Saffron Ravioli With Wild Mushrooms And Cashew Cheese Recipes

WILD MUSHROOM RAVIOLI

Steps:

• Place 1 heaping teaspoon of mushroom filling in the center of 1 wonton wrapper. Wet the edges of the wonton with a little warm water. Place another wonton wrapper on top and press to seal the edges. Using a fork, crimp around the edges, if desired.
• Bring a large pot of boiling salted water to a boil. Cook ravioli in boiling water until they rise to the surface and are al dente. Drain.
• Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Saute mushrooms until soft, then add garlic and continue to cook for 30 seconds. Pull the pan from the heat, add scotch, and return the pan to the burner. Cook until Scotch is evaporated. Add ravioli, chicken broth, butter, and smoked salmon and reduce slightly, until the sauce has body. Dish into 4 bowls and sprinkle with dill, green onions, and capers on top of each bowl of pasta.
• Melt the butter in a heavy large saute pan over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and saute for 2 minutes, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add the mushrooms and leave alone to caramelize, not disturbing the mushrooms while they cook. (The more the mushrooms are stirred, the more moisture will be released.) When the mushrooms are well browned, add in the thyme and parsley. Deglaze with vermouth and cook until the liquid has evaporated. Add chicken demi-glace and reduce until dry. Toss in the porcini powder, green onions, and panko, and pull pan from the heat. Transfer to a sheet pan and let cool, uncovered. When cool, fold in the cheeses and refrigerate, covered, in a tight container until ready to use.

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.

RICOTTA-AND-TALEGGIO-FILLED RAVIOLI WITH WILD MUSHROOM SAUCE

Steps:

• For the dough: Mound the flour on a large cutting board and make a wide well in the middle. Add the eggs and olive oil and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Beat the eggs with a fork, then use the fork to break the wall of the well and incorporate the flour into the eggs. Gather the dough into a ball; don't worry if there are lumps.
• Using the heels of your hands, push the dough away from you, then fold it back over itself and push again (put your whole body into it!). Continue kneading until the dough is smooth and supple, 10 to 15 minutes. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let rest at least 1 hour at room temperature.
• For the filling: Drizzle olive oil into a large deep pan. Add the pancetta, place over medium-low heat and cook until crisp. Add the garlic and cremini, oyster and shiitake mushrooms, season with salt and saute until the mushrooms are soft and golden, about 5 minutes. Add the white wine and let cook until completely reduced. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
• Mix the ricotta Parmigiano-Reggiano and , taleggio in a large bowl. Stir in the mushroom mixture, eggs and parsley and season with salt. Transfer the filling to a large pastry bag and refrigerate if not using immediately.
• Cut the dough into four pieces. Flatten one piece slightly, then run it through the widest setting on a pasta roller twice, dusting with flour in between if it feels sticky. Fold the length of dough into thirds and run it through the roller two to three more times. Continue running the dough through the roller, reducing the width setting between each run, until you reach the second-to-last setting and the dough is about 1/16 inch thick. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough. Layer half of the dough sheets between parchment paper, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 1 month (you'll only need half of the dough for the ravioli recipe).
• For the ravioli: Place the lengths of dough on a floured surface. Lightly brush the lower half of each strip (the part closest to you) with water. Snip the corner off the pastry bag; pipe 1-inch balls of filling, 2 inches apart, onto the lower half of each strip. Fold the dough over the filling to meet the bottom edge. Press around each ball of filling with your index fingers, making sure there are no air bubbles. Cut out the ravioli using a 2-to-3-inch round fluted cutter. Pinch around the cut edges of the raviolis and transfer to a baking sheet dusted with semolina.
• For the sauce: Add chicken stock and butter to a large deep pan, season with salt and cook until the sauce is thickened, reduced by half and looks velvety. Season with more salt, if necessary.
• Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil; add the ravioli and cook 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer with a skimmer or slotted spoon to the pan with the sauce. Bring the sauce to a boil, shaking the pan. Sprinkle in the sage and remove from the heat. Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano and swirl to combine. Serve garnished with more Parmigiano-Reggiano.

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.