Sam's Kitchen

I find so much comfort in making these little goodies. They remind me of my childhood and my lovely nanna, who was an exceptional cook and with whom I’ve spent a great deal of time making all thing pastry and dough.

It was such a fortune for us, my older sister and I, to have our nan and our aunts and cousins live not only on the same street but right next door to our childhood home. There were so many big life lessons learnt about close relationships – the importance of love, respect and support within the family and close friends.  I carry an immense appreciation for having such amazing life lesson opportunities in the early years of my life.

While my little munchkins aren’t blessed with the same fortune and don’t get to see their grandparents, aunts and uncles very often due to the longest distances, however, I try my best to create the most flourishing environment for them to grow. And so we go into the kitchen and they help me as good as they can. It is not always easy and sometimes I have serious struggles to keep smiling while my favourite tea towel is being fed to the dog (oh, yes, the dog has its own little quirks; eating my wooden spoons and tea towels is a norm!), but I’m taking it as another life lesson.

Serves 4-6
Preparation and cooking time 2 hours

Ingredients 

Pasta dough

3 eggs
2 cups “00” Superfine, mid protein plain flour plus extra for dusting
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp coarse salt

Veal filling

350g veal mince ( ground veal )
1 small onion finely diced
1 garlic clove crushed
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh chives
1 tbsp finely chopped flat leaf parsley ( hard stems removed )
1/2 tsp mixed dry herbs  such as Italian herbs ( optional )
1/2 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

6-8 cups Chicken stock or water
1-2 bay leaves
1 dried red chilli ( optional )

To serve

1 onion, thinly sliced
50-70g butter

1 cup plain yoghurt or sour cream
1 garlic clove crushed
pinch of  sea salt

Method

1. Sieve the flour into a bowl of a stand mixer, mix the salt and make a well. Add eggs and olive oil. Knead into a hard dough. Adding more flour if the dough is too tacky or a little bit of cold water if the dough is too dry. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for 30 min to 1 hour.
2.  In the meantime, place veal mince into a bowl and mix in the onion, garlic, herbs, salt and pepper.
3. Divide the dough into 2-3 equal size pieces and shape into balls.
4. On a floured surface or using a pasta machine roll out one piece of dough into 2mm thick disc. Using a circular cutter ( wine glass works just as fine, but don’t press too hard!) cut out 2-inch circles.
5. Place 1 tsp of the veal mixture into the middle of each circle. Wet the tip of your finger and run it around the edges of the circle. Press sides together to create a crescent, ( press firmly around the feeling to remove any air ). Bring the two points of the crescent together placing one on top of another and pinch tightly creating round tortellini shape, ( add an extra dab of water if too dry and not sticking well ).
   Continue with the rest of the circles and repeat the steps with the remaining piece of the dough.
6. In a bowl mix creme fraiche with crushed garlic and a pinch of salt.
7. Melt butter in a frying pan place sliced onion in and cook over a medium heat until caramelised, 5-10 min.
8. In a large pot bring chicken stock, bay leaf and dried chilli to a boil. Drop ravioli in and cook for 7 minutes or till cooked to your liking. Remove from stock using a colander spoon.
9. Serve ravioli in a bowl of stock they were cooked in topped with garlic yoghurt dressing and caramelised onions.