Rice Ravioli

INGREDIENTS

Ravioli:

350gr Cooked Rice

50gr Grated Parmesan cheese

2 Eggs

100gr Wheat flour

Salt to taste

White pepper to taste

Filling:

400gr Japanese Kabocha squash

200gr Brazilian Requeijão

Salt to taste

White pepper to taste

50gr Manteiga de garrafa (Brazilian clarified butter)        

Sage sauce:

300ml Fresh cream        

10gr Chopped sage        

20gr Chopped parsley   

Salt to taste

White pepper to taste

Cheese Bread Farofa:

200gr Stale Cheese Bread

20gr Manteiga de garrafa (Brazilian clarified butter)

5gr Chopped parsley     

50gr Squash seeds                       

To garnish:

6 Pickled little-beak peppers

Cubes of roasted of squash, set aside

32 Parsley leaves

Manteiga de garrafa (Brazilian clarified butter)

Head Chef Wagner Barbosa, Compass Group Brazil, shared this delicious recipe that makes excellent use of leftovers and of parts of the pumpkin we might normally throw away, such as the seeds.  He told us:

"The ravioli pasta is made from leftover rice, which is widely used in Brazilian homes and is a food that generates many daily leftovers both in homes and in commercial restaurants. The filling for the ravioli uses 100% of the pumpkin; the pulp is mashed, some diced squash is used to decorate the dish, and the seeds make up the cheese bread farofa lending the dish a modern touch.

The farofa is an idea that emerged to replace parmesan cheese that we normally grate on top of the pasta; the farofa gives a cheesy taste from the cheese bread, a breakfast item which can be reused, and the added crunchiness of squash seeds.

The ingredients are cheap and accessible, with a fusion of Italian and Brazilian cuisine, especially when it comes to elements that make up a lot of the meals of São Paulo and Minas Gerais."

METHOD

Filling:

1. Cut the squash, remove and set aside the seeds.
2. Season pumpkin with salt, pepper, and manteiga de garrafa (Brazilian clarified butter), and wrap in aluminium foil, bake at 200 ° for 30 minutes.
3. Cube a 100g piece equivalent and set aside for garnish, beat the rest in the processor with requeijão, until homogeneous.
4. Refrigerate.

Pasta:

1. Blend rice, eggs, parmesan, white pepper and salt in the food processor.
2. Remove from processor and add the flour until dough is homogeneous. Roll dough out and cut out 60 circles, approximately 5 cm in diameter each.
3. Spoon filling onto the centre of 30 circles of pasta, then cover with another circle, pressing the edges to seal the filling in.
4. Boil 2 litres of water and cook the ravioli for 30 seconds, remove from the pan, set water aside, and arrange on a tray without edges touching, then refrigerate.

Sage sauce:

1. Boil the cream, add sage and parsley. Then process in blender. Set aside.

Cheese bread farofa with squash seeds:

1. Bake cheese bread at 150° for 10 minutes to dry out, along with the pumpkin seeds. Blend the cheese bread, seeds, chopped parsley and manteiga de garrafa (Brazilian clarified butter) in food processor.

Plating and Presentation:

Grease frying pan with manteiga de garrafa (Brazilian clarified butter) and lightly brown the ravioli.

Pour 50 ml of the sauce in the centre of the dish, place 5 ravioli slightly to the right, arrange pumpkin cubes on top of the sauce, and put the cheese bread farofa on the left of the dish.