Christmas Day Cooking Project – Pear-Chestnut Ravioli

Holidays are meant to be special, and yet now we have had almost a full year of altered celebrations. I know that Christmas looks a lot different for everyone this year. Even though we don’t celebrate Christmas, I really miss our traditional dinner at a local Chinese restaurant with friends, when we also run into many other Jewish families we know.

The fact is, though, I used to celebrate Christmas. Never in a religious way, of course, but as children we got gifts from Santa and sometimes even had a small tree. For a long time – until we were old enough to go out and buy things ourselves – my parents wouldn’t allow any purchased decorations. So with our cousins, I remember making paper chains and stringing popcorn with cranberries with a needle and thread. (Now that I’m older, I’m guessing this had more to do with keeping us occupied over the long school vacation than any feelings about purchased items!)

When my kids were quite young we celebrated Christmas, though when they got older they would spend Thanksgiving with me and Christmas with their father, which worked fine since we’re Jewish.

Still I miss the holiday joy, and especially this year. So, of course, today, on Christmas Day, since we aren’t going out for Chinese, I decided to take on a project in the kitchen.

Some years back, we were in northern Italy, at a B&B near Parma during the February vacation. The owners recommended a local restaurant to us, inexpensive and unassuming, maybe the equivalent of a pub. In that region what many call ravioli are called tortelli, and we had the most wonderful tortelli di castagne con gorgonzola (chestnut-filled tortelli with gorgonzola sauce). I’ve also had ravioli with pecorino and pears with gorgonzola. So with pears we received as a gift and a bag of cooked, peeled chestnuts in the pantry, I decided to combine them and give it a try!

Pear-Chestnut Ravioli with Gorgonzola Sauce

Makes about 40 ravioli; serves 4 (or more as a first course)

Filling:

• 5.3-ounce bag cooked and peeled chestnuts

• 1 large pear (about 12 ounces), peeled, cored, and cut into large pieces

• ¼ cup ricotta, well-drained

• 2 Tablespoons grated pecorino Romano

• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

• Pinch fresh ground pepper

• Pinch ground nutmeg

Pasta dough:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (8½ ounces)

• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt

• 2 large eggs

• 1-2 Tablespoons water, if needed

Sauce:

• ¾ cup heavy cream

• 2 ounces Gorgonzola or other blue cheese

• 1 Tablespoon grated Parmesan, plus more for serving

Place all filling ingredients into a food processor or blender and purée. Pour into a bowl, cover, and refrigerate for at least an hour.

For the dough, combine the flour, salt, and eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer. My mixer is one of the larger models, and I have to use the paddle mixer at first to get the ingredients to combine. Once the flour is well-moistened, switch to the dough hook. You may have to use a spatula to help the dough on the edges get incorporated. If it really isn’t coming together add a little bit of water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Once the dough has formed, knead with the mixer on low for 5-7 minutes until smooth. Remove from the bowl, shape into a thick rectangular slab, and put into a plastic bag. Let rest for an hour.

Divide the dough into 4 or 5 pieces. Use a pasta roller to roll out the dough in batches. I have a hand-crank Atlas machine, and for ravioli, I usually crank each piece through several times at setting #1, then twice each at #2-3, and then once at #4. Dust your workspace with flour before you lay the sheets of pasta down. My sheets of pasta end up about 3-4 inches wide so it works pretty easily.

Place teaspoon-sized dollops of filling down the length of one pasta sheet at about 1-1½-inch intervals. Fold the pasta sheet over and press to seal on the long edge and between the dollops of filling, getting out as much air as possible. Cut between the ravioli and trim as needed. Move to a tray lined with floured parchment. Continue until you have made all the ravioli (whether you run out of pasta or filling first).

At this point you can let the ravioli sit out for 30 minutes or so before boiling. (You can also freeze some if you aren’t using them all now. If so, freeze on a parchment-lined sheet in a single layer, and once frozen they can be removed to a plastic freezer bag.)

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, in a large, shallow sauté pan, combine the ingredients for the sauce and heat over medium heat until the cheese melts. (If you have frozen half the ravioli, make half the sauce.) Lower the heat and allow to simmer while the ravioli cook.

Gently drop the ravioli into the water and reduce the heat so that they don’t boil too vigorously. Cook for 3-4 minutes until they are all floating. (Frozen ravioli should be boiled directly from frozen, for 5-6 minutes.) Move the pasta pot right next to the sauté pan, and using a spider, gently transfer the ravioli to the pan with sauce. Very gently, so as not to break the ravioli, try to get the sauce to mix a bit with the ravioli. Serve immediately with grated Parmesan.