pasta – shady morels

Beef Short Rib Ravioli with Tarragon Beurre Blanc

I’m not going to try and pull the wool over your eyes, this recipe is a lot of work. If you lose a little steam along the way, the braised short ribs served with a little bit of polenta would be a fine meal in itself. However, if you want to go the distance to create an elegant and sophisticated meal, you will be blown away by the results. The flavour combination of the savory red wine jus and the rich and tart tarragon buerre blanc was inspired by the proven combination of filet mignon with Bearnaise sauce and red wine demi glace.

Making ravioli is the kind of action that really allows you to up your cooking game. You’ll need to make your own pasta if you don’t already. You’ll then realize that the intimidation factor of making homemade pasta is really unwarranted; it is one of the easiest things to do in the kitchen, and you may even stop buying dry pasta. After you make your first ravioli, the creative juices will start to flow and you will begin dreaming up new delicious fillings. The possibilities are virtually endless!

Tip: Ensure to roll the pasta dough as thin as possible, since the end result will be double the thickness when you assemble the ravioli. This is the one place where this dish could go wrong, and I’ve made this mistake in the past.

Ingredients:

For the short ribs:

500g boneless beef short ribs, cut into 2 inch chunks

1 Big carrot, peeled and quartered

3 Cloves garlic

1 Shallot, halved

1 Tbsp tomato paste

A couple sprigs of thyme, and a handful of cut parsley stalks (no leaves) tied together with kitchen twine

1 cup red wine

1/2 cup chicken stock (veal stock would be better, but I didn’t have any on hand)

1 Tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper, plus some whole peppercorns

For the pasta:

1.5 cups flour

2 eggs

pinch of salt

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 egg, beaten

For the filling:

Braised short ribs, pulled apart delicately, excess fat removed

1 Shallot, thinly sliced

1 Lemon, zested, reserve lemon juice for later

100g Firm cheese, I used an aged gouda

Handful of parsley leaves

For the sauce:

1/2 cup white wine

Juice of 1 lemon

200g cold butter, cut into chunks

A few sprigs of fresh tarragon leaves

Pepper

Directions:

To make the short ribs:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Heat a saute pan to high heat, and add a glug of the oil. Generously season the short ribs, and sear each side to get some color (about 5 min a side). Set aside and leave pan on high heat.

2. Sear the carrot, shallots and garlic in the hot pan to get some color, then add the tomato paste and the short ribs. Toss everything around while the tomato paste browns but not does not burn, about a minute.

3. Add the red wine and the chicken stock to the pan and deglaze. Add a bundle of the fresh thyme and parsley stems. Turn off heat, cover with tin foil, and place in the oven for 2.5 to 3 hrs.

4. Once done, remove the short ribs from the liquid and set aside to cool. Meanwhile, skim the fat off the braising liquid then strain and discard the solids. Reserve the jus and keep warm for plating.

While the short ribs are cooking, make the egg pasta.

For the filling:

1. Brown the shallots with a bit of olive oil, and set aside to cool.

2. Add the short ribs, shallots, parsley, lemon zest, and cheese to a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper, and gently fold ingredients. We don’t want to create a homogeneous mixture, we still want some texture with the filling.

To assemble the ravioli:

1. Roll out the pasta sheets as thin as possible on a floured surface. Cut 4 inch rounds out of the dough using a mason jar lid. Create a couple rows of pasta circles, top one row with filling, and brush the other with the egg wash. For the filling, create little golf ball size mounds, and gently compress with your palms to remove any air.

2. To assemble, drape the top round (brushed with egg) over top of the rounds topped with the filling. Align the edges on one side, the pinch down firmly to create a seal. Gently lift up the ravioli and hold delicately in your flat palm. With the other hand, work your way around the filling, pinching to create a seal. When you have almost made it around the full circle, retrace your steps to ensure any excess air is pushed out, then pinch the final opening together to fully seal off the ravioli. This will take a little practice, but you’ll get it eventually. Dust with flour after completing, to prevent it from sticking to the other ravioli.

For the beurre blanc (make immediately before cooking the pasta):

1. Add the white wine, lemon juice, and shallot to a sauté pan; reduce on medium heat until there is about a tbsp of liquid remaining, then reduce heat to low.

2. Now in the same pan, add the butter 1 cube at a time, whisking to incorporate. Same technique as hollandaise, minus the egg.

3. Gently tear up the tarragon leaves and add to the buerre blanc. Leave on low heat until the pasta is ready.

To cook, bring some salted water to a boil and add a glug of oil to the surface to create a kind of oil slick effect on the surface. Add the ravioli one by one, so that they fall through the oil slick. Once they float to the surface, the ravioli is done. Transfer to the beurre blanc pan with a slotted spoon, it’s okay if a little pasta water follows. Gently toss to get an even coating of sauce on the ravioli.

To plate, slowly pour the strained red wine jus into the bottom of a shallow pasta dish to create about a 4-5 inch circle. Top with the ravioli and garnish with a sprig of fresh tarragon and some cracked pepper.

Enjoy with a nice Okanagan merlot!

Simple Egg Pasta

A simple recipe that works for all different pasta shapes. Going the extra mile to make pasta from scratch is well worth it, and is surprisingly fun and easy. The second time you make it, you won’t think twice about whether or not it is worth the extra effort!

Ingredients:

1.5 cups flour (Type 00 if you can find it, but all purpose works too)

2 eggs

Glug of olive oil

pinch of salt

About 0.5 cup of extra flour for dusting the work surface

Directions:

1. Make a volcano shape with the flour directly onto a clean working surface. Crack the eggs into the center and add the pinch of salt.

2. Beat the eggs with a fork, while bringing in a little bit of the flour at a time. Continue to combine the ingredients, it won’t combine in one uniform mass, but a bunch of flaky bits.

3. Flour the working surface, and knead the dough for about 5 to 10 minutes; you will start to see moisture come to the surface while the dough combines into a uniform mass. You want a stiff, springy, dense dough – this is what gives pasta it’s desirable texture.

4. Toss the dough ball in a glass bowl with the olive oil, swirl it around for a couple seconds so that all sides are coated in oil. Cover in plastic wrap and let rest for 1 hour.

5. Roll the dough out using a pasta machine or rolling pin into your desired noodle shapes; if not using right away, dust the noodles with a bit of extra flour and drape over a pasta rack, or just wooden spoon propped between a couple of tall cans.

Enjoy in your favourite pasta recipe – remember that the cooking time will be less than dried pasta, so taste while they are cooking to determine the level of doneness!

Beef Cheek Ragu with Pappardelle

Ragu is simply meat braised with tomato, mirepoix, wine, and stock. It’s a beautiful thing on its own, but it turns magical when elevated with lemon, parmesan, and arugula and served with fresh pappardelle pasta.

Pappardelle noodles are thick and broad, you can even use lasagna sheets cut up in lieu of having actual pappardelle on hand. If you’ve never made pasta noodles before, pappardelle is a great starting point since you can get away with making it without having a machine.

Ingredients:

1.5 lb beef cheeks (about 2) cut into 2 inch pieces

2 tbsp olive oil

3 small shallots, halved

2 garlic cloves, whole

2 tbsp tomato paste

2 carrots, peeled and cut into diamonds

1/2 cup red wine

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

3 sprigs fresh rosemary

2 cups chicken stock

1 lemon, zested

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp fresh Parmigiano Reggiano,

handful of fresh arugula leaves

Salt and pepper

Enough pappardelle pasta for two, homemade if you do that kind of thing

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Season beef cheeks liberally with salt and pepper. Heat an oven proof pan on the burner to medium high and add the olive oil. Sear beef shins until they have a nice golden colour, about 8-10 minutes.

2. Add the shallots and garlic to the pan, and continue to saute for 5 minutes. Toss the pan a bit while sauteing to ensure the garlic and shallots are browning.

3. Add the tomato paste to the pan, and continue to saute for 1 minute while lighty tossing or stirring the ingredients. The tomato paste will brown quickly, but this is what we want.

4. Add the wine and mustard to the pan, let cook down for 30 seconds, then add the chicken stock (the liquid should almost cover the beef). Transfer the pan to the oven. Braise until the beef can be pulled apart easily with a fork. This should be about 3 hours. If you decide to braise longer, just ensure that there is enough liquid to prevent the beef from drying out.

5. While the braise is finishing, boil some water for the pasta and salt generously. Then toss in the pappardelle pasta. While you’re waiting of the pasta to cook, remove the beef from the oven and add the lemon zest, butter, and Parmesan. Stir to incorporate, then fold in the arugula. Once the pasta is al dente, transfer with a slotted spoon to the pan with the beef. It’s okay if a little water transfers over in the process, if not preferred. Gently fold all the ingredients together and serve immediately.

Enjoy!