Smoked sablefish ravioli with brown butter hazelnuts recipe

TAMPA, Fla. - The Feast of the Seven Fishes is an Italian tradition on Christmas Eve. 

Learn how to make smoked sablefish ravioli with brown butter hazelnuts.

Fresh pasta

The classic ratio for fresh pasta dough is 3 parts flour to 2 parts egg, which works well if you weigh your ingredients. Do this by placing a large mixing bowl on a digital scale and zeroing out the weight. Add 1 egg for each main course serving you want to make into the bowl and then add 1 1/2 times that amount of flour.

If you do not have a digital scale, you can use the following formula, taking into account that you may need to add a little more flour if the dough is too wet. Each large egg weighs about 2 ounces, while each cup of flour weighs about 5 ounces. So, if you want to make 4 main-course servings of pasta, combine 4 large eggs (8 ounces) and a scant 2 1/2 cups (12 ounces) of flour.

Traditionally, pasta is made by piling the flour on a work surface, making a "well" in the center, adding the eggs and mixing everything together. To make the process easier to handle, place the flour in a large mixing bowl, combine the ingredients and turn everything out on a work surface for kneading. Kneading pasta in quantities typically made at home is best done by hand. To knead, gather the dough in a ball, press downward on it with the heel of your hand, fold the dough onto itself and repeat. Properly kneaded pasta dough should be very smooth and supple but not sticky, which should take 5 to 10 minutes.

It is important to allow the dough to rest, wrapped in plastic wrap, at least 10 minutes and up to an hour at room temperature before rolling. If you try to roll the dough before it rests, the dough will be too elastic and will spring back when rolled. 

When rolling pasta dough, make sure to flour it generously with semolina to prevent sticking. When the pasta sheet emerges from the rollers, catch it on the back of your hand, rather than with your fingertips, to avoid making indentations in the dough sheet.

Pasta dough can be kept in the refrigerator up to 24 hours or wrapped in airtight packaging and frozen for up to a month.

Fresh Pasta Dough 

Yield: 4 servings

Fresh pasta dough is so easy to make, you’ll wonder why you never did it before. If you can find Italian "00" flour, use it to make very delicate, yet chewy pasta. If not, all-purpose or bread flour works really well.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups (12 1/2 ounces) Italian-style "00" or unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Semolina flour, for dusting pasta and surfaces

1. To make dough: Place flour and salt in a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Make a "well" in the center of the flour mixture and add eggs and oil. Using your fingers, blend the eggs into the flour mixture, stirring the flour in from the sides of the well and working outwards. When the pasta dough is thoroughly mixed, turn it out on a lightly floured work surface. Knead dough until it is smooth and flexible but not sticky, adding small amounts of flour as needed; about 5 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball and flatten into a disk. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for at least 20 minutes or up to an hour at room temperature.

2. To roll out and cut dough: Secure a pasta machine to the edge of a long countertop. Using a bench scraper, cut the dough into 4 pieces. Keep extra dough covered in plastic wrap while working with one piece. With a rolling pin, roll the piece of dough into a rough rectangle that will fit inside the widest setting of the pasta machine. Roll the dough through the machine, catching it with one hand as you roll with the other. Take the dough and trifold it like a letter. Turn the dough so one open end faces the machine and roll it through on the widest setting again. Fold, turn, and roll once more on the widest setting.

3. Continue rolling the pasta through the machine without folding, adjusting the rollers to a smaller setting each time, until the desired thickness is reached. If the pasta sheet becomes too large to handle, use a bench scraper to cut it into more manageable lengths and continue rolling.

4. Cut sheets to desired shapes and sizes, toss with semolina flour and set aside covered with a clean kitchen towel. The pasta can be cooked immediately or covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 24 hours before use.

Sable fish ravioli with cherry tomato and basil sauce

Yield: 4 to 6 servings (about 1 1/2 pounds)

Ingredients

1 recipe Fresh Pasta Dough, rolled into thin sheets, (second-thinnest setting on pasta machine) and covered with plastic (Recipe included) Semolina flour, for dusting work surfaces and pasta 

Filling:

• 1 pound ricotta cheese
• 4 oz smoked sable fish
• 2 tablespoons minced shallot
• 1 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for garnish
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Sauce:
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• 2 tablespoons basil
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. To prepare the filling: Preheat oven to 400°F and place a rack in the center. Arrange squash, cut side down, on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Roast in the oven until the pumpkin is tender when pierced with a paring knife, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from oven and allow it to cool. Using a spoon, scrape the roasted flesh into a potato ricer and rice the squash into a large bowl.

2. To a small skillet set over medium heat, add butter. When foaming subsides, add shallots and cook, stirring frequently until soft, 2 to 3 minutes. Add sautéed shallots and ricotta grated Parmesan cheese to stir well to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Transfer the filling to a pastry bag fitted with a ½-inch round tip.

3. Place one pasta sheet on a work surface horizontally. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the pasta sheet with water. Pipe a straight line of filling lengthwise 1 inch from the top on the pasta sheet, leaving enough pasta at the top to fold over the filling. Fold the pasta over to cover the filling, forming a tube. Using a fluted pasta cutter, a pizza cutter, or a sharp knife, cut the filled tube of pasta away from the rest of the sheet, making sure to keep the sealed strip intact. Using your thumbs and index fingers, pinch the tube of filled pasta into equal sized portions, creating a seal between the pockets of filling. Using the fluted pasta cutter, a pizza cutter, or a sharp knife, separate the sections, repeat with the remaining pasta sheets and filling.

4. To prepare the sauce: To a large skillet set over medium-high heat, add butter cook, whisking occasionally, until the milk solids turn golden brown and the butter takes on a nutty aroma. Whisk in sherry vinegar, sage and tomatoes ; taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and basil.

5. To cook agnolotti: Heat a large pot of water over high heat until boiling. Generously season the water with salt. Add the agnolotti and cook until the pasta is al dente and the filling is heated through, about 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer agnolotti to the skillet with the sauce and gently toss to coat with sauce. Transfer agnolotti and sauce to a large serving bowl, garnish with parmesan and serve immediately.