Monday, May 19, 2014

Top Chef Canada: Lemon Ricotta Tortellini

Last week was the Top Chef Canada finale episode where the three final cheftestants cooked their hearts out for the prize and the title of Top Chef Canada. If you haven’t seen it yet, this post is full of spoilers,but then if you haven’t seen it after a week, you probably aren’t a huge fan anyway. I hosted a viewing party with lots of small bites to keep us fueled up for the competition, and while our group was divided amongst rooting for Rich or Terry, none of us expected Rene to win.  Not that Rene isn’t a great cook but all of us felt that he had displayed a talent for only one type of cuisine and Top Chef should be able to creatively execute on any cuisine. In our not-so-humble opinions, of course.

So as I bid adieu to all of the chefs that have graced my home for this season, I decided to pay an homage to all of them by cooking one dish from each of their final meals.  This week I went with Terry Salmond’s lemon ricotta tortellini, mostly because it’s the one I most wanted to eat.

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I would have to say that there is nothing I love more than a good pasta. It’s my go-to comfort food of choice.

There are quite a few components in this dish but I recommend starting with the filling. They key to a good ravioli or tortellini is keeping the filling inside the pasta when it’s cooking right?  So your first step should be to thoroughly drain the ricotta.  Take a half pound container of whole milk ricotta and drain it in a fine sieve or colander lined with cheese cloth.  I do this at room temp to encourage more of the whey to drain off. The wetter the filling the more difficulty you will have when filling and sealing the tortellini.

While the ricotta is draining (I let it drain for several hours), prepare the eggplant.
I used mini italian eggplants that I sliced thin and tossed with salt. Let the eggplant weep and then place in a dehydrator.  Since my eggplant was very thin and small the chips only took about 2 hours in the dehydrator.

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They should be quite crunchy and warning - they are addictive, I might make myself a bowl full as an evening TV snack in the future!

Next, mix the pasta dough, as you will need to let it rest for a minimum of 30 minutes.  I used, 2 cups all purpose flour (according to Terry, if you have 00 flour available, you should use that for a silkier dough with a better bite) 3 whole eggs and 1 Tbsp olive oil. Mix in the usual way, making a well in the flour, add beaten eggs and oil and slowly incorporate the flour, using only as much as the dough wants to absorb. knead until smooth and wrap in plastic film and rest for at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, I roasted some grape tomatoes drizzled with olive oil and sea salt in a 325 oven until they start to burst. Set aside and work on the corn puree and filling.

For the corn puree, (and I made my own, since I wasn’t sure how Terry made his) Saute one minced shallot in olive oil until translucent, add 1 1/2 cups corn kernels and sauté until corn gives up its liquids. Add 1/4 cup cream and place in a blender. Blend until smooth. Place a fine sieve or use a chinois to press out the solids from the corn puree. Return to the pan and place on a gentle heat - at this point I added a bit of cayenne to the corn puree since it was very, very sweet.

For the filling; Mix drained ricotta with one egg at room temp, chopped basil, finely grated zest from 1 lemon, 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside in the fridge while you roll out the pasta.

I rolled my pasta into sheets using my kitchen aid pasta attachment to the number 4 setting.  You could go one notch thinner but no thicker since the edges of the pasta will be doubled. Using a circle cutter, cut out rounds and place a scant tsp of filling atop.

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Brush the edges of the dough with egg wash and fold over, carefully removing air pockets (which create steam pockets during cooking and can burst the tortellini) and seal in a crescent shape. Bring the edges of the crescent together and seal tightly to form the classic tortellini shape and set aside on parchment paper while you fold the remaining tortellini.

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Cook the pasta in boiling, well salted water until done approximately 6 minutes depending on the size and thickness of your tortellini.

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To Plate; place a spoonful of corn puree on the bottom of a shallow bowl (use less than I did in the photos as it is overpowering otherwise) place roasted tomatoes on the plate, add drained tortellini and garnish with fresh slivers of parmesan cheese and the eggplant chip.

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The tortellini was absolutely wonderful, we didn’t care for it as much with the corn puree, though the puree was spectacular with the eggplant and tomatoes.  I would definitely make this again but I think I would serve it with a light basil oil.  It may be due to the fact that Terry used fine herbs, which I did not have available, they would have a stronger flavor than my subtle basil and perhaps pair better with the corn puree.  At any rate, do try this dish - we loved it!

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