Pear And Gorgonzola Ravioli With Walnuts And Rosemary Butter Recipes

HOMEMADE PEAR AND GORGONZOLA RAVIOLI

Steps:

• Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add pears and thyme; cook, stirring often, until pears have softened, about 10 minutes. Crumble Gorgonzola cheese over pears; cook and stir until melted, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and cool filling completely.
• Cut pasta dough into 3 equal pieces. Flatten the first piece of dough on a floured work surface; roll with a rolling pin 5 or 6 times. Turn the dough 45 degrees and roll again, 5 to 6 times. Keep rolling and turning in the same direction until dough has a consistent thickness of about 1/16-inch. Repeat with remaining 2 pieces of pasta dough.
• Gently transfer 1 pasta sheet to a floured surface and cut in half to form 2 evenly sized rectangles. Drop about 1 teaspoon filling onto 1 rectangle, spacing the filling about 1-inch apart. Brush the spaces around the filling with water.
• Lay the second rectangle on top of the first. Gently squeeze out the air around the filling and press firmly with your hands to seal the edges and all dough around the filling.
• Cut square ravioli shapes using a ravioli cutter. Transfer the ravioli to a floured plate or board. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. Let the ravioli stand for about 30 minutes.
• Bring a saucepan of lightly salted water to the boil; gently add ravioli, working in batches. Cook until ravioli float to the top, about 3 minutes. Remove using a slotted spoon and transfer to a warm bowl.

PEAR AND GORGONZOLA RAVIOLI WITH WALNUTS AND ROSEMARY BUTTER

Steps:

• Filling -- In a medium non stick sauce pan on medium heat add the pears, dried and fresh, shallots and cook until the pears start to break down. The pears should give enough moisture so no oil or butter is needed. Cook until they are soft but not "mush." You still want a little texture to it. Remove and let cool.
• Add the cooled pear mix to the gorgonzola, ricotta and pepper and mix well. I like to chill this before I use this as a filling.
• Make the ravioli -- take a wonton wrapper and wet the edges just using water and your finger and then add a teaspoon of the filling to the wonton and press corner to corner to make a triangle. Press well to make sure the edges are sealed and get all the air out around the center around the filling. Once done, move to a cookie sheet lined with parchment or wax paper until you finish making the rest of the raviolis.
• In a large pot of boiling water it is time to cook the ravioli. I like to cook this on a medium boil. NOT on high. To high of heat will just cause the raviolis to bread up. Add the raviolis 6 or 7 at a time, don't over crowd the pot and boil 1-2 minutes until they float to the surface. Once they float -- they are done. Remove and set on a cookie sheet until cooled.
• Now you can pan saute and serve them now or you store them in a ziplock for a day or so until ready.
• Saute -- In a medium non stick pan add 1 teaspoon of the butter and heat to medium. Add the ravioli and lightly pan sear. You just want to lightly brown and slightly crisp up, just a minute or so per side is all they need, and to heat up. Remove the ravioli to a serving bowl and cover.
• Sauce -- Add the wine to the pan and then the remaining butter, rosemary and walnuts, a little salt and pepper to taste. Cook another minute and pour over the ravioli.
• Enjoy them! They are a treat.

GORGONZOLA AND PEAR AGNOLOTTI WITH SAGE & WALNUT BROWN BUTTER SAUCE

Steps:

• Add the flour and eggs to the bowl of a food processor. Blend for 30 seconds until the mixture is sandy but holds together when pressed between your fingers. Turn out the dough onto a floured work surface. It will be crumbly, but once you start kneading, it will all come together. Gather the dough and begin to knead with the heel of your hand until it's supple and shiny, 1 to 2 minutes. If the dough feels too dry and not springy enough, add a touch of water and continue to knead until it reaches the right consistency. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and allow it to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Add the pink peppercorns to a small saute pan over medium heat. Toast the peppercorns until fragrant, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer into a spice grinder and blend. Set aside.
• Heat a large, high-sided saute pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter and the pear and saute, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Transfer the sauteed pear to a small sheet tray to cool.
• Add the garlic and stick of butter into the same pan and gently melt over medium heat. Add the walnuts and sage. Cook the butter, swirling occasionally, until the milk solids have separated, and the butter is nutty and browned, but not burned, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the apple cider vinegar, then remove the garlic and discard.
• Stir together the mascarpone and Gorgonzola dolce in a large bowl, beating well with a rubber spatula until fully combined. Add the cooled sauteed pears and 1/4 teaspoon of the toasted pink peppercorns and gently stir to combine. Season to taste with salt. Set up a pastry bag with a large round tip. Fill the bag with the mascarpone and Gorgonzola filling, then set aside.
• To roll out the pasta, cut the dough into 6 equal pieces. Working with one piece at a time (keeping the others covered with plastic wrap so they don't dry out), flatten the dough with your palm. Feed the dough through your pasta roller on the widest setting. Fold the dough on either end to create an envelope, then feed through the pasta roller a second time. Fold the dough into an envelope again, decrease the pasta roller setting to make it thinner and run the dough through again. Repeat this process of folding and running through the pasta roller two times before decreasing the thickness of the roller, finishing with the thinnest setting.
• Lay the sheets of pasta on a parchment paper-lined sheet tray and cover with a damp towel while you repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.
• To fill and shape the agnolotti, lay a pasta sheet on a floured board with one of the long edges closest to you. Brush the edge closest to you with water. Pipe a line of filling down the center of the dough. Fold over the top portion of the dough to meet the edge that's been brushed with water. Pinch the dough on either side of each mound of filling to seal the dough and to ensure there are no air pockets. Using a fluted pasta wheel, trim the edge of the dough where it's folded to create a clean edge. Pinch the line of filling into 1-inch mounds. Cut between each mound of filling and pinch the sides. Transfer the agnolotti to a sheet tray dusted with flour and repeat with the remaining dough sheets and filling.
• Set up a large pot of boiling water and season generously with kosher salt. Add the agnolotti and cook for 2 to 3 minutes; they will cook quickly.
• Transfer the agnolotti directly into the brown butter sage sauce and toss gently to ensure they're fully covered. To serve, plate and garnish with more ground pink peppercorns, Parmigiano-Reggiano and pecorino.

PEAR AND GORGONZOLA FILLING FOR RAVIOLI

Steps:

• 1. In a medium non-stick saucepan on medium heat add shallots with olive oil and cook them until soften. Add pears and cook them until soft, but not mushy. You still want a little texture to them. Turn off heat and add gorgonzola. Mix until cheese melts, set aside to cool.
• 2. In a large mixing bowl combine ricotta, pear mixture, yolk and salt, mixing well.
• 3. Assemble ravioli.
• 4. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. In a saute pan, melt the butter with a cup of the water. Cook the ravioli in boiling water for 3-4 minutes. Drain and then toss the ravioli in the saute pan with the melted butter for a minute. Remove from heat and finish with the pecorino cheese and coarsly ground peppercorn. Serve with additional grated pecorino if desired.