America's Test Chicken: September 2016

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Fresh, Handmade Ravioli and Tortellini with Two Fillings

America's Test Chicken consists of two separate chickens, each with her own take on this cooking thing. Check out Chicken One's related blog, A Travel for Taste where she shares travel stories and recipes collected whenever she ventures abroad. And give Chicken Two's new, also-related blog, Poop from the Coop a read. There you can find stories about her personal adventure re-experiencing the kitchen after many years away. Please join our Facebook group to share your own recipes, kitchen practices and know-how. We are also on Pinterest and Instagram.

The complete recipes appear at the end of this post.

From Chicken One:

Ravioli and Tortellini

There is nothing quite so satisfying as making your own fresh pasta! I've done this a few times, as evidenced by more than one blog post on my travel blog, A Travel for Taste. If you click that handy link, you can find the dough recipe and pictures from the first time Chicken Two and I made pasta together, which was in 2013 in Germany.

So, check out that post and whip up a batch of that dough, roll it out, but don't cut it into strips because this blog post shows you how to make ravioli and tortellini from it. Plus, we're giving you two delicious filling recipes below as well.

My recipe is a mushroom and spinach filling that I kind of made up myself.

Roll out a thin sheet of pasta dough and place on a floured work surface. Using a tablespoon-sized disher or measuring spoon, place mounds of the filling in increments along the sheet of dough.

Leave enough room between the mounds so that there is plenty of space for the ravioli stamp you are using. If you don't have a ravioli stamp, you can use the rim of a glass or even a knife (for square ones).

Roll out a second sheet of dough and place over the mounds of filling. Press the dough sheets together, making sure to get all the air out before pressing the dough together to seal.

Cut with the ravioli stamp:

Here's a closeup of a finished ravioli with no air inside. If you don't get the air out, the ravioli will burst in the water as it cooks and the whole thing will turn into a huge mess. You don't want that!

Now you can either cook them or freeze them for later. To freeze, place them on parchment on a cookie sheet with space between them. Put the whole cookie sheet in the freezer until the ravioli are frozen. Then you can put them in a tightly sealed bag or container and return them to the freezer.

For the tortellini, it's best to not use the fancy edge of the ravioli stamp, so I just used a cookie cutter to make circles. After you place the filling in the middle, dip your finger in water and wet the outer edge of half the circle. Fold over the dough to make a half-moon, squeezing out all the air again before pressing the edges to seal.

Now comes the fun part. Wrap the half-moon around your little finger with the curved edge upward. Press the two ends together to seal. Next, turn the curved edge down away from your finger. And now you have tortellini!

The good thing about fresh pasta and either of these fillings is that you can mix and match. Fill either pasta with either filling and then top with any sauce you like when you serve them. For the mushroom and spinach filling, however, keep the sauce light because a heavy sauce would class with the flavor. I recommend you melt some butter in a pan with some olive oil, saute some garlic in it, toss in a pinch of salt, and spoon over the cooked ravioli. Strew some chopped fresh parsley over the top as a garnish and you're all set!

From Chicken Two:
Molded Ravioli

That heading makes it sound almost artistic. Well, I suppose it could be, if this method hadn't been so frustrating! Don't get me wrong, I love making pasta! And there's nothing more satisfying than making a dish using what I made with my own two little hands.....but jeez!

Ok, let me start by saying it was the first time I've used this ravioli mold. It probably gets easier with more experience.

Bottom is the mold, top acts as the divider and cutter.

After rolling out the sheet of pasta, cut it in half and gently place one layer onto the mold. (it really helps if the sheet is wide. You really need more around the edges than I'm showing here...trust me)

Drop about a tablespoon of filling into each section of the mold. If you underfill, you risk more air pockets later. Took a couple of tries for me to figure than one out! Cover with the second sheet and place the cutting side of the mold on top to form the ravioli.

Here's where I ran into problems. The top is supposed to serve as the cutter. I tried it several ways but it just didn't cut very well and I wound up removing the ravioli from the mold altogether and cutting each one manually with a knife. Even the rolling cutting tool failed me - the knife worked better. I saw a video demonstrating this mold and the guy used a rolling pin to press the top down and cut, but that didn't work for me either. Bummer!

Here you can see what I meant about the air...gently massage the air out. This is before...

This is after.

So that's my less-than-stellar performance! Keep refrigerated until ready to cook or you can freeze them. I have to say it didn't ruin the taste, which was really good served with a Garlic Alfredo sauce. Next time, I will do it without the mold - just my roller and my trusty knife!

Mushroom and Spinach Ravioli and Tortellini Filling Recipe
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup shallots or onions, finely diced
2 gloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon butter
1/2 pound mushrooms of your choice, finely diced

1/2 cup chopped fresh baby spinach
salt and pepper to taste
In a large frying pan over medium heat, saute the shallots or onions in the olive oil until transparent.
Add garlic and butter; saute an additional 2 minutes.
Add mushrooms and spinach and cook for about 10 minutes until the mushrooms are very soft, almost mushy.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
Use to fill ravioli or tortellini.

Spinach and Ricotta Cheese Filling
1/2 tablespoon olive oil 
1 shallot, finely chopped 
8 ounces fresh baby spinach leaves
 salt & pepper
 1 cup ricotta cheese
 4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
 1 egg
 
While the pasta is resting, prepare the filling. Steam the spinach and drain well, pressing the spinach to remove all excess liquid. Chop finely. Heat a large pan over medium heat. Add the olive oil and heat until hot but not smoking. Add shallots and cook for about a minute, stirring so that they do not brown. Add the shallots to the spinach, along with the ricotta, Parmesan cheese and egg. Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt, pepper as needed. 
Use to fill ravioli or tortellini.

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Homemade Chorizo Mexican Sausage + Beef Tamale Filling

The complete recipes appear at the end of this post.

From Chicken One:
Chorizo Sausage
In keeping with the Mexican food theme we are following these days, I made homemade chorizo, which is a pork sausage. Now, if you research the word "chorizo" at all online, you'll find so many variations it will make your head spin! There are Spanish, Portuguese and Mexican varieties; European types use lots of paprika where Mexican types use mainly chili peppers; you can find it in casings or not; it can be cured, smoked or cooked; you get the idea.

Although all my cookbooks and thousands of websites have slightly different recipes, I started with a recipe from a wonderful new cookbook, The Gourmet Mexican Kitchen by Shannon Bard.

I got to use four types of dried chili pepper (from upper left clockwise in the photo): ancho, guajillo, chipotle and de árbol:

I'm slowly learning the differences among chilis by using them. I learned so far (without looking it up) that anchos are dried poblanos and very mild; chipotles are smoked jalepeños; and de árbols will hurt you if you're not careful because they are so hot!

I bought these dried in the local supermarket, which has a great international aisle. They must be rehydrated in boiling water for a half hour or so; I used some small dishes to keep them submerged:

The directions are easy to follow. Here the combined ingredients cook.I've noted before that Mexican cuisine is so similar to Indian cuisine, and the chili peppers and processing are very much alike. In addition, toasting whole spices then grinding them is also similar. I did that with the chorizo spices as well:

Then I put the rehydrated chilis, spice mixture, chopped garlic and salt in a food processor:

This all got ground to a paste:

Then, I just incorporated it into some ground pork.

Viola! Chorizo!

You're supposed to age it in the fridge overnight or for a couple of days, but I fried some up after about an hour to go with the tortillas we made just to try it out. It was good, but I have some things I'd recommend for the next time:
1. use fattier pork - it was a little dry and I had to add cooking oil to the skillet to cook it, a travesty for sausage!
2. use much more of the hot chilis because I like my chorizo spicy; this was very, very mild

In any case, making chorizo was much easier than I expected - and I WILL be making my own sausage from now on. Can't wait to try breakfast sausage, Italian sausage, etc.

From Chicken Two:
Chipotle Beef Tamale Filling

I've had a lot of fun exploring Mexican recipes, but mostly it's been fun exploring the markets filled with spices and food I've never used before. For this recipe, I actually bought the beef from a mexican butcher near me who, it seems, spoke no English. Talk about putting my rudimentary Spanish to the test!
The directions are easy to follow. Here the combined ingredients cook.

..and reduced to a smooth sauce in the blender before returning it to the skillet.

Cook the meat in the broth and remove it to a cutting board. Using two forks, pull the meat apart.

Add the vinegar to the sauce with salt, pepper and sugar to taste, add the meat and toss.

Serve with the tamales.

Couple of hints: Make sure your food processor is tight and in place properly. It will leak otherwise. Also, be sure to cool the meat before trying to pull it apart. It's quite hot and is easier to handle when cooler.

Enjoy!

Mexican Chorizo Recipe

5 whole peppercorns

3 whole cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

2 teaspoons (5 g) paprika

2 teaspoons (10 g) salt

2 dried ancho chilis

1 dried guajillo chili

1 dried chipotle chili

1 dried chili de árbol

2 cloves garlic

3 tablespoons (45 ml) apple cider vinegar

1 pound (450 g) fatty pork, coarsely ground

Grind the peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon, oregano, thyme, paprika and salt in a spice grinder and grind to a powder.

Remove the stems and seeds from the dried chili peppers. Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat and press the chilis into the skillet with a utensil to dry roast them on each side. Place dry-roasted chilis in a bowl and pour boiling water over them to cover. Place a small plate on top to keep them submerged. Let stand 30 minutes til completely rehydrated.

Combine spice mixture, rehydrated chilis, garlic and vinegar in a food processor and process into a paste.

Mix paste and pork thoroughly together with a wooden spoon or your hands.

Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight to allow flavors to marry.Cook

Chipotle Beef Tamale Filling Recipe

4 dried anchos chiles, stemmed, seeded and torn into 1/2 inch pieces

3 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 large onion, chopped

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 Tbsp miced canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp sugar, plus extra as needed

3/4 cup ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground cloves

Salt and Pepper

3 cups beef broth

1 3/4 pounds top blade steaks, trimmed

1 1/2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1. Toast anchos in skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently until fragrant. 2-6 minutes and transfer fo bowl.

2. Heat oil in skillet and add onion and cook until softened. Stir in garlic, chipotle, oregano, sugar, cumin, cinnamon, cloves, 1 tsp salt, and toasted chiles and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in broth and simmer until slightly reduced, about 10 minutes. Transer mixture to blender and process until smooth, about 20 seconds, return to skillet.

3. Season beef with salt and pepper, nestle into skillet, and bring to simmer over medium heat. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook until beef is very tender, about 1 1/2 hours.

Transfer beef to carving board and let cool slightly. Using 2 forks, shred beef into small pieces. Stir vinegar into sauce and season with salt, pepper and sugar to taste. Toss shredded beef with 1 cup sauce. Reheat remaining sauce and serve with tamales.