Salmon Ravioli with Truffle Pecorino
Serves 2
For the Ravioli Filling
16 ounce container part skim ricotta cheese
8 ounce salmon fillet, skinned and finely chopped
1 cup finely grated Spanish Manchego cheese
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
¼ cup chopped fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley
DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, whisk the ricotta briefly until fluffy. Add remaining ingredients to bowl and fold together to combine. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use, up to 4 hours.
For the Ravioli
2 cups 00 or all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
3 egg yolks
Semolina flour, for dusting
Truffled pecorino cheese, for grating
DIRECTIONS
Mound the flour in the center of a large, wide mixing bowl. Dig a well in the center of the mound and add eggs and yolks. Using a fork, beat together the eggs and begin to incorporate the flour, starting with the inner rim of the well. The dough will start to stick together as a mass when about 2/3 of the flour is incorporated.
Use your fingers to continue to mix the dough by pressing together into a loose ball and kneading and folding the ball to pick up and incorporate the loose bits of flour on the bottom and sides of the bowl. If needed, add a tablespoon or so of water to absorb all of the flour. Once the dough comes together into a cohesive mass, transfer it to a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for 4 to 5 more minutes until the dough is smooth, elastic and uniform golden in color. Wrap the dough in plastic and set aside for at least 30 minutes (and up to 4 hours) at room temperature.
Line three sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly dust with semolina flour. Set aside.
Cut off a quarter of the dough. Rewrap the remainder, and set aside. Use the heel of your hand to flatten the dough into an oval approximately the same width as your pasta machine, about six inches. Set the rollers to their widest setting and pass the dough through.
Lay the dough out onto a lightly floured cutting board or countertop and neatly press together into halves, so it’s again about the same width of the pasta machine. Feed the pasta through again at the widest setting. Think of these first rollings as an extended kneading. Continue to fold the dough in thirds and roll it until it is smooth, silky and even-textured. Do your best to make the sheet the full width of the machine.
Once the dough is silky and smooth, you can begin to roll it out more thinly. Roll it once through each of the next two or three settings, adding flour as needed, until the dough is about 1/4-inch thick.
Once the pasta is about 1/4-inch thick, begin rolling it twice through each setting. As you roll, lightly sprinkle all-purpose or 00 flour on both sides of the pasta to prevent it from sticking to itself.
Roll out pasta until you can just see the outline of your hand when you hold it under a sheet, about 1/32-inch thick. (On most machines, you won’t make it to the thinnest setting.)
Trim rounded ends of pasta to make a rectangle the width of the pasta machine – it will be about 12-14 inches long. Fold the sheet in half lengthwise to make a crease, then lay it flat. Using a tablespoon measure, place 1 tablespoon of the salmon filling 1 inch from the crease, and 1 ½ inches apart. With a pastry brush, brush the exposed parts of the pasta sheet lightly with water and fold the pasta over the filling. Use your fingers to press out air bubbles around the filling, and seal the pasta sheets together. Cut into ravioli, place on one of the prepared baking sheets and cover with a clean, lightly dampened kitchen towel. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil and add the ravioli, working in batches to avoid over-crowding and causing the ravioli to stick. Boil for 7 minutes, and remove each ravioli individually to a paper towel-lined plate to briefly drain. Serve raviolis on warmed plates, with a generous amount of finely-grated truffled pecorino cheese to cover.
