Shrimp Ravioli ala Sydney



Ravioli ala Sydney

So my niece Sydney (honorary, of course) had a request for my show. And far be it from me to deny her! She is, after all, the daughter of one of my very best friends in the whole world! My only stipulation in the agreement was that she had to help me with the show, and be my very special taste tester! I did make sure the recipe was up to her standards as well, making sure there was nothing weird or too green involved. First of all, I found it impossible to locate any fresh pasta sheets locally. So as a last resort, I decided I’d take the plunge and make my own pasta, from scratch. If you have ever made a pie crust, you can make pasta, it’s NOT very difficult! And the filling was a collaboration between Sydney and I…she wanted seafood, and I decided the details. This is what we came up with, and it was very, VERY tasty!

Homemade Pasta:
3 cups all purpose flour
5 egg yolks
½ tsp salt
½ cup water, give or take a bit…

Mix flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Beat the egg yolks and water in a small bowl separately and then add to the flour mixture. Mix dough with your hands. If the dough is too dry, add more water (1 tablespoon at a time) and if the dough is too wet, add flour (1 tablespoon at a time). Once you have developed a nice firm but sticky dough – continue to knead for about 10 minutes. Then, to let the proteins relax a bit to make rolling easier, let dough sit (covered) for about 20 minutes.
Divide dough into 5 equal pieces. On a floured board, roll out each piece with a rolling pin, using flour to prevent sticking, and flipping until you have reached a thin enough dough to see your hand through. Lay each sheet on top of parchment paper, and stack as you complete each new sheet. If you are not going to use dough right away, you can refrigerate for up to 2 days, or freeze for up to one month. Roll dough up in parchment paper and cover well in plastic prior to storing. If you plan on using it immediately, cut the dough into squares or circles with a glass or pasty cutout. Fill pieces with your choice of filling and wet edges with a little water before sealing with a fork. Once filled, you can freeze on a cookie sheet until firm before transferring to container, or you can boil right away. Boiling fresh takes about 5-7 minutes, and from frozen can take up to 10 minutes.

Shrimp filling:
1 lb bag pre-cooked shrimp, peeled and tail removed
1 bunch flat leaf parsley (about 1 ½ cups loose packed)
3 cloves garlic (or 1 TBSP jarred minced garlic)
1 TBSP lemon zest (from 3 small lemons)
Olive oil…between ¼ and ½ cup
¼ tsp salt

Place half of the shrimp, and the remaining ingredients in a food processor and process until you have a paste. Rough chop the other half of the shrimp with a knife, and mix that in with the paste mixture. This will give a lovely texture inside the ravioli. Use about a tablespoon of mixture to fill each ravioli depending on the size you make. I made large ravioli and a tablespoon was perfect. Adjust accordingly. Either fold the pasta over the filling and wet with a dab of water and crimp with fork, or put a piece if pasta over the top if making larger ravioli like I did. Either way, make sure you are securely sealed around the edges before cooking.

Alfredo Sauce:
5 TBSP butter (or margarine)
2 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 tsp)
2 cups half and half (or heavy cream if you prefer!)
¼ tsp pepper
½ cup freshly grated parmesan
¾ cup grated mozzarella (gruyere or swiss would be lovely too!)

Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium/low heat. Add the garlic, cream, and pepper and bring mixture to a simmer. Stir often. Add the Parmesan cheese and simmer sauce for 8-10 minutes or until sauce has thickened and is smooth. When sauce has thickened, add the mozzarella cheese and stir until smooth, (don’t freak out if it seems too thick or stringy…it will smooth out!). STIR FREQUENTLY. While the sauce cooks, boil ravioli for 5-7 minutes. Place ravioli on serving plates and spoon sauce over pasta. And then, ENJOY!!!