Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Ravioli with balsamic browned butter sauce

I bought this box of twelve pieces of freshly made spinach ravioli with artichoke and ricotta filling from the farmer’s market. I already knew I was going to pair this with a balsamic browned butter sauce. Beurre noisette [bur nwoi-ZET] or brown butter, refers to butter which has been cooked till the milk solids turn brown and this lends a nutty aromatic scent to the butter. Browned butter sauce teams well with pasta, fish, vegetables, and even mashed potatoes. Once the sauce is finished, it can be used immediately or stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

The addition of balsamic vinegar, adds acidity, sweetness, but it should be added only after the butter cools a littlee, so that the butter does not splatter.
I checked this recipe and made some adjustments:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/ravioli-with-balsamic-brown-butter-recipe/index.html

4 tbspn butter
2 tbspn balsamic vinegar
1 tspn Dijon mustard Black pepper
1 Tspn dark brown sugar or honey
Salt
½ cup chopped walnuts
12 pieces of ravioli
Parmesan Cheese

1. Add the ravioli to boiling water. Fish out the ravioli when it floats to the top as this indicates that the ravioli is cooked. Drain.
2. Pre heat oven to 375 degrees. Toast walnuts for around 8 minutes. Keep an eye on this step. Every oven has a different time and you want the walnuts toasted, not burnt.
3. In a heavy bottom saucepan add the butter on medium heat. The butter should start turning golden brown in around 4 minutes. I keep shaking the pan. The butter should emit a nutty aroma at this stage. According to Michael Ruhlman, the trick with making a brown butter sauce is to recognize the right color and aroma, then to stop the cooking by adding the acid which cools the hot butter fat.
4. Turn off the heat and add the balsamic, followed by sugar, and mustard. Season with salt and black pepper.
5. Add the ravioli to the pan and coat it with the sauce so that it absorbs the butter.
6. Add the walnuts.
7. Serve with some grated parmesan on the top.

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