I started writing this recipe for Ravioli Madalena a few years ago. I kept coming back to it and prepared it several times in this length of time, but each time, until this last time, I wanted to perfect the homemade pasta. Not the taste, but the consistency. I think I finally got it right and have finally decided to publish the results. It is delicious, and if you routinely make fresh pasta, this will not be a challenge for you, but I guarantee, it will be rewarding.
Ingredients
- 3 lb white veal shoulder blade roast
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 3 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large Spanish onion chopped
- 3 stalks celery chopped
- 3 medium carrots peeled and diced
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 10 sprigs parsley chopped
- 2 whole bay leaves
- ½ medium lemon
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 4 cups chicken stock or enough to more or to come up ⅔ of the sides of the veal
- 1 recipe Fresh Pasta Dough
- 6 whole fresh sage leaves
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
Braising
- Pre heat oven to 325℉
- 1 Heat 3 tbsp olive oil over high heat in a braising pan with a tight fitting lid.
- Generously season veal with 3 tbsp kosher salt and 1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper.
- When oil is hot, sear the veal on all sides, 3-4 minutes per side or until the veal has a golden color
- Remove veal from braising pan and add 1 large Spanish onion, chopped, 3 stalks celery chopped, 3 medium carrots peeled and diced, 10 sprigs parsley chopped, and 2 whole bay leaves and cook on high heat until the vegetables begin to brown.
- Add 3 cloves garlic, crushed, after the vegetables have browned and stir to combine. Squeeze in the juice of ½ medium lemon, then add the lemon to the pan.
- Add 1 cup dry white wine and deglaze the pan, keep mixture on high heat and reduce the wine by half.
- Return the veal to the pan and pour in 4 cups chicken stock or to come up ⅔ of the side of the veal and bring liquid to a simmer.
- Cover the pan with a tight fitting lid (or aluminum foil) and place on cookie sheet on the middle rack of a preheated 325°F oven and roast/braise veal for 2-3 hours or until the meat falls of the bones. Check periodically to make sure that the juices have not evaporated. You can expect the liquid to reduce by about ⅓ when the veal is done.
Filling Preparation
- Remove the veal from the pan and remove the meat from the bones.
- Strain the liquid from the pan and reserve the vegetables.
- Strain the remaining liquid though a fine sieve and reserve.
- Move the meat and the vegetables to a food processor and pulse until you have a course mixture. If the mixture seems a little dry, add a bit of the braising stock, a tablespoonful at a time, to get a good consistency.
Ravioli (see Fresh Pasta Dough)
- Drop teaspoonful's of filling onto prepared ravioli dough sheets.
- Form ravioli parcels by pressing a top layer of dough onto fillings and then cutting ravioli using a ravioli cutter.
- If serving with sage butter, melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a sauté pan over low heat and add 6 sage leaves. If the butter has melted before the first batch of ravioli is cooked, add a tablespoon of pasta cooking liquid to the butter to keep it from turning brown; if serving with the reserved pan juices, add a tablespoon of olive oil to a sauté pan and heat over low heat. Add cooked ravioli to the pan and gently toss to coat the pasta so it does not stick together.
- Cook fresh filled pasta until the dough rises to the top of the water, then using a slotted spoon, move to a prepared pan heating over medium heat.
Plating
- Place 4-5 ravioli in a heated rim soup bowl and drizzle with sage butter and one sage leaf or strained cooking liquid from the roast.
