Christmassy Ravioli, filled with Corned beef

An exciting idea for the Holidays, exciting both for the bold flavor and for the visual appearance, very Christmassy!

Let’s start with a good and well marbled chunk of corned beef.






First step is dicing it (at least this is what I have to do using my mini robot)





Working in batches (again only in my case) I pulse grind the meat. In my minirobot turning in the direction of the blades is for chopping and turning the other way just grinds.





We don’t want a cream, so be careful: do not over grind and don’t chop it.






This is the end result: as you can see is a sort of shredded corned beef. You can use any method and tool to reach this result, from using a Mezzaluna to chewing yourself the meat and spitting it out.






What is relevant is to have it shredded in order to be able to fill evenly the ravioli (it must be in small chunks), but you need to feel it while eating (not a cream).





Mandatory ingredient for the filling is a good ricotta; if you can only find the “canned white sand” , you can easily make it at home. Here one of the many options http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-homemade-ricotta-cheese-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-23326






Than the other must: Parmigiano Reggiano. I added another less obvious ingredient to the filling: one tablespoon of Balsamic Vinegar; the real one, syrupy and expensive, not the commercial clone (vinegar+sugar+caramel) that is too acidic. If you can’t find it, the Worcestershire sauce is a good substitution in this recipe.

The reason for this addition is that we need to balance the strong meaty flavor of the corned beef with some sweet and acid taste.






Now that the filling is done, let’s put in the fridge to rest and blend while we make the dough.






The fun part of this dough is that to the usual ingredients for the egg pasta ( 1 egg every 3 oz of flour plus a pinch of salt) we add a little of double concentrated tomato paste. To provide color and also acidity.






Of course to reach this depth of color, a little chemical help can be useful.






Don’t you already feel the Christmas?






Now the usual procedure to make the Ravoli: in this case the correct name should be Agnolotti, a squared pasta filled with braised meat typical form Piedmont (north-west of Italy). On the right you can see water and brush used to wet the borders of the dough in order to seal perfectly the dough; we don't want the filling to escape into the water.






When they are ready let them rest on a parchment paper while the lightly salted water is going to boil






There they are, cooking for 4 minutes (my dough was on the thin side)






So much flavor inside that we just need sage and butter to dress them, with a little touch of Parmigiano






Exciting flavor, exciting visual presentation: the perfect starter for a festive meal






I apologize for the quality of the last picture (out of focus at the center and not at the standard of this forum) but I wanted to show it anyway to let you “perceive” the filling inside the Agnolotto: that tasty heart is a full of flavor.

What a fun idea. I love the red pasta -- and the corned beef filling certainly looks good -- and I love corned beef. Definitely seems like a worthwhile taste adventure.

Of course, in March, you could use green food coloring, and it would also be perfect for Saint Patrick's Day.

of course and just use blue (green) cheese as stuffing or moldy meat ...
Thank you Cyntia for your kind words and have a wonderful holiday

thanks for sharing your pictures, this looks delicious. i'm wondering if you've tried this without the ricotta- just shredded meat? does it need something to hold it together?

justjoan wrote:thanks for sharing your pictures, this looks delicious. i'm wondering if you've tried this without the ricotta- just shredded meat? does it need something to hold it together?

I'll bet a little heavy cream would work as a binder. Kind of like corned beef hash.

stevez wrote:

justjoan wrote:thanks for sharing your pictures, this looks delicious. i'm wondering if you've tried this without the ricotta- just shredded meat? does it need something to hold it together?

I'll bet a little heavy cream would work as a binder. Kind of like corned beef hash.

i was wondering why any binder was needed at all, as they are completely enclosed. that would be my first choice if i was trying this: just pure meat.

I agree with you: there is no "need" for a binder, even if the shredded meat tend to spread around when you try to compact the filling; and you know, you should avoid any air bubble inside the ravioli, or there is the risk that expanding for the heat during cooking makes the ravioli to "explode". Sometimes just an egg yolk is enough.
In this particular recipe I used the ricotta also to tame the strong flavor of the corned beef, but is just a personal taste.

albicusi wrote:I agree with you: there is no "need" for a binder, even if the shredded meat tend to spread around when you try to compact the filling; and you know, you should avoid any air bubble inside the ravioli, or there is the risk that expanding for the heat during cooking makes the ravioli to "explode". Sometimes just an egg yolk is enough.
In this particular recipe I used the ricotta also to tame the strong flavor of the corned beef, but is just a personal taste.

thanks- i was wondering if it was just your taste preference....