Boriana Chestnut Pasta Ravioli with Golden Gate Foie Gras and Seasonal Apple Nage
from Russell Jackson, aka Dissident ChefServes 4 to 6
INGREDIENTS:
For the Pasta
½ cup Boriana Chestnut flour
½ cup organic unbleached all purpose flour
1 egg
pinch salt
For the Foie Gras Cure
2 cups kosher salt
4 tablespoons sugar
½ cup curing salt
3 ½ tablespoons fine white pepper
For the Foie Gras Filling
3 pounds foie gras
1 pack gelatin
1 small bottle Beaume Devanise
For the Apple Nage
3 apples – Cameo, Arkansas Black, or Jonagold Apples
1 shallot, minced
1 cup Bianco Vermouth
1 cup water
splash of champagne vinegar
pinch salt
pinch fennel pollen (see information below)
1 stick high grade butter
pork jelly (see information below)
PREPARATION:
For Pasta:
Pasta preparation the night before service
1. Place both flours into mixer with a dough hook. Turn mixer to low, add egg to form ball and season with pinch of salt. Knead with dough hook until dough becomes slightly elastic, about 10 minutes. Remove dough and wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
For Foie Gras Filling:
Foie Gras preparation 2 nights before service
1. In a bowl, mix together all ingredients for the foie gras cure.
2. Cut foie gras into 2-inch cubes.
3. In a separate bowl, measure 3 tablespoons of cure mixture and add to it the cubes of foie gras, mix well.
4. Cryovac the foie gras mixture, place in the refrigerator overnight and marinate for 12 hours.
Foie Gras preparation 1 night before service
5. Set up a large pot with water for poaching. Water should be at 180°F. Also prepare a large bowl with ice water.
6. Remove the foie gras mixture from the Cryovac, place onto parchment paper. Roll the mixture in the parchment paper into a long cylinder, twist each end to close tightly and hold the shape.
7. Wrap the parchment cylinder now in cheesecloth, in the same manner, ensuring the roll is tight and even.
8. To maintain the shape of the cylinder, use butcher’s twine, and tie 3 knots around the foie gras cylinder in 3 equal segments. First tie the ends of the cylinder and then find the middle and make the third knot.
9. Poach the foie gras in the 180°F water for 90 seconds. Remove and immediately place foie gras cylinder into ice water for 40 seconds to stop the cooking process.
10. Wrap the foie gras (still in the cheesecloth) in a sturdy kitchen towel. Again, tie three equal segments using butcher’s twine around the cylinder, this time include a loop at one end to hang the foie gras in the refrigerator to rest for 12 hours.
11. In a sauce pan, mix the gelatin, with the Beaume Devanise, heat on low until the gelatin has dissolved. Pour gelatin into a cookie tray and refrigerate overnight.
Foie Gras preparation day of service
12. Using scissors, remove the twine, towel and cheesecloth and parchment from the foie gras roll. The log will be discolored from poaching. To remove the discoloration, use a paring knife, gently scrape the outside of the foie gras. Reserve this for the nage recipe.
13. Remove the gelatin from the refrigerator and cut into small pieces.
14. Slice the remaining foie gras into 1 inch thick rounds. Using a stiff spatula, pass the rounds through a very fine sieve into a bowl, producing a puree.
15. Using a spatula, beat the foie gras until soft and smooth. Fold in the gelatin pieces at the last minute and transfer contents to a piping back without a tip. Keep slightly cool.
Pasta Preparation
1. Using a pasta roller, roll out pasta into long strips in preparation for making ravioli.
2. Pipe a 1 ounce portion of foie gras filling along the pasta strip and roll pasta in desired ravioli shape.
Nage Preparation
1. Dice apples and sauté in a sauce pot with reserved foie gras bits and the minced shallot. Season with champagne vinegar, fennel pollen and salt.
2. Once the mixture begins to gain color, add the Bianco Vermouth and flambé. Add water or stock and bring to a simmer. Reduce mixture by 1/3 and puree.
3. Place mixture back into a sauce pot and bring back to a simmer.
Plating Preparation
1. Poach ravioli until slightly al dente and place in the sauce pot with the nage, mount with butter and glob of pork jelly.
2. Plate, eat, make love….
Pork Jelly - Is a mixture of leftover pig organs, such as trotters, ears and snouts, boiled in vinegar, bay leaves, chili pepper and lemon and then pickled in their own jelly.
The preparation of pork jelly includes placing lean pork meat, trotters, rind, ears and snout in a pot of cold water, and letting it cook over a slow fire for three hours. The broth is allowed to cool while also removing any undesirable fat. Subsequently, white vinegar and the juice of half an orange or lemon can be added to the meat so that it is covered. The entire mixture is then allowed to cool. Bay leaves or chili are added to the broth for added taste.
Fennel Pollen - The fennel plant grows wild on the sunny inland and coastal fields of California. With its umbels of tiny yellow flowers and dark green or bronze wispy leaves, fennel is an extremely aromatic plant with many uses. The essence of the flavor is in the flowers. These flowers are collected at the peak of bloom and carefully dried and screened for the pollen.