Snuggly Wild Mushroom Ravioli with Lemon, Cream, Thyme and White Wine Sauce

What happens when mushrooms snuggle up to arugula and wrap themselves in ravioli bundles? Well, cover the bundles in lemon, thyme, cream and white wine and you have the warmest of comfort food for fall feasting. I served this dish at my last 'garden party' supper club. One of my guests commented that it was the best pasta he had ever eaten! It's all about the ingredients; how can anyone go wrong with mushrooms, thyme, cream and white wine?

Wild Mushroom Ravioli with Lemon, Thyme Cream Sauce
Ingredients:
1 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs butter
1 Tbs garlic, fine mince
2 Tbs shallots, fine chop
1 1/2 lb fresh mushrooms - Chantrelles are my favourite but any mushroom will do. Chop fine (around 5 cups)
2 oz sherry or brandy
1 Tbs lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbs fresh parsley
2 tsp fresh thyme
1/2 cup arugula, chopped fine
2 Tbs fresh chives
1 egg
8 sheets of fresh pasta 16 inch x 4 inch - there is a recipe if you want to make it by hand on my blog, just search for pasta. It's really easy, you just have to have some time to play with it.

Sauce:
1 Tbs butter
2 shallots (or some onion if you don't have shallots), dice fine
1/2 cup white wine
3/4 cup whipping cream
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 Tbs lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
2 oz pecorino cheese(crumble over pasta to finish it) or Parmesan

Directions:
Heat olive oil in medium skillet, add butter garlic and shallots. Cook stirring constantly a 2 min. Add mushrooms and cook until they are golden brown and most of the pan juices have boiled off. Add brandy and lemon juice. Cook 1 min. Season with salt and pepper. Allow mixture to cool, then add the greens(parsley, thyme, arugula, chives or whatever greens you like, experiment). Mix and taste for seasoning.

Crack egg into small bowl, beat.

Now, it's time to bundle these little buggers up. Put 4 sheets of pasta on a floured counter. Brush the pasta lightly with the egg mixture. Put intervals of about 1 Tbs of filling down on each sheet, 2 finger widths apart from each other. Two rows of about 7 spoonfuls of mushroom mix on each sheet. Put the remaining 4 sheets of pasta on top and press around the mushroom spoonfuls to make your ravioli bundles. Try and work out any air pockets if you can. Once pressed, cut with a knife or a pasta cutter if you want to get all fancy. Both will taste amazing.

Make your sauce...
In a medium saucepan, melt butter, add shallot/onions and cook 1-2 min on medium till the onion is translucent. Add wine and cook on high heat till it is reduced by 1/2, 2 min. Add cream and thyme, simmer till approx 1 cup remains, 5 min. Add lemon juice, salt/pp to taste. Optional Tips: Double the recipe if you like saucier pastas and serve on warm plates.

Place a large pot of water to boil, add salt to the water. Gently, place the pasta in the water and boil for 3 minutes. Drain the cooked pasta in a colander. Serve hot with lemon sauce and top with pecorino.

Serves 6

Not just for old Italians - Pasta Making

At first, I thought it was something old Italian grandmas had time to do. The problem was that I was doing it wrong as is usually the case.

Pasta making is as old as the trees, but tastier. There are many myths in the pasta origins world. Noodles were made in China in 2000 BC out of millet whereas what we eat today is mostly Italian style noodles, called pasta and made of durum wheat semolina. So, no, the Chinese did not invent pasta and it was not brought over by Marco Polo. It was the Arabs who brought it from Sicily...smart little traders.

But I digress, I was going to talk about my pasta making struggles and got side-tracked, as I do. The first recipe that I tried came right with the pasta making machine, they said to mix it in your kitchenaid. The dough was so tough it nearly burnt out the mixer. The pasta tasted fine in the end but I think it took me 2 hours. I was like, "Why do Italians do this?! I chalked it up to the 'fact' that Italians like torture, and put my mixer away for a few months. Then, I came across this magnificent book, Ratio by Michael Ruhlman. It defines the science behind basic doughs, stock, sausage making etc. so that you understand what is important in each recipe. It's great for people that love to improvise in their baking. The basic ratio for pasta dough is 3:2 flour:egg and also instructs that the dough should be soft, but not sticky as you knead it. Done. I make pasta twice a week now with any flour I have on hand.

My favourite pasta dish so far has been browned mushrooms, olive oil and a good Parmesan. Toss the pasta and enjoy with a nice crisp salad. The simplicity of the dish lets you really taste all your labours in the pasta itself . Takes me about 1/2 hour to make.

Recipe:
Slice mushrooms (I like shitake, oyster, chantrelle or portabello) and toss them in olive oil and soy sauce. Drain the excess liquid off and then place on a baking sheet. Throw in the oven at 400F on broil. Watch them carefully so that they brown and don't burn. 15 min approx.

Pasta...
Ratio is 3:2 flour:eggs
9 ounces flour(around 1 1/2cups): 6 ounces eggs(3 eggs)

Directions:
Put flour(semolina or pastry flour are good) in bowl, make a hole for eggs in the center of the mound. If you use only egg yolks it makes for a very rich and colourful pasta. Crack eggs in and then slowly mix with floured hands until you have a soft dough, if it's sticky just keep adding a little bit of flour as you knead the dough(for 10 minutes). This is the fun part, the dough feels really nice, it's like you're in preschool again. After kneading, let the dough rest for 10 minutes wrapped in plastic. You can refrigerate the dough for a maximum 24 hours before rolling.

Rolling...
Now separate the dough into 4 parts, wrap all but one in plastic. Start rolling one piece through your pasta machine, if you find the dough is breaking just refold the pasta and roll through again until the gluten starts stretching. If you don't have a pasta machine you can just roll the dough out by hand and cut to the desired shapes. Make sure your surfaces are well floured and dust your rolled pasta with flour after you have the desired thickness. Repeat for all 4 pieces of dough. I usually let the pasta dry a bit before I cook it so that it's a bit more al dente in texture once cooked. Dry it floured, separated and hanging so that it doesn't clump. You can now dry it completely, bag it and throw it in the fridge if you like or cook it straight away.

You can make lasagna(that's the easiest), fettuccine, ravioli or just make up a new shape if you like. It's really fun, take some time and play with it, it'll make you look like a pro.