3 Course meal
Caramelised onion & goat’s cheese ravioli al Limone
What you’ll need
- Onions
- Garlic
- Balsamic vinegar
- Ricotta
- Parmesan
- Goat’s cheese
- Lemon (juiced & finely zested)
- Butter
- Spinach
- Eggs
- 00 Flour
- Salt
- Pepper
Ravioli preparation
Caramelised Onions
Heat olive oil over medium heat in a skillet and add in finely sliced onions. Cook the onions for at least 30 minutes, but preferrably closer to an hour, stirring occasionally to ensure they’re not sticking or burning (you may need to turn down the heat as they cook).
After approx. 10 minutes, sprinkle over some salt to help draw out more moisture. If they start to get too dry in the pan, add a splash of water as needed. Continue cooking the onions until they have reached a deep brown colour and optionally add in a splash of balsamic vinegar and cook out for another minute or two.
Pasta dough
Ravioli filling
Heat a pan of water over the stove till boiling and prepare a bowl of cold water with ice cubes. Add in the spinach (in batches if needed) and blanch for ~30 seconds, and then remove and place into the cold water.
In a blender add the goat’s cheese, ricotta and blanched spinach along with a few cracks of pepper. Blend until the spinach is well incorporated and chopped finely. Transfer the blended mixture and add into a bowl along with the caramelised onions and mix until well combined.
Bringing it all together
Roll out the pasta dough into 2 large, very thin sheets. Add a dollop of filling for each ravioli onto one of the pasta sheets. Once all the fillings are placed, cover them with the other pasta sheet. Press down around each filling to remove any air pockets. Using a knife or pizza wheel, cut out the ravioli and crimp the edges using a fork if desired.
To cook, add them to a pot of lightly boiling water and cook until they float to the top (should only be a few minutes). Make sure to reserve the pasta water for the sauce.
Pasta al limone sauce
Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add in the finely minced garlic and lemon zest and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Slowly add in 1/2 cup of the pasta water, whisking continuously until you have a nicely emulsified sauce. Add in the grated parmesan and whisk rapidly to thicken. If the sauce becomes too thick, add some more pasta water to loosen. Add in the lemon juice to taste and finally season with salt and pepper as required.
Add in the ravioli and gently mix until they’re coated with the sauce. Serve with an additional grating of parmesan and lemon zest.
Sous vide duck ballotine with broccoli puree & pan sauce
What you’ll need
- Butter
- Duck breast with skin
- Mustard
- Fresh thyme
- Broccoli
- Butter @ room temperature
Duck skin crumb preparation
The night before, carefully remove the skin from the duck breasts. Place the skins on a baking paper lined baking sheet and freeze overnight.
The next day, remove the frozen duck skins and add into a food processor. Blend until it’s broken up into small pieces. Add the duck skin to a small saucepan and place over low heat to begin to render out the duck fat. Continue cooking until the dufat is rendered and the skin has crisped up and taken on a brown colour. Strain out the duck fat from the crispy skin and place onto a paper towel lined plate.
Duck ballotine & pan sauce
Using a meat tenderiser or other heavy implement, bash the duck breast till it is an even thickness and increased in size. Spread a teaspoon of Dijon mustard over each breast and season with salt and pepper to taste. Roll each breast up as tightly as possible and tie off with 2 or 3 lengths of butcher’s twine. Either vacuum seal the duck or place into a snap-lock bag ready for sous-vide.
Heat the sous-vide water to 57°C and once up tomperature, add in the bagged duck breasts. Cook for around 1 hour, until the duck has reached an internal temperature of 57°C. Once cooked, remove from the water, take out the duck ballotines and pat each one dry (make sure to reserve the liquid in the sous-vide bag for the pan sauce).
Lightly season the outside of the ballotines with salt and heat a skillet over high heat. Sear each of the ballotines until a deep golden brown all around, this should be done quickly at a high heat to avoid overcooking the meat.
Fondant poatoes
Peel the potatoes and slice off each end so they lie flat either side. Heat the reserved duck fat in a pan over medium low heat and add in the potatoes, cut-side down, when the fat has come up to temparature. Cook for 5-7 minutes until a deep golden brown, then flip and fry on the other side. Once the second side is cooked, add in the butter and melt. Then add in the garlic and herbs and cook until fragrant. Add in the chicken stock carefully and simmer for 25-30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
Broccoli puree
Roughly cut up the broccoli, heat a pot of water till boiling and fill a mixing bowl with water and ice. Once the pot is boiling, add in the broccoli (in batches if needed) and boil for 2 minutes till bright green and barely tender. Remove the broccoli with a slotted spoon and add in to the ice water to cool. Make sure to reserve the broccoli cooking water for the puree step.
Add the broccoli into a blender along with some salt and pepper for seasoning. Start pouring in some of the reserved cooking water to help bring it together. Make sure to only add enough extra liquid to bring it together into a thick puree, you don’t want it to be too thin or soupy. While blending, add in the butter and blend till combined.
Add the puree back to the stove and cook off for a few minutes to thicken. Add any more salt or pepper as required.