Take the time to make your own cheese ravioli at home. You will find it is well worth the effort thanks to the wonderful taste.
The cheese filling alone is special, thanks to the young Comté with its slightly nutty, buttery flavour. We further enhanced this with a dollop of butter, browned to the point that it has a slightly nutty taste. They melt together gently as the ravioli cook, bringing out their flavours even more.
For the sauce, this beurre blanc is a classic butter sauce famed in French cuisine. The subtle acidity of the wine complements the intense butter flavour.
Whether you serve the beurre blanc as a thick topping or, thinned with a little water as a broth, is purely a matter of taste.
Ingredients for 3 portions
- 2 eggs (size L)
- 180 g wheat flour (Type 550)
- 60 g butter
- 150 g Comté (young)
- 2 shallots
- 100 ml dry white wine such as Riesling
- 150 g butter (cold)
- Salt
- Pepper
Method:
Prepare the pasta dough:
- Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl.
- Gradually stir in the flour, then knead with clean hands for at least 10 minutes until you have an elastic dough.
- Wrap in a clean tea towel and leave to rest in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
Brown the butter:
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat and let it sizzle, stirring constantly, until the butter turns a medium brown and has a nutty flavour.
- Leave the butter to set completely - you can speed up the process by popping it in the freezer.
Make the filling:
- Coarsely grate the cheese. Set aside about a handful for garnishing. Cut the browned butter into small cubes and knead it into the cheese with clean hands.
- Knead the pasta dough again on a lightly floured work surface and roll it out thinly. Cut the dough into strips approx. 6 cm wide.
- Place approx. 1-1.5 tsp of the cheese mixture onto each strip, leaving a little space between them, and cover with a strip of dough of the same size.
- Press the dough firmly around the cheese filling and cut the ravioli into pieces approx. 6 cm in size.
- Press down the cut edges with the prongs of a fork. Alternatively, use a ravioli mould.
Make the beurre blanc (butter sauce):
- Peel and roughly dice the shallots.
- Pour the white wine into a small saucepan with the shallots and reduce vigorously over a medium heat (to about 30 ml).
- Strain the sauce back into the saucepan.
- Cut the cold butter into small cubes and stir into the wine a little at a time until you get a creamy, slightly thickened sauce. Adjust the consistency to taste with 1-2 tbsp water.
- Season to taste with salt.
- Cook the ravioli in lightly salted water for approx. 3 minutes.
- Divide the beurre blanc between pre-warmed small bowls and place the ravioli in the sauce.
- Season with freshly ground pepper and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese.
