Let’s welcome again Chef Tony Mantuano, Chef/Partner at Spiaggia restaurant in Chicago, and Guest Chef at the Italian Food Lovers Chef Network.
Chef Mantuano today proposes a great recipe from The Spiaggia Cookbook: Eleganza Italiana in Cucina, a cookbook co-written by Tony Mantuano and wife and wine expert Cathy Mantuano.
Today’s recipe is Ravioletti di Crescenza con Salsa di Parmigiano Reggiano e Burro al Tartufo (Crescenza Ravioli with Parmigiano Reggiano and Truffle Butter Sauce). Elegant and rich, this pasta dish is all about top-quality ingredients. Crescenza cheese (also know as Stracchino) is a soft, fresh creamy cheese from the North of Italy, and is ideal for these pasta pillows.
Are you ready? Let’s go to the kitchen.
CRESCENZA RAVIOLI WITH PARMIGIANO REGGIANO AND TRUFFLE BUTTER CHEESE
(Ravioletti di Crescenza con Salsa di Parmigiano Regiano e Burro al Tartufo)
A recipe by Chef Tony Mantuano
(serves 12)
INGREDIENTS (FOR PASTA DOUGH)
- 2 cups type 00 flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 8 egg yolks, lightly beaten
- 1/3 cup water
FURTHER INGREDIENTS
- 1 pound Crescenza cheese
- 1/2 stick cold butter, plus 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup truffle oil
- 1 1/2 cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Parmesan cheese
- 12 cloves garlic, thinly sliced, crisped in olive oil
- 12 small sprigs fresh rosemary
- 1 cup edible flower petals (optional)
PREPARATION
Mound the flour on a pastry board or other wood or marble work surface. Make a well in the center and add the salt and the egg yolks. Using a fork, gradually fold the flour into the eggs, adding the water little by little until you have a soft dough. Knead a few times until smooth, then form the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F
Roll out the pasta dough into thin sheets. Using a chef’s knife or pastry wheel, cut the pasta sheets into twenty-four 5-by-5-inch squares.
Place the squares on a lightly floured board or cloth until ready to cook. Cut out 24 rectangles of parchment paper, each 7- by 7 1/2 -inches. Grease each piece using the cold stick of butter, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border unbuttered.
Have ready a bowl of ice water. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the pasta squares to the boiling water and cook until al dente (tender but firm to the bite), 1 to 2 minutes.
Remove the pasta squares with a slotted spoon, shaking to remove excess moisture, and transfer carefully to the ice water to stop the cooking. Working quickly, remove the pasta squares from the ice water one at a time, and lay flat on a cloth to dry. Do not overlap or the squares will stick together.
Cut the Crescenza cheese into 24 pieces, each about 2 inches wide, 2 inches long, and 1/4 inch thick. Place a piece of the cheese in the middle of each pasta square and fold the bottom and top flap of pasta over the middle, wrapping it around the cheese. Then fold the sides into the middle, burrito style.
Place the ravioletto, seam side down, in the middle of a buttered parchment piece and fold the parchment around the pasta, repeating the technique used to wrap the pasta around the cheese. Place the parchment packet, seam side down, on a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining pasta, cheese, and parchment.
Bake until the edges of the parchment paper are barely golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a saucepan over medium heat, melt the 1 1/2 cups butter. Cook to a nutty brown color, 4 to 6 minutes. Stir in the truffle oil.
To serve, place 1 tablespoon of the Parmigiano Reggiano in the center of each of 12 warmed plates. Carefully remove the parchment around a ravioletto and place it on the grated cheese.
Arrange a second ravioletto next to the first. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the truffle butter over the ravioletti. Sprinkle with another 1 tablespoon Parmigiano Reggiano.
Garnish with the garlic crisps, rosemary, and flower petals, if using. Repeat to make the remaining 11 servings. Serve immediately.
CHEF MANTUANO’S TIPS
Wrapped in the parchment and placed in an airtight container, the ravioletti freeze well for up to 1 month. Bake right from the freezer for 25 minutes, and continue as directed.
Thank you Chef Mantuano for this gourmet pasta recipe!
If you want to get more recipes from Chef Mantuano, you can buy the Spiaggia cookbook, or the previous cookbook Wine Bar Food. You can purchase them online at Barnes and Noble and Amazon.com. Wine Bar Food is also available at CrateandBarrel.com.
Or, you can subscribe to Academia Barilla’s newsletter, that delivers monthly exclusive content and latest news and culinary insight on the art of Italian gastronomy, including of course gourmet recipes. This month’s featured recipe is from Chef Tony Mantuano, a yummy Prosciutto with Parmigiano Reggiano, Shaved Artichokes, and Hearts of Palm Salad.
Chef Mantuano’s recipe is paired with a cocktail recipe by wine expert Cathy Mantuano: Negroni Sbagliato, a classic Italian cocktail. As Cathy Mantuano explains, Sbagliato means “mistake” in Italian. The mistake in this drink is that the bartender at Bar Basso in Milan grabbed a bottle of sparkling wine instead of a bottle of gin to make a Negroni. The customer loved it. The rest of course is history.
Do you want to get to this content and to receive it on regular basis? Easy, just register to Academia Barilla’s monthly newsletter! It’s free!
Another recipe from the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Chef Series.
