Kelly Rossiter
READ MORE ABOUT:
I came to chestnuts late in life and really loved them, and this year I was anxious to get them as soon as they showed up at my farmers' market. The chestnuts I got last week were early so they were a bit of the small side, which made for a lot of peeling before I ended up with the cup required for my recipe. There's no question that roasting and peeling chestnuts is a bit of work, but other than that, this recipe for ravioli comes together very quickly.
Personally, I find peeling chestnuts quite relaxing, but then I don't mind an occasional bit of fuss. You have to take a sharp knife and score each chestnut with an X on the flat side, cutting right through to the meat, and that is the part I find tedious. Then roast them for 15 minutes at 400F. The trick to peeling them is to work fairly quickly and try to keep the nuts warm, because as they cool down, the skin stiffens again. When they are warm they usually just pop out easily.
I used bacon rather than pancetta and I quite liked the flavours together, but if you want a vegetarian dish, just leave it out. I used a Ginger Gold apple that I got at the market and the sage came from my garden. I had some filling left over, so I pureed it a little more finely and made some soup of it the next day, and it was quite nice.
Chestnut Ravioli with Sage Browned Butter
1 cup roasted, shelled, and skinned chestnuts; see how to roast fresh chestnuts ; (1/2 lb in shell or 7 oz bottled whole)
2 oz sliced pancetta or bacon, finely chopped
7 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 large garlic clove, smashed
1/4 cup water
1 Granny Smith apple
2 tablespoons finely grated parmesan
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
48 won ton wrappers (12-oz package)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage
1. Coarsely chop chestnuts.
2. Cook pancetta in 3 tablespoons butter in a large heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring, until crisp on edges, about 5 minutes. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until onion is softened. Add chestnuts and water and simmer, stirring, until liquid is reduced by half. Discard garlic.
3. Transfer mixture to a bowl and mash to a coarse paste with a fork. Peel half of apple and cut enough of peeled half into 1/4-inch dice to measure 3 tablespoons. Reserve remaining (unpeeled) apple. Stir diced peeled apple into chestnut mixture with parmesan, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste.
4. Put 1 won ton wrapper on a work surface, keeping remaining wrappers in plastic wrap, and mound 1 scant tablespoon of filling in center. Lightly brush edges of wrapper with water and top with a second wrapper, pressing down around filling to force out air. Trim excess dough with cutter and seal edges well, pressing them together with your fingertips. Transfer ravioli to a dry kitchen towel, then make more in same manner.
5. Cut enough of unpeeled apple into 1/4-inch dice to measure 3 tablespoons and toss with lemon juice. Heat remaining 4 tablespoons butter in a large heavy skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides and butter begins to turn brown. Stir in sage and cook, stirring, until sage is crisp and butter is golden brown. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Add ravioli to a 6-quart pot of salted boiling water, then cook at a slow boil, stirring gently occasionally, until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Carefully transfer ravioli with a slotted spoon to a colander to drain. Slide ravioli into sage butter and cook over moderate heat, stirring gently, 1 minute. Sprinkle ravioli with unpeeled apple and season with pepper.
Difficulty Level: Easy
From Gourmet, November 2000
More Farmers' Market Dinners
Find Your Dinner at the Farmers' Market: Squash Ravioli with Brown Butter and Wild Mushrooms
Find Your Dinner at the Farmers' Market: Pizza with Matsutake Mushrooms
Find Your Dinner at the Farmers' Market: Linguine with Brussels Sprouts Barigoule
-
- {}
