Spinach & Ricotta Ravioli

Pasta apparently is hard work!  Who knew?  Well, probably every seasoned chef and Masterchef contestant this side of the ozone layer but I was stupidly confident that I could pull it off relatively easily and without the aid of a pasta machine.  Call me optimistic.  Call me insane.  Either way never, ever again!

So it started out quite well.  I made my dough.  It looked good.  It rested.  Then the rolling commenced.  Two hours I slogged.  I probably burned more calories than Madonna on a vibration training plate.  I toiled to get my pasta paper thin but it wasn't relenting to my rolling pin powers.  Despite this I soldiered on thinking "it's thin enough now, surely?"  I cut my ravioli circles, I egg washed and I proudly spooned in my spinach and ricotta filling (which, as it happens, tasted really good and was wasted in the horrid excuse of pasta I parcelled it in).

Frankly, what I turned out was so abominable I was far too embarrassed to take a photograph.  Maybe I should have done it for posterity; a lesson to future generations of the perils of pasta, but at the time I had the disappointed tones of John Torode ringing in my ears.  Visions of him shaking his head and saying "What happened here, Harriette?  Your parrsta is like a doorstop", while Gregg screws up his face sympathetically "Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.  I'm sorry I can't eat that.  It's like putting a hockey puck in your mouth.  Yucky!"  I'd be standing there both physically and mentally broken and choking back the tears while wailing "All I wanted to do was impress you.  This means so much to me etc. etc."...

Meanwhile, back in the real world, my "pasta nemesis", as it will henceforth be known, is now something of a challenge I need to beat.  Investment in a pasta machine would be a good start.  I imagine there are many such machines washed up in charity shops patiently lying there waiting for a girl like me to come and rescue one of them.  Watch this space for a future attempt and whether I can manage to annihilate the demons of dough.

The outcome of all this culinary chaos?  The pasta went in the bin and a batch of chilli came out of the freezer.  It was a sad (and wasted) evening in the Conroy household! 

If you wish to try this recipe, details, as ever, are below.  I strongly recommend you use a pasta machine and do not attempt to be a rolling pin slave!  Beware the apparently simplistic nature.  This recipe is not for the faint hearted.

Spinach & Ricotta Filling (the easy part!)

225g/8oz Fresh Spinach leaves, washed
100g/4 oz Ricotta Cheese
25g/1oz Freshly Grated Parmesan cheese
1 Egg
A pinch of Nutmeg
Salt and pepper

1. Place the spinach in a large saucepan pan with only the water which is left clinging to the leaves. Cover, place over a medium heat and cook for a few minutes, shaking the pan vigorously from time to time, until the spinach has wilted.

2. Drain well, squeezing as much water out of the leaves as possible then transfer to a chopping board and chop.

3. Place the chopped spinach in a mixing bowl together with the and cheeses, egg, nutmeg, salt and pepper and mix well. Allow to cool before using.


For the ravioli

Eggs
Oil
Water
Flour (All Purpose)
Prepared ravioli stuffing
Mixing bowls
1. Place 3 cups of flour in a mixing bowl. Add 4 eggs and 1 tsp. of salt to the flour. Mix it all together. This can be done by hand or by an electric mixer with a dough hook. Add the oil a little at a time and keep mixing until you have a ball of dough. Turn the ball of dough onto a floured surface. Cover with a mixing bowl and allow the dough to rest for about 20 minutes.

2. Rolling Ravioli Dough

Divide the dough in half and set aside half for a few minutes. Roll out the first half on the floured surface with a rolling pin. The dough will be sticky so sprinkle with a little flour as you go when it sticks to the rolling pin. Roll the dough until it is paper thin.

3. Cut Ravioli Pasta

Cut circles or squares from the dough with a ravioli cutter. Lay the circles or squares aside. Continue until all the dough is used. Throw cutting scraps into the second half of dough while working on the first half. Knead the scraps and second half of the pasta dough together and repeat the rolling and cutting process with it.

4. Adding Filling

Stir one egg yolk in a small bowl. Take approximately 1 tsp. of filling and place it on top of one cut ravioli in the center so that there is still and edge of dough surrounding the filling. Brush this dough edge with the egg yolk. Place another cut ravioli on top of the piece with filling. Crimp the edges together all the way around the ravioli sealing the filling inside. The egg yolk acts as a glue to help hold them together. Continue process until all raviolis are made. Cook by the desired method.

Partridge with onion sauce, glazed baby carrots & basmati rice by Alex Mackay (BBC Food)

As January has inadvertently turned into "the month of the vegetable" I thought I would finish off with a meat I've never tried cooking before.  My initial plan was to cook guinea fowl but for whatever reason it eluded me in every shop I tried so I ended up with partridge in my basket instead.

What I did do however was adapt a guinea fowl recipe to work for partridge.  I will be making guinea fowl at some point so watch this space but if you happen to be luckier than me this recipe will work with both meats just as well.

This was a really easy, quick and tasty recipe.  So easy that I got over confident and, like all cooks do at some point, I had a small disaster when I managed to burn the basmati rice by neglecting it and needed to start it again.

However, for the little amount of time it took (just under one hour) this was a very rewarding dish.  My husband declared from the other room "it smelt great" (so I knew I was onto a winner) and it was fabulous trying something which was a bit more exotic than our normal family dinner.  The onion sauce was my absolute favourite part of this ensemble and I would certainly make it again for chicken, turkey etc.

Here's the recipe.  Happy cooking!

Fried guinea fowl with glazed baby carrots and onion sauce (note I used partridge instead)
This recipe makes one portion so simply increase quantities accordingly.


Ingredients

For the guinea fowl
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 guinea fowl breast
salt and freshly ground black pepper
25g/1oz butter
½ onion, peeled, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled, chopped
200ml/7fl oz chicken stock

For the glazed baby carrots
6 baby carrots
100ml/3½fl oz water
pinch sugar
25g/1oz butter
55g/2oz fresh peas

To serve
knob of butter
100g/3½oz basmati rice, cooked according to packet instructions



Preparation method

1. For the guinea fowl, heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan and fry the guinea fowl breast for 5-6 minutes on each side, or until cooked through. (The guinea fowl is cooked through when the juices run clear when pierced in the thickest part with a skewer.) Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper and set aside to rest.  Note: As I used two whole partridges (one per portion) I oven baked them for 30 mins at 180 degrees c.  I rubbed butter into their skin and seasoned with salt and pepper before cooking.  As the partridge takes longer to cook than frying the guinea fowl you can start the following steps a bit later so they aren't ready too soon before the partridge is done (including time for the partridge to rest after cooking).

2. For the onion sauce.  Heat the butter in a frying pan until foaming. Add the onion and cook over a low heat for 5-6 minutes, or until softened but not coloured. Add the garlic and cook for a further 2-3 minutes. Pour in the stock and simmer for 2-3 minutes, or until the volume of the mixture has reduced.

3.Meanwhile, for the glazed baby carrots, simmer the carrots, water, sugar and butter in a saucepan for 4-5 minutes or until well combined. Add the peas and cook for another 2-3 minutes, or until the carrots are tender.

4.To serve, stir the butter into the rice and spoon it onto a serving plate. Slice the guinea fowl breast and place it on top of the rice, spoon the onion sauce over the guinea fowl. Using a slotted spoon, place the glazed baby carrots alongside.