Heart Shaped Lobster Ravioli
I absolutely adore cooking with my mom because she cooks with so much wisdom and laid back-ness. And I also get to see from where I get all my tendencies to spill. It's really not my fault. I can blame my mom.
Every time my mom visits I usually find an excuse to rope her into cooking something. A decade ago it was my husband's big 30th birthday, another year it was a church lunch. This visit I decided she would help me out with a Valentine's Day inspired dish for Tsar Nicoulai.
If you're cooking for someone for Valentine's Day, you really want it to show that you went out of your way to make it extra special. That you thought about the person and how much you care about them while you made them something to eat together. I instantly thought of fresh pasta. Fresh pasta just puts out that "I care about you" vibe. Plus my mom is really good at pasta.
She quickly whipped up some pasta dough in the food processor without a recipe of course, so I grabbed a recipe online that looks identical to what she did (see below). After the dough rested we rolled it out with a pasta roller to no thicker than a nickel. We then cut out hearts out of the pasta sheets with a cookie cutter. So cheesy, I know, but, well, Valentine's Day.
While the dough was resting we made our filling. We mixed some steamed, cleaned and chopped lobster with ricotta, salt and pepper to taste (secret short cut: ask the seafood department if they can steam the lobster for you). You can add some parmigiana to the filling if you want, or some herbs. You can also save some nice big pieces of lobster for garnish. We spooned the filling onto half the hearts, then topped them with another pasta heart and sealed the edges. Then we threw them in to some salted boiling water until they were done.
While the ravioli were cooking, I made the cream sauce. The cream sauce basically comes together by sauteing some finely chopped shallot in butter, pouring in a bit of white wine and letting it reduce by about half, then stirring in some heavy cream and reducing again until the sauce has thickened. Also, season with salt to taste. Pool the sauce on the plate, top with the lobster ravioli hearts, and top with whatever Tsar Nicoulai caviar or roe is your favorite (we happen to like the flavor and the color of the Beet & Saffron for this particular dish). Chopped greens for color.
It is not too late to order some caviar or roe for Valentine's Day! We are still running our Valentine's Day special - 25% off with promo code vday19 - until February 14th, 2019.
Also, visit our Instagram feed for information on how to enter our Giveaway! One lucky winner will receive our Estate Collection Party Set to enjoy on Valentine's Day. Deadline to enter is February 11th at 12pm (PST). USA mailing addresses only.
Na Zdarovye,
Olga
Pasta Dough (recipe from www.thekitchn.com)
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
Method
1. Combine the flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade attachment. Pulse a few times to combine.
2. Crack the eggs on top of the flour.
3. Put the lid on the food processor and process for 30-60 seconds until the dough comes together into a rough ball.
4. If the dough doesn't come together after a minute and looks like small pebbles or cous cous, add a teaspoon of water and process again. Repeat until the dough comes together.
5. If the dough is sticky and smears against the sides of the bowl, add a tablespoon of flour and process again. Repeat until the dough comes together.
6. Remove the dough from the food processor. Knead against the counter a few times until it comes together into a smooth ball.
7. Dust the dough with a little flour and place it in a small mixing bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.