Shrimp-Filled Casconcelli
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
Pasta
- 15 oz all-purpose flour
- 7 oz semolina flour
- pinch of salt
- 6 whole eggs + 6 additional egg yolks
- 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Shrimp Filling
- 2 cups finely-chopped shrimp
- 1 tbsp finely-minced shallots
- 1-½ tbsp chopped chives
- 1 egg yolk
- lemon zest
- salt & pepper to taste
Sauce
- 3 oz (6 tbsp) butter
- small handful of sage leaves
- fresh lemon juice to taste
- freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
How-to
Make the Pasta
- Put the 2 flours and the salt in a large bowl
- Form a well in the flour and pour in eggs
- Get in there with your hands and work the flour into the eggs. Knead the ingredients together until they form a smooth dough
- Remove dough from the bowl and knead on the counter for about 5 minutes. If the dough sticks to the counter-top, add more flour
- Cut the finished dough into 2 pieces, put in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about ½ hour
While dough is chilling - Make the Shrimp Filling
- In a large bowl, combine the shrimp, shallots, chives, egg yolk, salt and pepper
- Mix it all together and add lemon zest to taste
Back to the Dough
- Flour the counter (mix of all-purpose and semolina)
- Roll 1 of the 2 pieces of dough into a width that will fit in your pasta machine
- Put dough through the machine (electric or hand crank is fine). Start at the largest setting and move down 2 settings each time you put the pasta dough through the machine. Add more flour as needed to prevent sticking but don't overdo it as pasta will become tough
- Cut your pasta sheets horizontally and vertically
- Spray the pasta with a little water so it will adhere to itself once you fold it over
Fill the Pasta
- Put the shrimp filling into a pastry back or a zip-top bag with the corner cut off. This makes it easier to place the filling onto the pasta
- Squeeze the filling in nickel size dollops on the pasta about 1" away from each other
- Fold the pasta in half to cover the filling. Smooth out the pasta around the filling to remove any air pockets
- Use a round ring mold or cookie cutter and cut out your filled pasta
- You could stop there but you may want to try Chris' awesome technique for forming the ravioli into cool wing-nut shapes which have 2 benefits: 1) it adds a little indentation at the top which is ideal for holding the sauce; 2) it makes them easy to pick up with your hands which makes it a great party appetizer
Cook the Pasta
- Drop casconcelli into salted boiling water and cook or about 3½ minutes; pasta is done when it floats to the top of the pot
-
Remove delicately with a spider strainer or slotted spoon
Make the Sauce (any cream sauce or light red sauce would work well)
- Put butter in a cool pan and place over a medium-high flame
- Add 3 oz of butter (6 tbsp), salt and pepper to taste
- Melt butter until it's frothy and then add the sage leaves
- Sauté until sauce is light brown. It should have a nutty buttery flavor
Plate the Dish
- Line up casconcelli on a plate and top with sauce
- Finish with a squeeze of lemon juice and freshly-grated Parmesan cheese