Asparagus Ravioli with Brown Butter Sauce from Fine Cooking Magazine, April 2011

For those who are curious, there are several levels of moving out of one's comfort zone. There's the highest level, which would include someone who has an intense fear of heights deciding to jump out of a plane. I am and I will not. On the other end of the spectrum is something as mundane as attempting a new dish, like the Salt-Crusted Fish, that requires very little in the way of actual cooking skills. It's more a matter of being able to play in the sand. Once it's tried, even a child can do it. We did and she can.

The middle area of stepping out of one's comfort zone is that which is done in private. As soon as I read the directions for the Asparagus Ravioli with Brown Butter Sauce I knew it was something I would need to do when the rest of the family was out of the house. If I had had to make the pasta by hand, I wouldn't have even attempted it. Thank heavens for won ton wrappers.

In order to make this, I sought out the thickest asparagus I could find. I've mentioned this before, but it bears repeating. Because asparagus only has three fibers running its length, thinner does not mean more tender. It means that those three fibers will be closer together, which means less tender.

Yesterday afternoon when Hubby said he was taking Dudette out, I knew the opportunity was upon me and I started in on this process, which ended up taking over an hour. The ravioli only take six minutes to cook. The rest of the time is prep time. No rests; no waiting. All prep.

It starts with asparagus. After washing, the tips need to be cut and set aside. The bottom inch of the other end needs to be cut off and thrown out. Apparently, the experts are now realizing that holding the asparagus and letting it break off wherever it wants to just wastes good asparagus (remember that whole three fiber thing?).

The topless spears need to be cut into one-inch segments. Once all the cutting is done, it's time to blanch the vegetables, tips first. They go in boiling, salted water for about two minutes, then are removed with a slotted spoon to a bowl of ice water. The cut stems also go through the same process.

A cup and a half of the stems are then put through a food processor until finely chopped (the rest join the tips in a small bowl for garnish). The chopped asparagus joins mascarpone, ricotta, Parmigiano-Regianno, anchovy paste, minced garlic, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper in a small bowl, where it's all mixed well, tasted and seasoning adjusted appropriately. That there is the filling.

Next is the part that makes a parent glad that the child is not around. What didn't make this easier for me was that the store was out of won ton wrappers so I had to use egg roll wrappers instead. They're twice as big, which means they just need to be cut into quarters, but it's just another step in a tedious process. Look for the won ton wrappers, even if it means going to another store. Trust me.

To do this, lay 18 wrappers out on a work surface. Add a blob of filling in the center (they say 1 level tablespoon, which equals a blob). Using a pastry brush, wet the edges of that bottom wrapper with water because it's time to put the top layer on and it will stick like glue to the bottom one (snicker).

I was proceeding with this like June Cleaver in the kitchen, laying down wrappers, plopping on filling and brushing away; feeling very good about myself and how things were turning out. Until it was time to add that top layer and the edges wouldn't meet. Not only that, when I tried to flatten the blob a little so that I could get the top to meet the bottom, it tried to ooze out. When it oozes too close to the edge, it's impossible to get that perfect seal that you need so the filling doesn't escape when the raviolis get dumped in the water.

In case you're curious, shazbat and shibbit have become favorite words of mine now that Dudette's in the house.

Once top meets bottom, somehow, some way, even remotely close to as it should be, the ravioli will be added to a big pot of salted, boiling water. They only need about six minutes to cook.

While that's happening, melt a stick of butter in a skillet and add chopped almonds. It also needs about six minutes to brown, after which you can remove both to a small bowl.

When the ravioli rise to the top of the water, remove them with a slotted spoon. Here is verbatim what the instructions say. "...use a slotted spoon to transfer them to warm plates or pasta bowls. Spoon the brown butter mixture over the ravioli. Top with the reserved asparagus pieces."

Again, it's my bad because I didn't notice the "s" on the end of plate and bowl. We serve family-style instead of my plating each person's food in the kitchen and serving it to them like I'm their wait staff. I put the ravioli on the serving plate, drizzled the almond/browned butter mixture on  it, topped it with the reserved asparagus tips and stems and laid it on the table with a flourish. It looked fantastic.

Then I tried to serve it. Look up about seven paragraphs. Do you see that sentence where water connecting with the won ton wrapper helps it stick like glue? Apparently that reaction doesn't end after the won tons have spent several minutes in water and are well saturated with it. I ended up with one solid multi-level ravioli.

If you are going to serve this family style, I suggest drizzling some of the brown butter sauce between each layer so the ravioli won't stick together.
As you can see, I was able to pull a few apart so you can see a bit more closely how the ravioli looks, especially with the cheese and lemon zest sprinkled on top.

After all that, do you think the dish was worth all the time and trouble? Heavens, yes! This was fantastic, outstanding and delicious. The flavors in the filling were amazing. I ate way more than I should have and could have kept going. Both Hubby and I loved this. Dudette wasn't thrilled with it, but she did eat a fair amount of the asparagus garnish so we were happy.

The process of making these is a bit long and tedious. The flavor is fantastic. I think the filling work would in many appetizer-type roles. I was thinking of making a boereg from it; making filling triangles of phyllo pastry with the filling. It would be wonderful with the crunchy crust.

Asparagus Ravioli with Brown Butter Sauce
from Fine Cooking Magazine


Sea salt
1 lb. thick asparagus, trimmed, spears cut into 1-inch pieces, tips reserved
6 Tbs. mascarpone
1/3 cup whole milk ricotta
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano; more for serving
1 tsp. anchovy paste
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
Pinch cayenne
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
36 wonton wrappers
4 oz. (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1/2 cup blanched almonds, chopped
Finely grated lemon zest to taste

Bring a medium pot of well-salted water to a boil over high heat. Have ready a medium bowl of ice water. Boil the asparagus tips until tender but still bright green, about 2 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer to the ice water. When cool, transfer with the slotted spoon to a small bowl and set aside. Cook and cool the asparagus spears in the same manner; dry them on paper towels. In a food processor (or by hand), chop 1-1/2 cups of the spears very finely and transfer to a medium bowl. Add the remaining spears to the tips.

Add the mascarpone, ricotta, Parmigiano, anchovy paste, garlic, and cayenne to the chopped asparagus; mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Arrange 18 wonton wrappers on a work surface. Put 1 level Tbs. of the asparagus filling in the center of each wrapper. Using a pastry brush, moisten the edges of each with water. Top each with another wrapper and press the edges firmly to seal, expelling any air bubbles as you seal. If you don?t plan to cook the ravioli immediately, cover them with a damp cloth.

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a rolling boil over high heat. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat and add the almonds, shaking the pan. Cook until the butter turns light brown, about 6 minutes, and then immediately transfer to a small bowl.

Add the ravioli to the boiling water. When they rise to the surface, after about 1 minute, use a slotted spoon to transfer them to warm plates or pasta bowls. Spoon the brown butter mixture over the ravioli. Top with the reserved asparagus pieces, a grinding of pepper, a sprinkle of Parmigiano, and a little lemon zest, and serve.