Cocoa and partridge ravioli

Cocoa and partridge ravioli served with demi glace, beurre noisette and Parmesan.

I have come over all masterchef and decided to to have a go at making one of the recipes i saw in the show, although the picture above doesn't do it justice as the ravioli is dark due to the cocoa.


Ingredients
for the pasta dough
175g tipo 00 flour (or strong flour)
4 tbsp semolina flour
4 tbsp cocoa powder
3 eggs beaten
3 egg yolks
2 tbsp olive oil

for the pasta filling
1 carrot
1/2 celery stick
1 onion
3 dried porcini mushrooms re hydrated
2 bay leaves
small sprig of rosemary
small sprig of thyme
salt and pepper
2 juniper berries crushed
2 partridges
3 tbsp fine chopped parmesan
2 tbsp ricotta
1 egg
knob of butter

for the beurre noisette
60g unsalted butter

to serve
3 tbsp finely chopped parmesan
fresh thyme

make the pasta filling. Heat the olive oil in a large casserole and gently cook the carrot, celery, onion, porcini, bay leaves, rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper and juniper berries until the onion is softened and golden-brown.

I browned the partridges in the pan with the vegetables, then add boiling water to 5cm/2in above the contents. Bring to the boil, then simmer gently for two hours until the leg meat falls easily away from the bone.
(The breasts are not used in this recipe but i cooked them in the broth and have saved them for a salad for another occasion.)

While you wait the 2 hours for the broth to cook make the pasta dough

For the pasta dough, place the sifted flours and cocoa on a flat, clean surface. Make a well in the centre, add the beaten eggs, egg yolk and olive oil and knead to a smooth dough. Wrap in cling film and rest in the fridge for 30 minutes

While still warm, pick the leg meat off the bone and finely chop it to a pulp, ensuring there is no shot. Mix it with the parmesan and ricotta. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and add half of the egg yolk. Discard the remaining half yolk.

Strain the stock through a fine sieve into a clean pan and reduce until syrupy and thick – this is called a demi-glace. Just before serving, add the butter and whisk to emulsify.

To assemble and cook the pasta, roll the pasta through a pasta machine to a very thin sheet and use an 8cm/3¼in round cutter to cut out 12 circles of pasta.

Lightly whisk the reserved egg white and brush the edge of a pasta disc. Place a teaspoon of filling in the centre, fold the circle in half and close the ravioli, making sure that no air is trapped inside and the edges are well sealed. 

Repeat with the remaining pasta discs and stuffing. Cook the ravioli in a large pan of boiling salted water, in batches if necessary, for three minutes then drain well. 

Meanwhile, make the beurre noisette. Place the butter in a heavy-based pan and heat until it turns a nut-brown colour. Remove from the heat and strain through a sieve lined with muslin cloth.

To serve, add the beurre noisette and parmesan to the drained ravioli, mix very gently then place three ravioili at the centre of each serving plate. Garnish with the demi-glace and thyme leaves and serve immediately. 

This was a lovely dinner and the pasta really wasn't chocolaty if your worried about that it was a hint of the bitter cocoa which was really pleasant, the filling was firm and tasty and Ali said you can cook this again when he finished, so i will take that as a thumbs up. i have slightly changed the recipe but the original is here Source