Mushroom Mascarpone Ravioli with Sundried Tomato Alfredo Sauce

After successfully making homemade pasta noodles, I knew the next thing I had to try was ravioli. I'm always a huge fan of stuffed pastas, and with my husband's & my love for mushrooms, there was no question on what kind I would make first.

The filling was delicious, as was the sauce. While they tasted great together - I think there were too many competing flavors. Both recipes are definitely "keepers." I just feel they are better separately. Surprisingly, the sauce actually reheats rather well, especially for a cream & butter sauce.

The pasta makes the perfect amount for the ravioli - enough to feed 4-6 people (we only cooked 1/2 of them for a meal). We probably used about 1/2 of the sauce for 1/2 the ravioli, so easily enough for a meal of pasta for a family of 6.

Also, while ravioli is doable without a ravioli mold, I plan on getting one before my next adventure with ravioli - I'd prefer to have them more full than I was able to do without one.



PASTA DOUGH(From Cooking Weekends)

1 1/2 - 1 3/4 cup unbleached flour
1 1/2 cup semolina flour
1 tsp salt
4 large eggs
1-3 tbsp water

Place the 1 1/2 cups unbleached flour (to start), semolina and salt into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade. Pulse a few times to combine.

Add the eggs and 1 tablespoon of water to start. Pulse a few times. If the mixture seems too dry, sprinkle a bit more water over the mixture.

The dough should have the consistency of fresh bread crumbs,and start to form a ball. Add additional flour or water as needed to get desired consistency.

Gather up the dough and knead for a few minutes on a lightly floured surface until you have a smooth ball. Cover with plastic wrap (or place in a bag) and allow to rest for about 20 minutes.

Separate dough into 2-3 sections. Flatten the piece and run it through the pasta machine at the widest setting a few times. Fold and pass through the widest setting a few more times. After 4-5 runs through the widest setting, run through the narrower settings until desired thickness is obtained.



MUSHROOM MASCARPONE FILLING (Adapted from All Recipes)

1 tablespoon olive oil
10 ounces fresh mushrooms, chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 (8 ounce) container mascarpone cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms & garlic - cook until the liquid from the mushrooms has evaporated, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

In a medium bowl, stir together the mascarpone cheese and mushroom mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper; set aside.

To form the ravioli, scoop 1-2 tsp of filling onto a sheet of pasta.





Brush egg around the filling & top with another sheet of pasta. Seal around the filling, trying to get as much of the air out of the filling as possible.



Cut ravioli into squares. Using a fork, press around the edges to help seal the filling in. (I think they look better this way, too!)



Boil for approximately 5 minutes (or until the pasta is done to your liking)



SUN DRIED TOMATO ALFREDO SAUCE (Adapted from The Open Pantry)

1/2 cup Butter
8 oz Cream cheese
3/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
1 cup Milk or Cream (I used cream for a nice, thick sauce)
1/4 cup Sun dried Tomatoes in oil, pureed
2 cloves Roasted Garlic, pureed
Salt

Melt the butter in a medium sauce pan over medium low heat then add the cream cheese and Parmesan cheese stirring until melted. Add the Pureed sun dried tomatoes and pureed garlic. Stir, add the cream and cook until it begins to thicken and has a creamy consistency. Taste and add salt if desired. Serve over pasta.

ENJOY!

Mushroom & Chicken Risotto

My hubby & I LOVE mushrooms - we always buy a big container of them on our twice monthly trips to Costco. For some reason, we didn't finish the container this time, so we decided to make some risotto. While it's not a fast meal to make, it's actually pretty easy. And soooo tasty! We didn't have any onion, but it was still good. This recipe is definitely a keeper.



MUSHROOM & CHICKEN RISOTTO (Adapted from ChowHound - Bayareaberg)

Approx 1 lb Chicken Breast
2 cups rice (original recipe called for Arborio, but I used what I had in the cupboard)
6 cups rich homemade chicken stock or broth, heated to a low simmer
1 medium onion, diced
4 cloves garlic minced
1 lb mushrooms, sliced (we used baby bella)
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Dried Parsley (1-2 tsp)
1 Tablespoon butter
1/2++ cup grated Parmesan plus extra for garnish (I used a romano/parmesan mixture)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Cut chicken breasts into small pieces. Saute lightly in 1T olive oil (do not fully cook - they will finish cooking later). Set chicken aside & drain pain.

Add 2T olive oil to same pan and saute onion on medium-high heat until translucent. Add garlic, then rice and saute for a couple minutes until rice is coated with oil. Add mushrooms and saute briefly.

Ladle hot stock over rice 1 cup at a time to just cover mixture. Stir regularly to avoid sticking to bottom of pan and to create gravy. As the liquid cooks off so that it is almost gone, add more stock, again to just cover the mixture. Repeat this step until appropriate texture of rice.

It’s done when the rice is slightly firm to the bite. Once the rice is mostly cooked, add the chicken back to the pan.

Once the rice is al dente, you may need to add extra stock to form a loose gravy. Once a somewhat loose consistency is achieved, turn off heat and toss in the parsley and the butter. Stir until butter is incorporated. Add Parmesan and stir in once again. Garnish with extra Parmesan and parsley. Serve immediately.

Note: This reheats wonderfully! I love it when I have some left over to bring to work for lunch!

ENJOY!