This week I thought I would continue my pasta theme, combined as it were with another theme: quick and delicious. And you cannot get much quicker than Farfalle al Gorgonzola. I reckon you can have it ready within 20 minutes.
It goes really well with a crisp salad, and luckily I got some really crisp and juicy iceberg lettuces from a neighbour who has an allotment (I swapped them for chillies – what else!)
Serves 2
Ingredients:
1 sage leaf
200g farfalle
100g mild Gorgonzola (dolce)
25g butter
125ml double cream
25g freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Freshly ground white pepper
Method:
- Bring 1l of water to boil in a large saucepan. Add the sage leaf.
- Add the pasta and boil for 11 minutes, or according to the instructions on the packed.
- Meanwhile, melt the butter in another saucepan over a low heat, then add the Gorgonzola and allow this to melt (you may need to break up the lumps with the back of a wooden spoon.
- Add the cream and season with salt (Gorgonzola is already quite salty) and white pepper.
- Make the salad (lettuce, de-seeded cucumber, radish, pine nuts and a slug of olive oil is a good combo.)
- Drain the pasta, saving some of the water, and add it to the sauce. Stir well to coat the pasta well, adding a little of the water if the sauce is too thick.
- Serve in preheated deep pasta bowls.
In my last blog I explained how to make fresh pasta. It seems logical to follow this up for a recipe to use the pasta you have lovingly made. You may have already come up with your own delicious idea, but here is my suggestion: Pumpkin Ravioli.
Actually it is made with butternut squash, but somehow ‘Squash Ravioli’ sounds less appealing. Anyway, it is rich and unctuous, and has the indulgence of recipes from the 1980’s.
Serves 2
Ingredients:
Ravioli Filling
30g unsalted butter
250g butternut squash, peeled and cut in 2-cm cubes
125ml double cream
1/2 bay leaf
1/2 tbsp finely chopped fresh sage
1/2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 egg, beaten
salt and freshly ground white pepper
4 strips fresh pasta
1 egg, beaten for egg wash
Sauce
250ml vegetable stock
1 shallot, chopped
125ml double cream
30g unsalted butter
1/2 tbsp finely chopped fresh sage
1/2 tsp fresh thyme
Method:
- Melt the 20g of butter in a frying pan. When the butter is foaming, add the squash and cook, stirring often, until it
softens.
- Transfer the squash to a saucepan, add the cream and herbs, and cook over a low heat for approximately 30 minutes, or
until puree is thick and the liquid has evaporated. Stir occasionally. Crush any remaining lumps with a fork.
- Remove from the heat and stir in an additional 10g of butter.
Whisk in the beaten egg. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Remove the bay-leaf and set aside to cool.
To prepare the ravioli
- Lay out 3 strips of pasta, about 240cm x 10cm.
- Place 8 equal mounds of puree on each sheet dough, about 9cm apart.
- Brush around each mound with egg wash.
- Cover the first pasta sheet with second and press around pumpkin mounds to seal.
- Using a 9cm pastry cutter, cut out the ravioli. Simple!
To prepare the sauce
- In a medium saucepan, reduce the stock with shallot about 60ml.
- Add the cream and reduce by half.
- Over low heat, whisk in the butter, a little at a time.
- Strain the sauce into a clean saucepan and add the sage and thyme.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.
To Cook the ravioli
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil
- Add ravioli to rapidly boiling water and cook for 4 to 5 minutes.
- Remove with a slotted spoon. Add ravioli to the sauce and bring just to a boil. Correct the seasonings.
- Divide the ravioli among pre-heated plates and spoon the sauce over them.
During a recent purge of kitchen cupboards, I came across a forgotten pasta making machine. So I blew the dust of and decided to give it a go. And I can tell you, making your own pasta is great fun and very rewarding. But before giving you the recipe and method, first some information about pasta. Continue reading How to Make Your Own Pasta →
Cool vegetarian ideas with some hot chillies added!
