Respect My Raviolah

A few posts back, I wrote about the flavor of caramelized radicchio and how it made an interesting connection in my mind. It tasted remarkably like the wonderful caramelized bottoms of the Roman-style artichokes that I love to make so much. Radicchio and artichokes are both in the sunflower family, so it makes sense that they would have a few flavor compounds in common, but I had never actually tasted the similarity before–probably because I almost never cook radicchio. So I started to think about using them together in something.

Once I got home with the artichokes, it took a minute to convince myself that I wanted to do something other than make my beloved carciofi alla romana. I prepped them the same way–snapping the leaves off right above the edible base, digging the choke out with a teaspoon–but then I cut them into thin wedges and tossed them in a pan with some olive oil. While they began to brown, I chopped half a head of radicchio and threw it in after, tossing it all together and letting it gently darken and begin to melt. After a while, when all was pretty soft, I added minced garlic and herbs (parsley, marjoram, thyme) and then deglazed with some more of the steak stock. As it reduced, it became more and more jam-like in texture, and the smells augured well.

While all this asteraceous alchemy transpired, I rolled out sheets of pasta from a dough I threw together before running out to the store. I used eggs that I bought at Stone Barns when I was there having a tour and meeting in preparation for an upcoming article. Their eggs are all from pastured hens, and the dark yellow yolks are a wonder to behold. I’m not sure how much you can tell from the photo, but the color of the pasta is a profoundly different hue than it would have been with even decent eggs. The filling is some steamed butternut squash, mashed with one egg yolk and a little salt. I wanted simple sweetness in the filling as a foil for the complex bitterness of the sauce.

I like to dot filling down one side of the sheet and then fold it over rather than laying a second sheet over a double row of filling. I think it’s easier, and it makes for less trimming since each sheet only has to match itself. I brush a little water where the seams will be, and when pressing them together I nudge the filling away from the fold so it ends up roughly centered in each approximate square.

By the time the sauce had reduced and softened further into a dark tangle of unctuous umami, the pasta was ready to go. And a bite of both did yield the balance I had hoped for between sweet and bitter. What surprised me was that there was a pretty strong mushroom flavor in a sauce that contained exactly zero mushroom in any form. The first thing I thought is that if one substituted a good mushroom-vegetable stock for the beef, one could arrive at a pretty incredible vegetarian sauce/condiment. Some walnuts wouldn’t suck, either. There are lots of ways to go with this, and I plan to play with it more in the coming months since both vegetables are available. Contrasting a raw salad with a version of this sauce as a chutney could work, and cooking small, firm heads of radicchio the way one makes the artichokes could also be interesting.

As part of the preparation for the article, I also spoke to Dan Barber, the chef at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, about winter-grown vegetables. He spoke eloquently on the way winter’s limitations can be liberating for a cook; the narrower range of ingredients forces one to dig deep and pull the sweetness out of the cold-weather roots and greens, exploring subtlety and really listening to the food. It made a lot of sense to me, since I find that constraints are essential in my studio practice: no matter how restricted the options, there’s still room for infinity within them. The austerity of winter food offers the same opportunity in the kitchen, and the same potential for profound pleasure.

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8 Comments

  1. December 17, 2010

    asteraceous – love it and I actually get it, botany nerd that I am.

  2. December 17, 2010

    Me too! Though technically, artichokes are in the thistle subtribe of the aster family and I think of the lettuces’ laticifers as making them distinct. But I guess you worked it all out, pasta being the Great Unifier and all.

  3. Peter
    December 18, 2010

    Zoomie: Take a look at Heather’s comment and let me know if you still think you’re a nerd.

    Claudia: If you had been here, I would have grated lardo on top. And tongue pastrami.

    Blanche: The point is that they tasted similar. Also, “laticifer” sounds like the salad devil.

  4. December 19, 2010

    Like your redesign! Last sentence of your bio is definitely the best one. and also appreciate the “soylent majority” – ewww.

    So what I am actually most impressed by is that you not only made ravioli, you also made a delicious sauce for them. The last time I made butternut squash ravioli (http://gardenofeatingblog.blogspot.com/2009/02/eatwell-recipe-6-butternut-squash.html), I had to call it a day after cleaning up from the pasta making. Granted, I was pretty pregnant at the time but I suspect I’d have felt the same way in a non-breeding condition.

    Question for you, have you found a source of pasture raised eggs closer to home? We sometimes buy eggs from Longyear farm but they’re not pasture-raised though they do use organic feed and take good care of their birds. But I would love to know of a farm doing this closer by.

  5. December 19, 2010

    I respect both you and your Raviolah – the radicchio jam is intruiging. And yes, the words about winter roots and greens, the need to dig deeper and listen – very nice indeed.

  6. Peter
    December 19, 2010

    Eve: Jennifer at KNF carries some, I think. Have you thought about getting chickens? That’s our plan.

    Rach: You should have mountains of radicchio and artichokes right now to play with. I’m jealous.

  7. December 24, 2010

    Lovely dish! I make ravioli the same way – one less edge to worry about sealing. I see Heather already addressed the artichoke/thistle/asteraceae thing. She’s good for that. 😉

    I might have to steal this dish someday soon…

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