Louisiana Egg Yolk Raviolo

TIME
YIELD
4 individual raviolo
Louisiana Egg Yolk Raviolo
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Ingredients

Pasta Dough

all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups
Semolina
1/2 cup
eggs
2
egg yolks
2
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tsp.

 

Ricotta Filling

ricotta cheese
1/2 cup
fresh nutmeg, grated
lemon zest
1/2 a lemon
parmesan cheese, finely grated
1/4 cup
salt
1 Tsp.

 

Sauce

butter
6 Tbsp.
oregano
1 sprig
lemon juice
1/2 a lemon
salt
1 Tsp.

 

Directions

  1. COMBINE the flour and semolina on a clean work surface. MAKE a wide, deep well in the center, and ADD the eggs, yolks, and olive oil. USE a fork to WHISK in shallow circular movements, working your way from the center outward, to incorporate the surrounding flour gradually. You don’t want to break the “walls” of the well, so keep your strokes short.
  2. Once the mixture is as thick as pancake batter in the center, USE your fork or a bench scraper to PULL all the remaining flour into the center and WORK it by hand. It’ll be incredibly firm and dry now but will gradually hydrate.
  3. When the dough is cohesive enough to knead, BEGIN to use the heels of your hands to PUSH the dough down, then FOLD it over itself. PUT your weight into this (you can’t overwork it!) and PRESS it down rather than outward so you don’t rip it. The dough will become relatively smooth but stiff, like clay. Depending on the humidity of where you are, the moisture in the flour can vary widely. You can adjust by SPRINKLING a little water on if it doesn’t come together, or SPRINKLING a little flour if it seems too wet. WRAP the dough tightly in plastic and LET it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour, or REFRIGERATE for up to a couple of days.
  4. CUT the pasta dough in half, and KEEP one half wrapped so it doesn’t dry out. USE a rolling pin to ROLL the other half into a rectangle that is just narrow enough to fit through your pasta roller, about 5 inches. Lightly DUST the dough with flour if necessary, it should be dry and matte.
  1. With the pasta roller on the widest setting, FEED the dough through once, catching it with one hand as it exits so it doesn’t break. FOLD the dough in half horizontally (so that it’s half as long), FLATTEN it slightly with the rolling pin, and FEED it through again. REPEAT this process for a total of 8 to 10 times so it becomes gradually smoother and more pliable but still matte and never sticky; after the final roll, DON’T FOLD the dough in half, but COVER it with a dish towel while you REPEAT with the other half. If at any point it’s too wide to fit through the roller, FOLD it in half vertically (so it’s half as wide) and CONTINUE. You can also CUT it in half and WORK with one piece at a time if it becomes so long as to be unmanageable.
  2. Working with one piece of dough at a time and leaving the rest covered, DIAL DOWN the roller by one setting, making it a little narrower, and carefully FEED the pasta through once. (Don’t fold it in half.) CONTINUE to dial down the width of the roller one notch at a time, until the pasta is thin but not translucent, 5 or 6 inches wide, and about 2 feet long. For most rollers, this will be the fourth- or fifth-to-last setting.
  3. CUT the dough in half so you have two identical 12-inch long pieces, then PLACE a towel over them to prevent them from drying out.
  4. MIX together all the ricotta filling ingredients in a small mixing bowl, then PLACE the mixture into a piping bag or a large zip lock bag with 1⁄2 inch of the corner cut off. Working with one of the 12-inch pieces of dough, PIPE a ring of the ricotta cheese onto one end, leaving about 2 inches of space at the end, then REPEAT with another ring on the opposite end.
  5. PLACE an egg yolk into the center of each ricotta ring, then gently BRUSH the pasta that is still exposed around the ricotta and egg with a wet paper towel to slightly moisten. PLACE the other 12-inch long pasta sheet over the entirety of the prepared sheet, then using a metal cutter that fits right around the ricotta, SEAL by pressing down but not cutting through. USE a cutter that is 2 sizes up from the last cutter to cut out the ravioli. SET aside and repeat with the other half of the dough so you have a total of 4 ravioli.
  6. BRING 3 quarts of water to a boil and ADD 3 tablespoons of salt to the water. BOIL the ravioli in the salted water for 2-3 minutes until the pasta is cooked but the egg yolk is still runny.
  7. In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, ADD 4 tablespoons of butter and a sprig of fresh oregano and ALLOW to sizzle until it begins to turn a golden color. ADD in the lemon juice, then the cooked ravioli. ADD in the remaining 2 tablespoons of whole butter and the salt and LET come up to a simmer.
  8. PLATE each raviolo onto a separate plate with some of the sauce.