From Pasta Social club

I used to have this every time I was in Barolo. I have never had it anywhere else and I couldn’t figure out how you can cook pasta with an egg yolk inside without cooking the egg yolk. These guys seem to have it figured out but if the yolk does get cooked when you try it go ahead and separate the egg yolk before it goes in the pasta and freeze it. Thus it will get hot but not cook while the pasta gets a nice soft maybe a little bit beyond al dente texture

21/4 cups all purpose flour
3 whole eggs
7 egg yolks, divided
1 bunch asparagus, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces on the diagonal
8 ounces whole milk ricotta
1/4 cup finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano
1 large lemon
5 tablespoons salted butter
Kosher salt
cracked black pepper

Step 1

Gradually combine flour with the whole eggs and one yolk to form the fresh pasta dough–this can be done manually using the “well” method, in a stand mixer with a dough hook, or in a food processor. Once the dough begins to come together and all of the egg is coated in flour, knead for about 10 minutes until very smooth and firm, then form into a ball and set aside to rest for 30 minutes to an hour, tightly wrapped. If the dough feels too dry, add very small increments of water with your fingertips to achieve the desired consistency (it should not be sticky or flaky).

Step 2

For the filling, bring lightly salted water to a boil in a medium pot. Blanch the asparagus until bright green and al dente, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Immediately drain and run under cold water, or shock in an ice bath to stop the cooking. Reserve ½ cup of asparagus for garnish, and coarsely blend the remaining 1½ cups with the ricotta, Parmesan, a squeeze of lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the filling into a piping bag (optional; you can leave it in a bowl) and let it set up in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes.

Step 3

Roll about a quarter of the pasta dough to one setting thicker than usual for filled pasta to prevent leakage (this was setting 5 on my Marcato hand-crank machine; also note this will increase cooking time). Lightly flour the bottom of the sheet and cut it in half.

Step 4

Using a 3½-inch cookie cutter, lightly mark the area for the raviolo at the end of one half of the sheet. Pipe or spoon a nest of filling in a circle about ½ inch inside the cookie cutter outline.

Step 5

Very carefully transfer the egg yolk to the center of the filling nest. Repeat this process with the remaining area of the pasta sheet (it’s okay if there’s only space for a couple of ravioli, they’re big!).

Step 6

Brush a small amount of water around the circumference of the ravioli. Carefully lay the other half of the pasta sheet on top and press gently around each to seal. Go back through with the cookie cutter and cut out the ravioli, pinching the edges together to seal firmly, if needed. Gently transfer each raviolo to a lightly floured surface and repeat with the remaining dough and filling. Note: Ravioli all’uovo are incredibly decadent and one or two per person is usually plenty. I used some of my remaining dough and filling to make regular ravioli so nothing went to waste.

Step 7

To finish the dish, bring a medium pot of well-salted water to a gentle boil. Cut the remaining asparagus pieces in half to create thin diamonds, then melt a few tablespoons of salted butter in a saute pan over low heat. Once the water is boiling, very carefully (using a slotted spoon may help) lower ravioli into the water and cook 2-3 minutes, until pasta feels pliable but not firm to the touch. Do not overcrowd the pot; you may need to cook them in two batches. While the ravioli cook, add the asparagus to the butter with a sprinkle of kosher salt, pepper, and a squeeze of lemon juice and stir gently to combine. Remove from heat. Transfer ravioli directly to a plate and top with lemon butter and asparagus. Serve immediately and break into that yolk!

Here’s a real interesting Italian white made by Cloistered nuns outside of Rome.

Welcome to Tafel Tuesday. Every week we are going to post, in order, a track from Tafelmuzik Means More… as individual elements of a three and a half plus hour dinner party. Each course will have a recipe and visuals to project or play on your giant screen TV if you want to go all the way surrealist dining at your outdoor Covid safe extravagant dinner event.

Frozen Grapes

It’s time to take a break. Stand up stretch your legs and as a small pallet cleanser I like to have some frozen grapes with a peppermint leaf for a nice clean aromatic effect. If you can find “cotton candy” grapes they are the best but here I’ve got some good right Thompson seedless. Grapes seem a lot sweeter once they are frozen.