Week 20 -- Advanced Pasta

Pasta is one of the most popular foods in the world today. It’s available in a multitude of shapes, sizes and flavors. Whether the athlete enjoying the carbohydrate benefits, the student for it’s low cost, or the family pasta casserole for time saved, pasta is a versatile food that allows you to apply your creativity in many ways.

  • How to Cook Pasta
    • Synchronize sauce and pasta: Before starting to cook either sauce or pasta, estimate cooking times for both. Fresh pasta will have much shorter cooking times than dried, so start sauce earlier
    • Use a large pot: Pasta needs lots of room to move around in large amount of water, 1 gallon per pound of pasta
    • Get the water boiling: Hasten the boil by covering the pot. Be careful not to boil too vigorously as that may damage tender pasta like fresh ravioli
    • Add enough salt: 1 tbs per 1 lb of pasta, pasta cooked without salt is tasteless, but too much salt may be worse
    • Add all the pasta at once, open the bag/box of pasta ahead of time and transfer to a bowl for easy entry to the boiling water. Adding a little oil to the water can help keep the pasta from sticking together
    • Return the water quickly to a boil: Give the pasta a quick stir, recover the pot and bring back to a boil as quickly as possible. Once you're back to a boil, remove the lid, lower the heat and simmer until done.
    • Stir the pasta frequently: Keep them from sticking together
    • Drain carefully and thoroughly: If you have a strainer pan, lift it out carefully and shake off excess water. If pouring through a colander, be careful of the steam
  • Common Pastas
    • Angel Hair/Cappellini: Very thin version of spaghetti
    • Canneloni: Big round tubes of pasta for filling
    • Creste Di Gali: Half-moon shape
    • Ditalini: Short tubes, most commonly in soups
    • Farfalle: Bowtie shape
    • Fettuccini: Long, thin pasta, perfect for heavier sauces
    • Fusilli: Curly, corkscrew pasta, good for salads and casseroles
    • Lasagna: Long, flat, wide pasta sheets for casserole
    • Linguine: Long, thin pasta (between fettuccini & spaghetti)
    • Macaroni: Small, tubular pasta for salad or casserole and salads (often elbows)
    • Manicotti: Ridgid pasta tubes, suitable for stuffing
    • Penne: Tubular pasta with an angled end
    • Ravioli: Two pieces of flat dough that sandwich a filling
    • Rigatoni: Large, grooved pasta tubes suitable for heavy sauces
    • Rotini: Similar to fusilli, but with a longer corkscrew shape
    • Shells: Shell shaped pasta, larger ones for stuffing, others for salads
    • Spaghetti/Spaghettini: Long, thin, rounded pasta
    • Tortellini: Coiled, stuffed pasta noodle, means “navel” or "belly-button"
    • Vermicelli: Thinner than spaghetti, means “little worms”
    • Ziti: Medium sized tubular pasta perfect for casseroles, baking
    • There are many, many more variations

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  • About Ravioli
    • Ravioli doesn't need to be an Italian tomato or garlic/butter sauce dish with basil and oregano, filled with ricotta or minced meat or both (though that's very good), it can be pasta filled with something else
    • Ravioli stuffed pasta can be an appetizer or dessert dish filled however you like
    • It can be, not just boiled, but sauteed or pan-fried or deep-fried for appetizers or main course
    • Banana/Coconut or berry or apple/peach stuffed dessert with some kind of sweet/fruit sauce
    • It's a unique presentation with limitless possibilities, use imagination

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  • Ravioli with Green and Red Stripes
    • Lay down alternating green and red fettuccine on plain rolled out pasta dough and run back through the press--you are then getting pasta infused with the nutrients of tomato and greens in your ravioli pasta--do both sides of the ravioli pasta to double the color and nutrients
    • Use just a little bit of water to prep the plain rolled out pasta to receive the colored pasta ribbons
    • Run it back through the pasta press to merge the stripes, then make ravioli out of it

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  • Ravioli Stuffing Ideas
    • Sauteed mushrooms with garlic and basalmic vinegar (just enough to deglaze the pan), basil, oregano, au sec (almost dry) and some goat cheese all mixed together
    • Pureed roasted butternut squash/ricotta cheese, with egg white for binding
    • Slice of pepperoni and an egg yolk, served with Hollandaise sauce
    • Slice of mozzarella cheese and a slice of red or green pepper and a slice of pepperoni
    • Use imagination, minced meat, ricotta, pureed asparagus, spinach, parmesan, shrimp
    • Serve with tomato sauce, Alfredo sauce, garlic/butter sauce, coconut milk red curry sauce

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  • Using the Ravioli Making Tray
    • Lay the sheet of rolled out pasta dough on the tray, which is designed to size and form the ravioli
    • Use the cup former to make the cups into which the filling goes
    • Put about 1 tsp of filling into each cup, careful not to overfill lest the ravioli tear open
    • When all the cups are filled, use egg wash to coat the ravioli edges with thin profile basting brush, glue that holds ravioli together
    • Lay another sheet of rolled out pasta dough on top
    • Press it out with rolling pin, use good pressure, and the ravioli will not only be sealed, but nicely cut to shape, then pull the raviolis out of the tray, and inspect for any tears/leaks/poor seals
    • Put the finished ravioli in corn meal to keep them from sticking together (the corn meal will wash off quickly in water)
  • Dessert Ravioli
    • Fill with honey and walnuts, then saute for nice brown crunch, instead of simmering in water
    • Fill with pecan pie filling
    • Fill with crumbled oreos, saute, then drizzle with chocolate syrup
    • Fill with fruit slices/pieces, serve with fruit sauce or sugar syrup or duck sauce
    • Fill with cream cheese and jam, drizzle with clarified butter

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  • Ravioli Meat Filled
    • Allow 6-7 hours start to finish, 5-6 hours of wait times
    • Start by getting the braising of the ground beef going
    • Make Pasta Dough and Refrigerate
    • Make Meat Filling
      • Ingredients
        • 18 pepperoni slices, finely minced
        • 1/2 lb ground beef
        • 3 clove garlic minced, 1/2 small onion finely diced, 1/2 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp basil, 1/2 tsp S&P
        • 1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley
        • 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
        • 2 egg yolks
      • Procedure
        • Braise 1/2 lb ground beef in beef stock (at least 1 hour, longer is better, think tender and fine grain)
        • Saute onion in skillet, add pepperoni and garlic when onion begins to caramelize
        • Add ground beef and spices
        • Add parsley and cheese, add extra beef stock used to braise the ground beef if needed
        • Let cool to temperature where egg yolks will not coagulate (below 160F), stir in egg yolks
        • Let cool completely (should have about 2 cups of filling)
    • Roll Out the Pasta Dough
    • Fill the Raviolis
    • Let raviolis air-dry about 4 hours
    • Soft boil the ravioli in salted water until they float on top, just a few minutes
    • Serve with tomato sauce or Alfredo sauce or garlic butter sauce
  • Use wonton wrappers to make filled Asian dumplings
  • Use phyllo dough and fill with spinach and feta, or olive tapenade for a Greek dumpling

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  • Gyoza, Japanese Pot-Stickers
    • Filling Ingredients
      • 2 cups cabbage, finely chopped
      • 8 oz lean ground beef or pork or shrimp
      • 1 tbs ginger, finely chopped
      • 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
      • 1/4 cup scallions, finely chopped (white and green parts)
      • 1.5 tsp soy sauce
      • 1 tsp sesame oil
      • 1 tsp rice vinegar
      • 1 tsp brown sugar
      • 1 tsp corn starch (to help hold all ingredients together in the filling)
      • 1/4 tsp black pepper
    • Filling Procedure
      • Saute the chopped cabbage lightly (no caramelization) to help draw out moisture
      • Squeeze as much moisture out of cabbage as possible
      • Combine all ingredients above into a mixing bowl and mix it together well
    • Stuffing Procedure
      • Using Wonton wraps
      • Have a small bowl of water handy
      • Take finger, dip in water and outline the edges of the wrapper
      • Put a little less than a tablespoon in the center of the wrapper
      • Then fold and pinch, fold and pinch until sealed
      • Add oil to saute pan, heat up medium saute temperature
      • Place 6 - 7 gyozas into pan
      • Combine 1 tsp corn starch and 3 tbs water, and pour into pan with the gyoza (gives nice crunch)
      • Cover the pan and cook for 5 -6 minutes or until all the moisture is evaporated
      • Place plate over pan and turn over to spill the gyoza onto the plate
      • Should be nice and golden brown
    • Dipping Sauce (divide into small dishes/ bowls, one for each person)
      • 2 tbs soy sauce
      • 2 tbs rice vinegar
      • 2 tsp brown sugar
      • 1 tsp sesame oil
      • Whisk all ingredients together

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  • Cream Cheese Wontons
    • Wontons Ingredients
      • 8 oz cream cheese
      • 2 green onions, chopped finely
      • 24 wonton wrappers
      • 1 egg for egg wash
      • Canola oil for frying
    • Wontons Procedure
      • Heat 3 inches of vegetable oil in sauce pan to 340F
      • Put cream cheese and chopped green onions in mixer bowl, and mix with paddle on low speed
      • In separate bowl make egg wash with the egg and 1/3 cup water
      • Assemble the wontons
        • Place about 1/2 tsp cream cheese mixture on one corner of a wonton wrapper
        • Finger paint egg wash around all the edges of the wrapper (3/8 inch or so)
        • Roll the wrapper diagonally, starting with the cream cheese corner, stopping when half of the wrapper is rolled and cream cheese is all inside
        • Bring up the 2 ends and use egg wash as glue to stick them together
        • Allow the remaining pointed end to tuck backward (should resemble tortellini)
        • Keep the assembled wontons under plastic wrap to prevent drying out
      • Ensure oil is right about 340F
      • In small batches, fry the wontons for 45 seconds to a minute, till golden, flipping them half-way through to ensure even browning/crisping, remove them a few seconds before you think they are golden enough, because they will continue to brown for a few seconds even after you remove them from the hot oil
      • Wait about 10 minutes before serving because filling is very hot, note: these are very tasty even at room temperature
    • Dipping Sauce
      • 3 tbs honey
      • 2 tbs soy sauce
      • 1 tbs rice vinegar
      • 1/4 to 1/2 tsp sesame oil
      • Whisk all ingredients together

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  • Mac & Cheese Mini-bites (for two 12 cup mini-muffin tins [24 bites])
    • Ingredients
      • 8 oz pasta, small shells or elbows
      • 2 tbs butter
      • 2 tbs flour
      • 2 cloves garlic, minced
      • 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper
      • 1/4 tsp paprika
      • 1/8 tsp nutmeg
      • 1/2 cup milk
      • 4 oz shredded cheese
    • Procedure
      • Grease all 24 mini-muffin cups
      • Preheat oven to 400F
      • Boil pasta 2 minutes less than package directions, then drain
      • Make cheese sauce, melt butter in sauce pan, add garlic and paprika to saute lightly
      • Whisk in salt, pepper, nutmeg, and flour, making smooth roux
      • Slowly, incrementally whisk in milk, cook until sauce achieves max consistency (a few minutes), should be quite thick
      • Remove from heat, slowly, incrementally stir in cheese until smooth, keep warm on lowest setting
      • Add pasta to cheese sauce, mix well
      • Divide the pasta among the 24 muffin cups, pressing down firmly
      • Bake for 15 minutes, or until the tops are starting to brown
      • Allow to cool completely before removing from the muffin tins (at least 15 minutes)
      • If necessary, run a knife or toothpick around the perimeter of the cups to loosen
      • Remove gently to keep them together
      • Once out of muffin tins, reheat in microwave or oven to serve, good at room temperature too
      • Good as appetizer, side dish, or snack

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