April Cooking Club Challenge: Mushroom Ravioli

Laura Calder’s Mushroom Ravioli

Mushroom Ravioli
Yield:  4

 

INGREDIENTS

Mushroom Raviolis

• 1-1/2 pounds of mushrooms, cleaned and trimmed
• 1/4 cup butter
• A splash of olive oil
• 2 x cloves garlic, minced
• salt and pepper to season
• A generous 1/2 cup of stock
• A generous handful of finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano, more for garnish
• Fresh lemon juice, to taste (optional)
• 3 to 4 tablespoons of chopped fresh dill, or sage
• 8 sheets of pasta (approx. 3 x 4 inch)

 
DIRECTIONS

1. Cut the mushrooms into quarters or eighths, depending on their size. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Pour 1 tablespoon of the butter into a sauté pan. Continue heating the remaining butter in the saucepan until it turns light brown. Remove from the heat, and reserve. Boil a large pot of water for the pasta.
2. Add a splash of olive oil to the butter in sauté pan. Set the pan on high heat, and add the mushrooms, sautéing until slightly coloured. Add the garlic, season with salt and pepper, and continue cooking until the mushrooms are soft, approx. 4 minutes more. Pour over the stock and boil to reduce to 2 tablespoons. Stir in the cheese. Taste, check the seasonings, adding a squirt of lemon juice if you like. Stir in the dill and keep the mixture warm while you cook the pasta.
3. Generously salt the pasta water once it’s boiling. Add the pasta and cook al dente. Drain, then return the pasta to the pan, tossing with the reserved brown butter. Lay a sheet of pasta on each of four serving plates. Spoon the mushrooms onto the pasta. Top with a second pasta sheet. Drizzle over the brown butter. Garnish with a dill sprig, and serve immediately.

You all know I adore Laura Calder.  She’s the bee’s knees, in my books, so I was thrilled to have one of her recipes chosen for our challenge this month.  After reading several comments on the Food Network Canada site, I decided to go with a mix of white button mushrooms and portobellos (our store had no cremini’s sadly).  Sage was my herb of choice, fontina was my cheese and since I was very strapped for time this month, I used wonton wrappers for my “pasta” as opposed to making my own as I was originally going to.

When it came to taste time, I found the sage to be too strong for the delicate mushroom flavor.  Next time, I will try with dill as I think it will pair better.  The fontina worked well though.  I really disliked the texture of the wonton wrappers.  Much too flimsy and almost “slimy” in this context.  Having made several of Laura’s recipes before, I don’t what possessed me to try and change things.  Her versions are always simple and tasty. 

Somtimes it’s better not to mess with the original.  Be warned.

I give this recipe 7 chips out of a bag of 10.