November 21, 2006 Vol. I Issue 11

Recipes

RECIPE INGREDIENTS

For Ravioli:
1 3/4 cups canned pureed pumpkin
1/2 cup walnuts, finely ground
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
1 large egg
Generous pinch of sea salt
Semolina Flour
1 recipe Fresh Pasta (see recipe)

For Sauce:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup creme fraiche or heavy cream
6 fresh sage leaves
1/2 cup walnuts, finely chopped

RECIPE METHOD

FOR RAVIOLI: Place pumpkin in medium bowl. Whisk in ground walnuts and ricotta to blend well. Season to taste with salt. Whisk egg into pumpkin mixture to blend.


Sprinkle two baking sheets with semolina. Follow method for making Fresh Pasta and forming 4﷓ to 5﷓inch wide pasta sheets; do not dry pasta. Working with one pasta sheet at a time, lay sheet on work surface (cover remaining sheets with damp kitchen towel to keep moist). Spoon generous teaspoonfuls pumpkin mixture on lower half of pasta sheet, spacing mounds 3/4﷓inch apart. Fold top half of pasta sheet over filling so the edges can meet. Press between mounds of filling so dough sticks together, removing as much air as possible between layers. Press edges together firmly.

Using pasta cutter, cut between mounds to form ravioli; trim any uneven edges. If dough is too dry, brush edges and between mounds of filling very lightly with water before folding dough over filling to help dough stick together. Transfer ravioli to prepared baking sheets. Repeat with remaining pasta sheets and pumpkin filling. Let ravioli rest 15 minutes.

MEANWHILE, PREPARE SAUCE: Melt butter and creme fraiche in heavy small saucepan, over low heat. Whisk together; add sage. Keep warm over very low heat.

TO SERVE: Working in batches, cook ravioli in large pot of boiling salted water until ravioli float to surface and are tender but still firm to bite, about 3 minutes. Drain. Transfer ten ravioli to each of six warm pasta bowls. Spoon sauce over ravioli. Sprinkle with finely chopped walnuts and serve.

Recipe developed exclusively for Cooking.com by Susan Herrmann Loomis.

2 pounds potatoes 
2 cups flour 
1 egg 
Salt to taste

Fill a large pot with water and put in a pinch of gross salt. When the water is boiling rapidly, put in the potatoes. When the potatoes are cooked—test for doneness by seeing if a fork will easily go through a potato—drain them in a colander and peel them while still hot..

Put the boiled and peeled potatoes through a potato ricer or masher. Quickly add in the flour, egg, and a pinch of salt. Mix all the ingredients well, by hand, until they are blended together thoroughly.

Make the dough into one log that is the thickness of about two fingers held together. Sprinkle flour on a wooden board and place the dough on it. Work the dough with your hands and, then, divide it into two 'logs'—each the thickness of one finger. Cut off small 'pea size' gnocchi. To give them a gnocchi form, place 2 fingertips on a piece of dough and roll it gently. 

When all the gnocchi are prepared, sprinkle them with flour. (If possible, use semolina flour.) Let the gnocchi stand while you prepare the sugo, or sauce. Fill pasta pot with water. Next, add a pinch of course salt. When water reaches full boil gently place in gnocchi. When they rise to the top they are done. Drain and serve with tomato sugo and grated parmigiano cheese.

Maria Liberati

This book is more than just a cookbook. It is my passion for food and cooking interweaved with stories from my past that make me who I am today. With my easy to follow recipes from a personal tour of Italy, you can experience every fresh fruit macedonia from my family's vineyard. Taste the minted pears and parmigiano antipasto. Italian cooking is never just a recipe, it is the basic art of creating something special from something simple and fresh.

Also, proceeds from the sale of each and every book go to Gilda’s Club. Gilda's Club is a special place where the focus is on living with cancer. And where men, women and children with any kind of cancer and their family members and friends can plan and build life-changing emotional and social support. Gilda's Club is named in honor of Gilda Radner, who, when describing the emotional and social support she received when she had cancer, called for such places to be made available for people with cancer and their families and friends everywhere. Although the Saturday Night Live comedian died in 1989, Gilda's spirit lives on at every Gilda's Club, where members join with other "experts" at living with cancer to both give and receive the benefits of love and laughter through the unique Gilda's Club program. Click here if you’d like to donate directly to the website.

“A fine primer for budding Italian chefs. The entertaining, informative stories that are woven into the cookbook provide a wonderful backdrop to the well-explained basic recipes of Italian cuisine.” 
—MICHAEL DEGEORGIO, executive chef at Il Cortile Restaurant, New York City,
and specialty food consultant 

“A memoir about living in Italy and the pleasures of Italian food that makes a perfect
gift. But the recipes are so delicious, you’ll want to try it first yourself.” 
—CHEF ERHARDT TELL, four-time Cordon Bleu Award winner, television chef and cookbook author

“If you want to get a sense of true authentic Italian food and the flavor of living in the mountains of the untouched regions of Italy, like Abruzzo, not only do I recommend you take the trip, but also that you make Maria Liberati’s The Basic Art of Italian Cooking part of your library.” 
—JIM COLEMAN, host of the PBS television series, Flavors of America, and executive chef at Coleman Restaurant at Normandy Farms