlas.] Cut it into two and a half inch squares. Place a teaspoon of filling on each square. Moisten two contiguous sides of the square with a little warm water. Fold the other two sides over to meet them, forming a triangle-shaped ravioli. Pinch the moistened and unmoistened sides together firmly. Place on a cookie sheet on which you have sprinkled a little cornmeal or semolina so they don't stick. (They can wait at room temperature for a couple of hours before cooking.) Cook them in a large kettle of boiling salted water for 2-3 minutes or until the sealed edges are barely tender. [You can use a ravioli mold, but the ravs will be smaller.] Squash Ravioli with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce (serves 3 as a main course) Filling: 1 large or 2 small dumpling squashes, to make 2/3 of a cup baked squash. 1/3 grated Parmesan cheese 3 tablespoons chopped chives salt and pepper Cut squash in half and bake face down at 400 degrees until tender. Scoop out cooked squash (when cool enough to handle) and mix with other ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to assemble ravioli. Sauce Either 3 red bell peppers and 2 fresh ancho peppers OR 4 red bell peppers and 2 fresh jalapeno peppers 1/2 cup light cream salt to taste Wash peppers, prick each with a fork and broil them until they are charred on all sides. Remove from heat and cool. Remove skins, stems and seeds. (Use gloves for the hot peppers). Puree peppers in a blender or food processor. Stir in cream and add salt. Gently heat before serving with ravs. Chicken Lime Soup with Spicy Black Bean Dumplings (serves 6-8) Soup 8 cups rich chicken or turkey stock, degreased 2 dried hot chilis (anchos or pasillas are good) [note: when I made this, 2 was not enough peppers, but my peppers were sort of old.] 2 limes salt Garnish 12 thin round slices of sweet red pepper 18 or more cilantro leaves While the stock heats just to the boiling point, rinse and dry the chilis. (If dried chilis are unavailable, spice stock to taste with tabasco. Add it with the lime juice.) Add chilis whole to stock turn off heat and let sit for 20 minutes. Remove chilis and strain broth if you worry about the seeds. Return stock to pan, add the juice of both limes. Taste and add salt if necessary. Ravioli filling 1 can (16 oz) black beans 2 Tablespoons butter 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1/4 tsp cumin 1/4 tsp crushed cayenne pepper flakes 1/4 cup chopped cilantro Drain beans, reserving liquid. Melt butter in a frying pan over low heat. Add the garlic and spices and stir until garlic is golden. Add drained beans and turn up heat to medium. With a slotted spoon, mash and turn beans until they start to dry. Remove beans from pan and stir in cilantro. Fill raviolis as described above. Cook in boiling salted water until barely tender while heating the stock separately. Transfer ravs to broth for final few seconds of cooking. Serve in shallow soup plates, with garnish. Maurine J. Neiberg (Maury) maury@mitre.org or maury@linus.mitre.org