Rosemary's Menu

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 heads Treviso radicchio (about 6 ounces/170 g each)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 teaspoons/20 ml honey
2 tablespoons/25 g unsalted butter
6 ounces/170 g Taleggio cheese, cut into four 2x1-inch/5x2.5-cm slabs

Method:

Bring a large saucepan of water to just below a simmer over medium-high heat. Decrease the heat to low so that water does not simmer but remains hot. Add the Treviso and cook for 1 hour or until the Treviso are tender and no longer bitter. Drain the Treviso and allow to cool.

Pre-heat the oven to 375°F/190°C. Cut the Treviso lengthwise in half and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Drizzle 1 teaspoon/5 ml of honey over the cut side of each Treviso half.

Melt the butter in a heavy large ovenproof sauté pan over medium-high heat. Place the Treviso in the pan, cut side down, and cook for about 4 minutes, or until the Treviso is golden brown on the bottom.

Turn the Treviso over. Place one slab of Taleggio cheese over each Treviso half. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 3 minutes or just until the cheese melts. Transfer to a platter and serve.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the pasta dough:
2 cups/275 g OO flour or all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
3 large egg yolks
2 large whole eggs
1 tablespoon/15 ml extra-virgin olive oil

For the ravioli filling:
2 teaspoons/10 ml olive oil
5 ounces/142 g fresh baby spinach leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup/235 g fresh ricotta cheese

For the sauce:
2 tablespoons/30 ml olive oil
8 ounces fresh porcini mushrooms, sliced
1 stick/113 g salted butter
25 fresh sage leaves
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
¼ cup/60 ml dry white wine

Method:

To make the pasta dough:

Place the flour in a large mixing bowl and form a well in the center of the flour. Place the egg yolks, eggs and olive oil in the center of the well. Using a fork, whisk the eggs and oil to blend.

Gradually whisk the flour into the egg mixture until a thick batter forms. Using your hands, gradually mix in enough of the remaining flour to form a shaggy dough (you won't need all of the flour).

Do not incorporate any hardened bits of flour into the dough. Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and knead until the dough is smooth and semi-soft. Wrap the dough in plastic and rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

To make the ravioli filling:

Place a large sauté pan over moderate to high heat.  Once the pan is hot, drizzle the olive oil into the pan and add the spinach. Season spinach with a little salt and pepper.

Sauté 2 minutes or just until the spinach leaves have wilted. Transfer the spinach to a strainer or colander to cool. Gently squeeze the spinach to remove any excess moisture. Coarsely chop the spinach.

Once the spinach is cold, mix the spinach in a medium bowl with the ricotta. Season the mixture to taste with salt and pepper.

To prepare the ravioli:

Cut the dough into 4 pieces. Keep 3 pieces tightly wrapped in plastic wrap so that they do not dry out.

Dust the unwrapped piece of dough with some flour and flatten it with your hand into a rectangle. Run the dough through the widest setting of the pasta maker. Fold into thirds and repeat the rolling and folding about 3 times, dusting the folded dough piece with flour as needed before running it through the machine each time. This helps knead the dough and make it more elastic.

Reduce the space between the rollers one setting at a time until the dough is about 1 to 2 mm thick. Cut the pasta sheet crosswise in half to make it easier to handle.

Place one pasta sheet on the floured work surface. Spoon 6 mounds of the spinach filling over the pasta sheet, using about 2 teaspoons/10 g of the mixture for each mound and spacing them evenly apart.

Lightly brush water over the pasta dough that surrounds the filling. Lightly brush the second pasta sheet with water. Lay the second pasta sheet, moistened side down, over the pasta sheet with the filling. Press the edges together to seal, squeezing out any air pockets. Cut out the ravioli into squares.

Transfer the ravioli to a floured baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining pasta sheets and filling, forming 24 ravioli total. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to cook.

Alternatively, purchased fresh pasta sheets can be used in place of the fresh pasta sheets made here. If using purchased pasta sheets, select both the plain pasta sheets and spinach pasta sheets for a pretty presentation.

To make the sauce and serve the ravioli:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the ravioli to the boiling salted water and cook for about 3 minutes or until the pasta is tender and the filling is heated through.

Meanwhile, place a heavy based large frying pan over medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add the olive oil and place the porcini slices in the pan. Cook the porcini slices for 10 minutes until they are golden brown and tender.

Season the mushrooms with salt and pepper. Transfer the mushrooms to a plate and tent with foil to keep them warm.  Return the pan to medium heat. Add the butter and cook for about 1 minute or just until melted.

Add the sage and cook for about 1 minute or until the butter becomes a light brown color and the sage is crisp. Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds or until the garlic is fragrant.

Add the white wine and simmer for 1 minute. Remove from the heat.  Drain the ravioli from the water and place three ravioli on each plate. Divide the mushrooms among the serving dishes.

Spoon the brown butter mixture over and around the ravioli. Serve!

Serves 6

Ingredients:

For the fruit filling:

1/3 cup/70 g granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
4 ripe Bosc pears, peeled, each cut into 8 wedges, and cores removed
1 cinnamon stick

For the crumb topping:

3/4 cup/120 g all purpose flour
1/2 cup/105 g granulated sugar
1/2 cup/50 g old-fashioned oats
Pinch of salt
1 stick/113 g chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3/4 cup/70 g sliced almonds, coarsely chopped
Vanilla ice cream

Method:

To make the fruit filling:

Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Place the sugar and salt in an 8-inch-/20-cm-square baking dish. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the sugar. Stir to blend the vanilla seeds into the sugar. Add the pears and toss to coat.

Arrange the mixture evenly over the dish, tucking the cinnamon stick and vanilla bean halves beneath the pears. Set aside while you prepare the crumb topping.

To make the crumb topping:

In a medium-size bowl, mix the flour, sugar, oats and salt to blend. Using your fingers, rub the butter into the flour mixture until moist clumps form. Mix in the almonds.

Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the pear mixture. Bake for one hour, or until the fruit is tender and the topping is golden brown.

Allow the crumble to stand at room temperature for 10 minutes to cool slightly. Spoon the crumble into bowls and serve with vanilla ice cream.