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.]
Quail egg ravioli with wild game sauce
[This dish was demonstrated at one of the Saturday Chef's Specials in the basement of Macy's department store -- a pretty complicated dish to prepare on the fly, but the Chef managed it, and a good time was had by all... before the food ran out.--vw]
As an appetizer, allow three or four ravioli per person. Serves six.
For the ravioli filling:
1/4 olive oil
1 chicken breast, skinned and cut into small pieces
6 quail, boned, the meat cut into small pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 medium onion, diced
1/4 cup white wine
1 bunch spinach, stems removed and washed
1 small head radicchio, cut across into 1/2 wide pieces
6 leaves fresh sage, finely chopped
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
zest of one lemon, grated
4 tablespoons mascarpone
2 ounces fontina, grated
salt and pepper
Saute the chicken and quail meat in the olive oil over medium flame for 2 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and saute for another 2 or 3 minutes until the onion becomes transparent. Deglaze with the white wine and reduce over high heat until the wine has nearly evaporated. Pour the mixture into a bowl and set aside to cool. Blanch the spinach in a large pot of salted water for 30 seconds. Refresh the spinach and squeeze out as much water as possible. Blanch the radicchio for one minute. Refresh the radicchio and squeeze out the water. Put the chicken and quail into a food processor and pulse until it is coarsely chopped. Add the spinach, radicchio, sage, nutmeg and grated lemon zest. Pulse until the mixture is finely chopped but not pureed. Put the mixture into a bowl and stir in the mascarpone and grated fontina cheese with salt and pepper to taste.
For the pasta:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup semolina flour
3 whole eggs
Mix the all purpose and semolina flour together in a bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour, break in the eggs and begin mixing the eggs and flour together. When the dough comes together in a mass, knead it until the texture is smooth and silky. Roll the dough with a pasta machine in progressively thinner settings until the thinnest setting is reached. Divide the sheet of dough in half.
To assemble the ravioli:
24 - 30 quail eggs
To guide you in placing the filling, use the blunt non-cutting side of a 2 1/2 inch round or fluted pastry cutter to make light indentations on one sheet of the pasta. Leave about 1/4 inch between each indentation. Fill a pastry bag with the filling. Pipe a ring of filling in the center of each indentation. Carefully break one quail egg into the center of each ravioli. Brush between each dollop of filling with water to lightly moisten the pasta sheet. Lay the second sheet of pasta over the first gently pressing around each mound of filling, being careful to force out any air bubbles. With the blunt end of another pastry cutter one size smaller than the first cutter, gently press down around each mound of filling to seal the two sheets of pasta together. Now, using the business end of the first pastry cutter, you may cut the raviolis from the main sheet of pasta dough. Place them on a floured sheet pan and lightly dust the tops with flour. Cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator until ready to cook.
For the sauce:
1/2 pound venison shoulder or stew meat cut into 1 inch cubes
the bones from the quail
3 tablespoons peanut oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 rib celery, diced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
12 juniper berries
12 whole black peppercorns
3 bay leaves
1 cup red wine
1/2 cup brandy
1 quart water
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
Heat a heavy 4 quart saucepot over high heat. When it is quite hot, add the oil to the pot and brown the venison meat and the quail bones. When they are nice and brown and a glaze has formed on the bottom of the pan, turn the flame down to medium and add the diced vegetables. Stirring often, cook the vegetables until they turn golden brown. Add the tomato paste and the herbs and stir them into the contents of the pot for 1 minute. Deglaze with the red wine and brandy and set the liquid to reduce over medium heat until it is reduced by one half. Add the water. When it has come to a boil, skim the sauce well and set it to simmer over very low heat for 3 to 4 hours. Add a little water occasionally to maintain the level of liquid well above the solids in the pot and skim from time to time. After the sauce has gently cooked for 3 or 4 hours you will have extracted all the flavor from the meat and bones. Put the butter into another saucepan and put the pan over medium heat until the butter begins to foam. Turn the heat down, add the flour and stir constantly until the flour browns lightly and produces a nut-like aroma. When the resulting roux has browned, strain the hot wild game sauce into it, pressing all the juices out of the meat and bones. Simmer the sauce for another 20 minutes. You should have about 2 cups of very lightly thickened sauce at this point. Strain the sauce and set it aside until ready to serve. The sauce can be made one or two days in advance and refrigerated until ready to use.
To assemble the dish:
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Bring the wild game sauce slowly to a boil with the cream. When it has boiled, add the butter and parmesan cheese and stir until they have been incorporated. Adjust the seasoning. While the sauce is being finished cook the raviolis in the boiling water for 3 to 4 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the raviolis. The yolks of the quail eggs should be cooked but still liquid. When the raviolis are cooked, drain them and put them into the sauce. Spoon the raviolis onto warm plates, spoon the sauce over the raviolis and serve.
The Chef