Holy Moly Ravioli!
This has been quite the week, guys. So many things.
Here are some things that we know:
- Ramps are the darling of the moment, literally everywhere we look.
- The weather is finally, maybe, perhaps deciding to accept spring?
- This website is purposely named Sunshine and Raviolis, and I have yet to share a dish that includes, what else, but raviolis.
Some things you all may not know:
- Our wedding reception was held at Gramercy Tavern, and we have since gone back many times, making dear friends at this truly inspiring restaurant.
- I geek out over food industry people more than Hollywood celebrities. My crushes tend to be more Carlo Mirarchi, less Bradley Cooper. (Carlo has full disclosure, it's probably fine.)
- Frank and I have been talking about egg yolk raviolis for roughly three years, after our first encounter with them at Maialino, which is also owned by Gramercy Tavern's Danny Meyer.
While I have a couple of other dishes to put up on here, there are three reasons why I'm sharing last night's dinner before the others. One, I finally attempted to make my version of Maialino's egg yolk ravioli, whose process was explained to me the last time we dined there by the sous chef. Two, I posted a photo of my end result on Instagram, and both Maialino and Executive Chef Nick Anderer "liked" it (!*), and three, Frank met Danny Meyer on his way home tonight! And I've been completely losing it since he came home and told me of their random conversation on 20th Street.
Yesterday, I had a couple of ingredients kicking around the kitchen that I figured could produce dinner. A few links of sweet Italian sausage, canned lentils, ricotta, ramps. An old primi course from Maialino popped into my head - the pig's foot surrounded by lentils. What if I made my version of this...and topped it with a few of those yolk raviolis? Boom.
The decision was made. I sauteed about one-third of a small onion in butter, then added the crumbled sausage to the pan, followed by a little over half a can of lentils, seasoning as I went. Sliced up a handful of shiitakes, tossed those in as well. A little olive oil, a dash of beef stock, and a dab of tomato paste. The heartiness of the meal was ready.
Onto the raviolis. I had just enough eggs in the fridge to pull this off, fingers crossed. I rolled out dough for four ravs. Piped ricotta into ringed nests. Sprinkled in salt, pepper, finely chopped ramps, then very carefully separated the yolks and even more carefully set them within the ricotta-ramp nests. Sealed them up. Phew.
Okie-doke. Slowly I lowered these guys into the pot of boilingly hot water. If an egg is perfectly hard-boiled in six minutes, these surely would take less time? I have no idea. After what seemed like hours but was more likely about two or three minutes, I rescued the raviolis. More fingers crossed.
The base of the dish was finished off with a little more salt and pepper, ramps and butter. Topped with the raviolis and accompanied by a salad of roasted kale, Brussels sprouts and sliced almonds in a classic lemon and oil dressing, it was go time. Make or break. Get it?
And...holy moly ravioli. We dug into the ravs and the velvety yolks oozed out, melting the ricotta and creating a sauce just as I had hoped would happen. Frank and I were both elated - just like Maialino's - except much more rough-looking than my usual raviolis, obviously not as decadently amazing and of course not professional by any means. But this was a personal little success for me. I managed not to break any of the yolk-filled pasta pockets, forced spring into an otherwise wintry dish with the addition of bright herbs, ramps and vegetables, and had someone other than Frank or my mom be impressed with a dish I posted online!
This has been a bit of a coincidental week so far, between the raviolis, the acknowledgement from Chef Anderer and an actual meet and greet of sorts with Danny Meyer himself.
Time to strategize for the next attempt at these heavenly raviolis.
*There are far too many exclamation points in this story. I apologize for my excitedness turning borderline sorority sister tonight.