Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Crab Ravioli with Saffron Sauce

 
I am going to recommend a romantic tip that may cause controversy. Mostly with the Women. The reason is, I am going to recommend a video game night with your love. I realize while some Women like video games, the vast majority do not enjoy them. They see it as a guy thing or a distraction away from romance. However the majority of Men do like them. I have found that if you sacrifice some time of yours, to do what your love likes, it actually spices things up. He sees that you find his desires and hobbies important. 
Romantic Tip: Have a video game night with your lover. Show him his likes are just as important as yours.
Now on to today's food! Today I am doing a two step post. My reason? I have never cooked fresh caught crab before. I am slightly terrified. I usually pay the extra money at the seafood shop to have them pull out the lump crab meat for me. It is time to look fear right in the eye, and cook these babies myself.

To back up a bit, I got two beautiful fresh caught crabs at the Farmer's market last weekend. I knew immediately what I wanted to make. A dear friend of mine gave me an old ravioli maker that is an antique. Complete with rolling pin and ravioli runner. I wanted to do a special post using this. This is how great grandma used to make her pasta! Fun!

So first thing I am going to do is cook my crabs. Because I am the way I am, I have read numerous articles by now, all telling me how to do it. I decided to adapt from Fish Cooking. I sucked it up and got busy!

I went with boiling them because it is the easiest way to have juicy crab meat to pull out. It was recommended I season my boiling water. You don't have to, but it is recommended, so I did. I used 1 TBSP old bay seasoning and 6 cups boiling water.

Add your crabs, but don't overcrowd the pot. 
The water will drop below a boil when you put the crabs in, so cover and let it come back to a full boil. When it does, cook for 10-15 minutes. When you see crabs floating on the surface, give it another 2-3 minutes.

Once the crabs are ready, carefully extract them with long tongs and set them aside to cool. You can start picking out the meat in a few minutes, or you can wait until they cool completely. This is the lump crab meat you will use for this recipe! That wasn't too bad! 1 fear down, many many more to go!

For the homemade pasta dough you can view my recipe for it HERE, or just used store bought pasta dough.

Crab Ravioli with Saffron Sauce
adapted from Tide and Thyme

1 batch homemade pasta dough
1 pound lump crab meat
1 cup (8 oz) ricotta cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
3 green onions, chopped
salt and pepper
chives, chopped, for garnish

For the sauce:
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
pinch of saffron (5 or 6 threads)
1 Tbsp flour
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
2 tsp tomato paste

On floured surface or using a pasta roller, roll dough out to make a few thin sheets (about 1/16″ thick). 
Gently press ravioli stamp or edge of a glass into the pasta dough to make outlines. Fill each ravoli with about 1 tablespoon of filling. 
Roll out another sheet of pasta, and place on top of the other sheet, pressing down around the filling. Cut the ravoli using a stamp or glass – pressing on edges to make sure they are sealed well. 

For the sauce, melt butter in large saucepan. Add the flour, and whisk for a couple minutes to form a light roux. Slowly add in the chicken stock, and heavy cream – whisking constantly until thickened. Add the saffron, and reduce heat to low, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes. Add the Parmesan cheese, and tomato paste – stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Bring 4 quarts of salted water to a boil. When boiling, drop ravioli in and cook for about 4 minutes. 
Drain pasta and gently toss with the sauce. Sprinkle with chopped chives and serve.

1 comment:

  1. That meal looks amazing. The photos and recipe are greatly appreciated. My husband and I will be celebrating our anniversary soon, and I want to cook something special. We both love seafood, especially crab. I am excited for this turn out as yummy as your dish. http://www.northernfish.com/products/product-list

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