Recipe by Aaron Vandemark, chef & owner of Panciuto | Dec. 17, 2015 –
If you like making pasta and you happen to have an abundance of radishes and a mandolin, give this a try.
This recipe is unconventional in the sense that it isn’t quantified. Allow yourself the freedom to taste, using your palate to make quantifiable decisions during the cooking process. You must taste as you go!
You will need:
- Radishes
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Ricotta
- Scallions
- Lemon
- Pepper
- Whole wheat pasta dough (use your favorite recipe. Perhaps try this one or this one?)
- Cream
- Butter
- Italian parsley
- Breadcrumbs (optional)
Directions:
- Wash the bunch of radishes (greens too!), then cut your radish greens at the base. Shave the radishes very thinly, almost translucent. Put aside.
- Lightly dress the radish greens in olive or garlic oil, salting ever so lightly. Toss the radish tops and the attached greens on a hot grill until they lightly char in places but remain mostly green (usually in the 15-20 second range). Remove from the grill and chop finely.
- Combine the radish tops and greens to your ricotta. Your ricotta quantity should be double that of your grilled greens. The idea is to get that grilled greens flavor to permeate the milky ricotta, so add more or less as you like. Chop a few scallions and add to the ricotta mixture. Add a wiggle of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon. Stir well and season to taste with salt and pepper. Taste and make adjustments to your quantities as you see fit. When it tastes good, your filling is done.
- Roll your pasta ball to the lowest setting so you have an even number of pasta sheets. Place dollops of filling on your first sheet of pasta, spacing them the same distance apart as the dollop is wide. (I prefer a smaller ravioli for this filling.) Drag a watered finger between the filling and lay your second sheet of pasta on top. Starting at one end, seal the ravioli, pressing between and around each filling pushing the air out as you go until you reach the other end of the pasta sheet. Cut the ravioli. Set aside.
- Put together the sauce by adding a few tablespoons of water and a single tablespoon of cream to a large saute pan. Add a stick or two of butter. Over low heat, melt this mixture down stirring most of the time to emulsify the butter. Once melted, keep your heat low and add more water or butter as needed to create a slightly viscous buttery emulsion. Add your shaved radishes. Add some chopped Italian parsley and more sliced scallions. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Cook your ravioli. They’ll cook for about a minute or two at most.
- Add your cooked ravioli, toss well, and continue to warm it for another minute or two, allowing the two parts to meld. Serve with a few breadcrumbs on top.
About the Chef: Aaron Vandemark, chef and owner of Panciuto, grew up in Durham and Chapel Hill, NC. After graduating from Emory University with an economics degree and moonlighting in the restaurant underbelly, he made the decision to pursue a career in the restaurant business. Johnson and Wales culinary school followed along with restaurant jobs from North Carolina to Atlanta and back again.
In 2006, Aaron opened Panciuto in Historic Downtown Hillsborough. The restaurant focuses on cooking with products raised in our area by great farmers that keep the land and their animals healthy and happy. He shared this recipe with us in 2009.