Lobster Ravioli (Or how I prepare for a diet...)

Ravioli d'Aragosta

     About once every quarter She and I try to bring the bods back to square one by doing our own little detox diet - basically gluten-free, pescatarian, no preservatives...  Unfortunately an impending diet for us means going all out up until that point.  As it turned out, Lobster Ravioli from fresh pasta sheets was on our bill for the evening.

     She and I tag-teamed this meal actually, that is, after I bought a new toy from B, B, & B.  I got everything rolling with a poaching liquid for the lobster tail.

SuperSized Shrimp Sauna

     Court Bouillon

• 1/2 medium onion
• Peel of one orange
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 rosemary sprig
• 1 celery stalk
• 1 bay leaf
• 10 juniper berries
• Salt

     I simply brought the bath to a simmer and submerged the tail for about 8 minutes.  Then, I took the pot off the heat and let it cool.  Meanwhile, She was busy making pasta.  It took a hot minute bet then she threw the measuring cup out the window - what a wonderful idea!  In all seriousness, that pasta came together so well in comparison to the measured junk - all in the technique I suppose.  Actually, what She doesn't know is that she'll now be the designated pasta maker -- Surprise!

Allison with her new toy and Cucchiaio d'Argento

     After I let the tail cool down, I retrieve the meat and put it into a pot with some strained Court Bouillon and some dried small shrimp - ten to be exact - not trying to go Eastern here, just trying to add some backbone to the stock.  I reduced this stock by almost 90% as to intensify the sauce I would build from it.  While I was reducing the stock, I diced and sweated one red bell, one green bell, and one shallot.  Then I deglazed with approximately 1 Boatload of Brandy and tossed in the lobster meat, ricotta, and some pecorino to combine into a filling for the pasta sheets.

I suppose I ended up with a new kitchen toy as well...

     We took the filling and filled the freshly rolled out pasta sheets - absolute fun and rewarding at the same time.  There really was a difference between fresh pasta, especially in this case where we split a pound of lobster between 18 ravioli!  While we let the pasta firm up a bit in the cooler, I warmed the stock with some brandy, tomatoes(couldn't find San Marzanos so I subbed some fire roasted instead), and cream and finished with some basil.

The first half resting while the second half hits the brink.

     These puppies came out phenomenal.  Actually, there wasn't anything fancy technique wise or exotic ingredients.  It simply was a nice dinner that She and I both enjoyed after coming together to prepare a great meal.  It was definitely nap worthy post pasta frenzy.