Episode 2: Scampi Ravioli & Bisque

Scampi Ravioli and Bisque from My Kitchen Rules New Zealand

Ingredients

Onion x 1 medium diced
Celery x 1 stem diced
Carrots x 1 medium diced
Chicken stock x 500m, (If using store bought, make sure you reduce it until it has the intensity of flavour that you like)
Fish stock 250ml (If using store bought, make sure you reduce it until it has the intensity of flavour that you like)
Scampi, raw whole x 750gm
Tomato paste x 1 Tbsp
Cornflour x 1 Tbsp
Butter x 75gm
Cayenne pepper
Salt
Pepper
Bay leaf x 1
Fresh sage and thyme, chopped finely
Brandy x 60ml
Ara white wine x 100ml
Flour 200g
Eggs x 2
Mascarpone x 125gm
Chives x 1 Tbsp and garnish, chopped finely
Lemon x 1 (Juice used to balance flavour in bisque and zest for ravioli filling)
Cream x 100ml
Olive oil
Garlic, minced x 1 Tsp
Water

Method

Bisque

Remove heads of scampi by twisting where it joins the body, then with scissors, cut the body of the shell down the middle on the inside, until you hit the base of the tail. Now remove the shell, keeping grip on the tail end. You should pull out the intestinal tract as you remove the shell; if not, you will need to use the end of the knife to pick out a small section of the intestine and then pull it out.

In a large saucepan or stock pot, brown off scampi frames and heads in a splash of olive oil until they have changed colour and have released some delicious flavours, then add a little butter, stir. Add your onion, carrot and celery and a little salt and pepper and cook until the onion is translucent.

Make a well in the centre of the saucepan, add a generous knob of butter and add garlic. Once garlic is starting to brown, add tomato paste and stir. Now add cornflour, stir until the mixture is starting to catch a little on the bottom of the pan, then while on a high heat, add brandy and flambe. Continue stirring and cook until flames have extinguished. Then deglaze the pan again with white wine, cook until the alcohol smell has dissipated.

Add aromates, and enough water to cover shells, simmer for 30 min until the volume has halved. Strain liquid, Remove heads and larger shell pieces, blend and strain through a fine mesh sieve. Taste, add finished stock, reduce until 1/2 the volume.

Taste, add cream, cayenne pepper, salt if needed, blend again, sieve again. Let the bisque simmer at a low to medium heat, for 5 min but do not let it boil as it may split. Now add a knob of cold butter and blitz again. If required, strain the bisque again.

Now taste to ensure you have the right balance of flavour, you can use salt to increase flavour, lemon juice to reduce saltiness, sugar to sweeten and cayenne for heat.

Ravioli

Put the flour and eggs in a food processor with the blade attachment and blitz until the flour and eggs come together. Remove from the food processor and knead lightly until the pasta comes together into a nice ball. Wrap in grease proof paper and put to the side for 15 mins.

Chop the scampi into fine pieces but don’t mince it - you want to have some decent bits in there. Combine in a bowl with mascarpone, lemon zest, chives and season well with salt and pepper. Cover with glad wrap and leave to the side - don’t refrigerate as you want this at room temperature.

Cut your pasta dough into four pieces and one piece at a time, gradually put through the pasta roller from the biggest setting to the smallest. Dust with flour between rolls to make sure it’s not sticky. If you think the pasta is too dry, you’re doing it right.

Lay out one sheet of the pasta and use a cookie cutter to mark out the bottom of the ravioli. In the centre of each circle place a teaspoon of the Scampi mix.

Brush around each circle with a beaten egg, then lay another sheet of pasta over the top and press down around each scampi pile with your fingers. Using the cookie cutter, cut out each ravioli and place on a sheet of baking paper. Repeat for the next two sheets of pasta.

Bring a pot of water to the boil with a generous amount of salt. Boil the ravioli in the water for two minutes and remove to a paper towel to drain.