Hail To the Chef
Magickal Recipes of Ron Miller
reprinted from the Compost NewsLetter
[These recipes appeared in the Compost NewsLetter during 1990-92, while Ron was the executive chef of the Ristorante Donatello in San Francisco. All Magickal interpretations and comments are by Valerie Walker.]
Black and White Pinwheel Pasta with Smoked Chicken
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup semolina flour
3 whole eggs
1 package squid ink, about 4 grams
1 smoked chicken, about 2 1/2 to 3 pounds
6 tablespoons chopped shallots
1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
1/2 cup mascarpone
3 tablespoons dry sherry
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
2 cups dry white wine
2 quarts chicken stock
2 cups heavy cream
1 yard cheesecloth
3 tablespoons chopped chives
To make the pasta:
Mix the all-purpose and semolina flour together in a bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour, break in the eggs. Add the squid ink to the eggs. Begin mixing the eggs and flour together with a fork. When the dough comes together in a mass, knead it until the texture is smooth and silky, adding flour when necessary. Wrap in plastic and set aside at room temperature while you are making the filling.
To make the filling:
Remove the skin from the smoked chicken and discard. With your fingers, separate the meat from the bones. Reserve the bones for the sauce. Place the chicken meat and 3 tablespoons of the chopped shallots into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the meat is very finely chopped but not pureed. Mix the chopped meat with the ricotta cheese, mascarpone and sherry Season to taste with salt and pepper.
To make the pinwheels:
Cut the ball of pasta dough into quarters. Roll one quarter of the dough in a pasta machine in progressively thinner settings until the thinnest setting is reached. The pasta sheet should be about 6 inches wide and 16 inches long. Set the pasta sheet aside, covered, and proceed with the other 3 quarters in the same manner.
Divide the filling between the pasta sheets. spread the filling about 1/16 inch thick over the length and width of each pasta sheet. Leave about 1 inch at the end of each sheet without filling. Roll each sheet of pasta into a cylinder, sealing the cylinders at the end of the pasta sheet that was left bare. You now have 4 pinwheel cylinders about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Cut the cheesecloth into 4 pieces. Fold each piece in half. Roll each pinwheel in a piece of cheesecloth. Twist each end of the cheesecloth and tie with string. Gently tie each pinwheel in two places in the middle with string. Place the pinwheels into a pot large enough to accommodate them in one layer. Cover with 1 quart of the chicken stock. Bring the stock to a boil, then poach the pinwheels at a gentle simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool in the stock to room temperature. When cool, wrap in plastic and refrigerate until ready to serve.
To make the sauce:
Place the reserved chicken bones, the white wine and 1 quart of the chicken stock into a large pot. Bring to a boil and reduce until about 2 cups of liquid remain. Add the cream and simmer gently until the sauce thickens enough to coat a spoon. Strain the sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper and keep warm until ready to serve.
To assemble the dish:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Unwrap each pinwheel. Slice into disks about 1 inch thick. Place two pinwheel disks on each plate. Warm in the preheated oven for about 5 minutes. Surround with sauce. Garnish with chopped chives and serve. Serves 8.
The Chef