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Ravioli


DanCole42

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Split from a highly informative discussion in the Notti Bianche thread:

What distinguishes northern from southern Italian cooking?

My Genovese grandmother produces an amazing ravioli (which she pronounces, I hope I have this right, "rye-eur") with a spinach and ricotta filling (which she calls "ping") in a deliciously flavored reddish brown tomato sauce with carrots, onions, mushrooms, celery seed, tomato juice, etc. It's thick (from reduction only), but not like tomato-puree thick. Is this typical of the region?

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That actually WOULD be very delicious. With the ravioli panfried and served in a port and cranberry sauce with grated Locatelli and sage.

Feed the meal to children while reading them the book, then at the end tell them what it is that they've been eating. :)

ping was one of my childhood favorites, but out children didn't like it very much. they liked curious george better, which was made with monkey.

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I make something similar, yet very different. I use soft goat cheese, duck confit and fresh herbs (mostly thyme and chives). Also, I top it with a hazelnut brown butter sauce, which is simply brown butter, and finelly chopped hazelnuts that are toasted in the butter while it browns.

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Many good ideas for shredded meat raviolis.

The Mrs. ( :) made some extraordinary raviolis with leftover lamb shanks that had be stewed Greek style (tomatoes, cinamon, wine, etc.). We used the leftover stew juices as the sauce base.

In Nice, where they take their ravioli as seriously as any Italian, they like to use daub.

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Has anyone here attempted to recreate a really excellent corn ravioli (think Palena)? I think I might chop my left pinky off for an amazing recipe.

I'm game. I've got fresh sweet corn and no dinner plan. :( Can you describe the flavors?

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Not really knowing how to start, I looked up recipes on the internet and sort of created an amalgam. I used two ears of corn, one grilled and one steamed, cream, butter, chives, nutmeg, salt, and a squeeze of lime. I poured a little brown butter over the top. I cheated and used wonton skins, but I figure I get a little slack on a weeknight. In honor of Claude Levi-Strauss, here they are both raw and cooked.

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The raw and cooked was really because I figured sweet corn ravioli in brown butter was not going to look very appetizing on a cream-colored plate. I was correct in that assessment. I was pretty happy with the flavor, though. The ratio was about 2 cups of corn, one cup pureed in a food processor, the other left in kernels, about a quarter cup of cream, a tablespoon of butter, a tablespoon of chives (these were out of the yard, so strongly flavored from the hot summer), maybe a quarter teaspoon of fresh grated nutmeg, 3/4 teaspoon of salt, and enough lime to balance the sugar and fat.

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It's almost a cliche to suggest the food ties us to the past, our ancestors, where we come from, our home, etc. But it's a cliche deeply rooted in personal truth for a lot of people, some of whom will spends years tracking down old relatives and old recipes to find meaning and roots: a sensual family tree you can taste rather than ponder.

I am very fortunate in that this journey of discovery was undertaken in my family by a James Beard-winning author. Of course, there's no substitute for first hand knowledge, so I went to my father: the heir-apparent to the family ravioli recipe:

My son, remember. This is the Christmas Ravioli of your ancestors. It is the only real thing my mom held on to from the old days. It is my fondest memory and is the ultimate comfort food. That, Tucco and her bread. It is I who have carried the torch and maintain the skill. I am happy to pass that torch on to you if you want it. Nonetheless, I hope you have fun with it and I love you with all my heart.

Is it weird that, when I read that, I hear Marlon Brando's voice as Jor-El speaking to Superman?

Anyway, this weekend my cousin was in town and we made an attempt (using techniques for braising and refinement I've learned from Thomas Keller, of course). It blew everyone away, including my parents. Some were so bold as to suggest it was the best they'd ever had... shhh...

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