Cook Like a Rock Star - Anne Burrell [43]
1 pound orecchiette
Big fat finishing oil
Freshly grated Parmigiano
FOR THE PESTO
1 Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Drop the rabe into the water, give it a swish, and remove it immediately, saving the water to cook your pasta in later.
2 Reserve a cup of the rabe. Toss the rest in a food processor and pulse, pulse, pulse until you have a coarse paste. Add the pistachios and Parm and purée until smooth. If it seems dry, drizzle in a little olive oil while the machine is running. Add the mascarpone and pulse until combined; taste for seasoning. It should be slightly bitter, nutty, and creamy at the same time. Reserve.
FOR THE PASTA
1 Coat a large sauté pan with olive oil and bring to medium-high heat. Add the sausage, using a spoon to break it up, and cook until brown and crumbly, 8 to 10 minutes.
2 Bring your broccoli rabe water back to a boil and toss in the pasta, cooking for 1 minute less than the package recommends. Drain the pasta and add it, along with ½ cup reserved pasta cooking water, the reserved rabe, and two-thirds of the pesto, to the pan with the sausage. Stir to combine and cook until the water evaporates and the pesto is clinging to the pasta. Remove from the heat, drizzle with some big fat finishing oil, sprinkle with more Parm, and stir vigorously to combine. Divide among bowls and serve immediately.
What delightful little ears!
Spring Pea & Ricotta Ravioli with Fava Beans
SERVES: 4 TO 6 • TIME: ABOUT 1 HOUR WITH PREMADE PASTA DOUGH
Fava beans are one of those things I wait for all year long. When you talk about seasonal cooking, fava beans immediately come to my mind because when they’re fresh, there’s really nothing like them. I was one of the weird kids who grew up liking lima beans—in fact, I asked for them every birthday dinner (why my mother didn’t just serve them to me on a regular basis I’m not really sure). Fava beans to me are a jacked-up version of lima beans, so you can imagine how much I like them. I feature them in this sauce, but then I tuck some sweet pea and cheese action into the ravioli so you get a little pocket of pea-ness on your plate along with those lovely favas!
MISE EN PLACE
Kosher salt
3 cups shelled English peas
2 cups shelled fava beans
2 cups ricotta cheese
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano, plus more for serving
4 large eggs
All-purpose flour, as needed
1 recipe Chef Anne’s All-Purpose Pasta Dough, rolled for ravioli
Semolina flour, as needed
½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 to 1½ cups chicken stock
1 Bring a medium pot of well-salted water to a boil and set up a bowl of well-salted ice water. Drop the peas in the boiling water, let the water return to a boil, and cook the peas for 2 more minutes. Scoop the peas out of the water and plunge them immediately into the ice water. When the peas are cool, remove them from the ice water and reserve. Repeat this process with the fava beans. When the favas are cool, peel off the tough outer layer and reserve the beans.
2 In a food processor, pulse the peas to make a coarse paste. In a large bowl, combine the pea paste, ricotta, Parmigiano, and eggs; mix well, season with salt, and taste to make sure it’s delicious.
3 To assemble the ravioli, dust a clean work surface lightly with flour and lay out sheets of pasta about 12 inches long; use a pastry brush to brush the bottom half of the pasta sheets lightly with water. Fill a disposable pastry bag (or a zip-top bag with one corner cut out) with the pea mixture and pipe 1-inch balls of filling onto the pasta about 1½ inches apart. Fold the top half of the pasta sheet over the filling so the top edge meets the bottom edge. Use your index fingers to press around the filling and seal the edges shut. Use a fluted ring cutter or fluted pasta roller to cut out the ravioli; put them on a baking sheet dusted with semolina.
4 Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil.
5 Bring a large saucepan to medium heat and add the butter and 1 cup of the chicken stock; season with salt. When the butter has melted, add