fudge ripple: lemon-chevre ravioli

i have been making homemade pasta for as long as i can remember

growing up

as summer arrived

so would my grandparents

both sets

heavily ladened with luggage

and lessons

my grandparents were old school italians

"the grandpops" sat on the sun porch

playing cards and tending to the vegetable garden planted each year

(zucchini flowers were a must have every summer)

and the "grans" would sit at the kitchen table

compiling lists of what would be needed for the evening supper

pasta

always a side dish

always

homemade

we would make it several times each summer

filling our bellies and the freezer

the dining room

became

pasta central

a table only used at christmas

in a room that appeared hermetically sealed

would become

a work bench, covered in flour

we'd spend hours

kneading

rolling

cutting

and

drying

our summer staple

it must be said

we never used 00 flour

the type used for pasta in many regions of italy

it was hard to find

and expensive

we used what we had on hand

it was delicious

my grandparents have all passed

and with them

many of the summer traditions

we all enjoyed

but

i still make pasta

in small quantities

with the same equipment

as generations past

however

it is abundantly less shocking

to see my dining room

littered with flour

and covered in pasta

sometimes i use 00 flour

when i have it on hand

but mostly

i use a high quality cake flour

which works beautifully for a delicate pasta

like this lemon pasta

used to make chevre ravioli

not quite how nonna would do it

but delicious

none
the
less

lemon-chevre ravioli

(printable recipe)

for the pasta

3 cups cake flour (i use king arthur)

5 extra large eggs

2 tsp finely grated lemon peel

place the flour in a mound on your work bench. using your fist, make a large well in the center of the mound.

Using the fork, bring the flour into the eggs to begin forming a dough. Continue bringing the flour in until you have a sticky mixture. Begin working the rest of the flour in by hand and knead for at least 10 minutes, and until you have a very smooth dough. The dough must be very smooth and well kneaded before leaving it to rest for 10 minutes or up to an hour at room temperature. Cover the dough with plastic or a towel or something to discourage a "skin" from forming. When ready, use a bit of flour so the dough does not stick and roll very thin. cut in desired shape(s)

for the filling

5 oz chevre--room temperature

3 oz cream cheese--room temperature

1/2 tsp garlic powder

pinch nutmeg

1 tsp finely grated lemon peel

2 Tbs basil leaves--chiffonade

pinch salt

1/4 tsp white pepper

1 egg

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

mix everything together until evenly incorporated. place in refrigerator until using. can be made up to a day in advance and kept covered in the refrigerator.

to assemble

small bowl of water and pastry brush

flour

semolina flour or cornmeal

it is important that your dough is rolled out thin, because you are using two pieces. it doesn't have to be as thin as a won ton wrapper, but it should be close to it. if you are using a pasta machine, roll the pasta to the second thinnest setting.

place 1 sheet of pasta, cut into strips 2" wide and as long as you like on your work surface. make sure your surface is dusted with flour to prevent sticking. place filling with a teaspoon in the center of the dough, leaving room for even border on all sides. brush the dough, where you are going to seal the top piece, with water. place a second piece of dough on top. press around the filling with your fingers until you have a nice seal. stamp with your ravioli cutter, cut with a knife, roller or cookie cutter to make uniform ravioli. press the seams one more time. place on a cookie sheet sprinkled with a bit of semolina or cornmeal to prevent sticking. use immediately, or freeze for future use.

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