During the Christmas period we usually create rich menus that will make special the holiday. A touch of class and some good ideas will allow you to create elaborate dishes with few ingredients. Having guests at lunch is always a pleasure, but sometimes it could be unnerving if you don’t know what to prepare. Moreover there are people that don’t like to stay in front of the cookers for long time. So, in my opinion preparing the stuffed pasta a day before is a fantastic idea for those people who don’t want to grow old in the kitchen on Christmas day … So take pen and paper and start writing all the necessary ingredients to make a rich and fast first course!
Serves: 4
For the egg pasta:
- 200 grams flour 00
- 2 fresh eggs
For the squid ink pasta:
- 100 grams flour 00
- 1 sachet of squid ink
- 1 fresh egg
For the stuffing:
- 300 grams sheep ricotta cheese
- 130 grams smoked salmon
- 30 grams grated Parmigiano Reggiano
- a spoon of brandy
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 peeled garlic clove
- Freshly ground white pepper to taste
For the seasoning:
- Butter
- Red lumpfish roe
- Black lumpfish eggs
- some stems of chives
Method
Start preparing the filling. Drain the ricotta into a fine mesh sieve for about 1 hour. Chop finely the smoked salmon slices. Heat some oil with the garlic clove, add the salmon, blend with the brandy and let it cook for a few moments. Remove from the heat, remove the garlic and let it cool. Then place the fish in a bowl, add ricotta and the remaining ingredients. Mix well and set aside.
Prepare the dough with squid ink. Place the flour on a wooden pastry board, add the egg and the squid ink and begin to knead. The dough have to be smooth, so it will have to be worked for about 10 minutes. Form a ball, cover with cling film and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Proceed in the same way for the other type of dough without squid ink. Divide the dough into small loaves. Take one, while the others leave them wrapped in the cling film so they will not dry up. Roll the pasta dough through a pasta machine, starting from the widest setting, and gradually going down the settings until the arrow is between 0 and 1. The pasta dough should be very thin ( about 1 mm thickness). Lay carefully a rectangle of pastry dough on the pastry board. Make circles of dough with the special tool for mezzelune. Place the circle on the mold and put a teaspoon of filling in the center. Close it making the classic mezzelune pasta shape. Seal the edges well.
Cook them in plenty of lightly salted water. Melt the butter in an aluminum pan, add the lumpfish eggs and a few stems of chives. Drain the pasta and stir in the pan. Serve with fresh chives.