I hope over the COVID lockdown I have assisted you all to become masters of your kitchens and subsequently the preparers of excellent food for you and your families.
If you have ignored all the recipes of the past, this one is the one to use.
It requires a couple of hours of preparation, but all good things take time and this is no exception. There are two homemade pasta options, both can be made concurrently.
If you a short of a pasta making machine, please buy one. Once you master the pasta you will prefer homemade pasta every time. It’s also important that you know exactly what is in your food. You are cooking this from scratch!
This recipe is in three parts, the Lamb Ragu, the Ravioli and the Fettuccini.
The Ragu takes a good two hours to get right. The longer it is cooked, the better it is. I suggest you make a double batch so you can store it and eat it over several days.
Lam Ragu Ing.
500g diced lamb (available at Maxi Ballarat and Castlemaine in the Meat Department)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion (finely diced)
9 fresh ripe tomatoes (I think I’m over canned tomatoes)
3 sticks of celery (finely diced)
2 carrots (finely diced)
3 sprigs of spring onion (finely chopped)
5 cloves of fresh garlic (finely chopped)
A handful of chopped Continental parsley
2 teaspoons of Massel powdered chicken stock
3 tablespoons of Leggo’s tomato paste
1 cup of red wine (whatever you like)
2 cups hot water
A teaspoon of Murray River pink salt
A good sprinkle of Black Cracked Pepper
Ing. Homemade pasta
300g ‘Tipo 00’ flour
3 eggs
2 tablespoons olive oil
(general rule, 100g flour to 1 egg. 500g flour = 5 eggs, etc.)
Method Lamb Ragu
On medium heat, in a large pot (with lid) on the stovetop, brown the chopped onion in olive oil. Add the lamb, let it brown for about two mins, constantly tossing so nothing sticks. Cut your tomatoes in half and squeeze out the seeds and other internals and place the outer into the pot. We won’t be using the seeds of the tomato. Stir it for about two mins.
Now toss in your diced carrot, celery, spring onions, garlic, parsley, Massel chicken stock, tomato paste, red wine, Murray River pink salt and cracked pepper. Turn up the heat and bring it to boil. The task here is to boil off the alcohol of the red wine. Keep stirring. Five minutes should do it. Now add your 2 cups of boiling hot water. Bring it all to the boil on high heat. Let it boil for about a minute and then turn it down to the lowest heat setting and put on the lid. It should stay in this position now for about two hours. 1.5 hours minimum cooking time. Lift the lid and give it a stir every ten minutes to ensure the base doesn’t burn.
Fresh Pasta
In a mound of flour, add your eggs and olive oil. Mix it all together into a dough and knead it over and over. It is a tough job, but someone’s got to do it! After about 5 minutes of kneading, wrap your dough ball in Glad Wrap and let it rest on the bench.
When you’re ready to roll, cut off about 20% of the dough ball, start to roll it through the pasta roller, at the widest setting, several times then progressively smaller and finer until it has completed six thickness reductions. This is a good fine thickness.
At this stage you can roll it through your fettuccini setting to make fettuccini, or leave it flat to make Ravioli.
To make the ravioli, lay out your flour dusted pasta sheet, take a few pieces of cooked lamb from the Ragu pot and line them up on the pasts sheet (refer to photos). Fold the pasta sheet over, form the Ravioli by sealing each pocket with your fingers, then cut to size and seal the sides by pressing with a fork. The previous ravioli technique is better displayed here: https://maxifoods.net.au/kitchen/homemade-roast-pumpkin-ravioli-with-tomato-and-basil-sauce
The pasta takes about three minutes in salted boiling water to cook and be ready to eat.
Pour on the Lamb Ragu, a sprinkle of fresh Continental Parsley and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
This is a winner and a keeper. It will impress the toughest of critics!
Enjoy!
