Hazelnut Ravioli al Limone + Buttermilk Endive Slaw
When I was at work the other day, my coworker said, “chicory is having its moment right now.” She’s totally right. I feel like I’ve been seeing chicory lettuces (endive, frisee, escarole, and radicchio, to name a few) all over menus lately. I’ve always been a fan of a good bitter lettuce, but after seeing chicories all in the limelight recently, I think I’m starting to have a really big crush on them.
I don’t have much to say about this pasta except that it is bound to leave you satiated. It hits all the best and necessary taste points: briny, buttery olives, lightly creamy lemon sauce, a sharp bite from both the endive and pecorino, and nutty sweetness from the hazelnut filling. Castelvetrano olives are my favorite olives ever, and they work so well with the hazlenut-buttermilk-lemon-chicory combo. Seriously, I think this might be my new fixation combination. Actually it has to be. I have so many of these ingredients leftover, I’ll be living off of chicory salads with hazelnuts, olives and a buttermilk dressing for the forseeable future.
Oh, also — if you don’t have a pasta machine (like myself), be prepared to get your workout in. Aside from the dough, the filling, sauce, and slaw are all pretty simple, though.
Hazelnut Ravioli al Limone + Buttermilk Endive Slaw
Serves 4 | Prep Time: 1 hour | Cook Time: 10 minutes
Lemon Ravioli Dough
13 oz. AP flour (about 3 cups of flour)
3 eggs
2 tbs. olive oil
2 tsp. tbs. kosher salt
2 tbs. lemon zest (about 2 lemons worth)
In a large bowl, mix the salt and flour together. Create a well in the center of the bowl, add the eggs, olive oil, and zest in the center, and use a fork to beat the eggs in, gradually adding in more flour from the sides of the bowl until a crumby mixture is formed. Once dry enough to use your hands, turn to a clean surface and continue mixing and folding with your hands until the dough is well-combined and smooth. It will seem too dry at first but will eventually soften up and form. If it never does, however, wet your hands occasionally with water while you work the dough until you get a smooth texture. Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes to form it into a smooth ball. You should be able to press gently on it and have it bounce back, rather than stay indented, when it’s done. Wrap in plastic and let rest for at least 30 minutes, preferably an hour or more.
While the dough is resting, make your filling (recipe below).
Lightly flour your surface and rolling pin or pasta machine. Cut your dough into 5 pieces to work with, keeping the ones you aren’t using underneath a towel to keep them from drying out . If using a rolling pin, make even smooth rounds with each piece and roll until it is almost paper thin and translucent in spots when you hold it up to light or put your hand behind it. If using a machine, follow the directions to roll out sheets for ravioli (usually stopping around a level 7 or 8).
Use a mason jar or glass to cut out rounds about 2.5 inches in diameter — it can be larger or smaller but you will need to adjust your filling amount accordingly. Feel free to re-roll out the scraps, but they will become increasingly chewier as they are rolled out more. My advice is to get as many circles out as you can the first time, and then just cook the scraps to eat another time. Set your circles underneath a towel until ready to make the the ravioli.
Hazelnut-Mascarpone Filling
1/2 cup whole hazelnuts
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 egg
1/2 tsp. granulated sugar or 1 tsp. honey
1/4 cup grated pecorino cheese
3/4 cup mascarpone
Bring the hazelnuts to a boil in a pot of water. Let boil for 3 minutes, turn off the heat and let sit for 10 minutes before straining — no need to save the water. Blend the hazelnuts and garlic clove in a blender or food processor until mostly a fine mince but not a powder (some slightly larger pieces are okay). Move mixture to a bowl, add in the mascarpone, salt/pepper, sugar and grated cheese. Fold until completely smooth and combined. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired. This filling should be fairly mild in flavor — just a creamy, nutty filling that is slightly salty, sweet, and garlic-y. The sauce and slaw add so much flavor, so the filling can be a little more neutral. Once the seasoning is right, fold in the egg and refrigerate until the filling is firm.
Fill the center of half of the ravioli circles with about 1 tbs. of filling, leaving enough room around the edges to add another sheet and create a ring of just dough about 1/2 inch long around the filling. Use your finger to rim water around the outer edge of the ravioli circles with filling on them. Place another ravioli circle on top of the ones with filling/water and press firmly to seal the edges and around the filling, making sure there are no air gaps anywhere.
Place on a sheet tray uncovered until all are ready to cook.
Bring a large pot of overly salted water to a boil. Gently place ravioli in pot and allow them cook until they float to the top of the pot. Wait 2 minutes once they are at the top of the pot before removing. If not using right away, toss with a little olive oil to keep them from sticking together. Save the pasta water for the limone sauce (recipe below).
Limone-Olive Sauce
1/3 cup butter, cold
1/4 cup lemon juice, fresh squeezed + more as needed
Reserved pasta water, roughly 1/2 cup - 1 cup
1/4 cup pecorino cheese
Salt and fresh cracked black pepper
1/3 cup Castelvetrano olives, thinly sliced
Over medium-high heat, melt the butter in a skillet large enough to fit all the ravioli. Once the butter is bubbling and turning slightly golden brown, add the lemon juice and 1/2 cup of reserved pasta water — whisk to combine. Turn heat to medium-low, add in the ravioli. Let simmer until the sauce is thickened to a consistency similar to heavy cream, adding more pasta water as needed if the ravioli seems to need more sauce — add an additional 2 tsp. of lemon juice per 1/4 cup of additional water used. Remove from heat, add in the cheese and olives, toss gently to combine and melt the cheeese. Season with black pepper and salt to taste.
Top with the Buttermilk Endive Slaw (recipe below) and more grated pecorino cheese.
Buttermilk Endive Slaw
1 cup endive, sliced thinly width-ways into ribbons
1 shallot, thinly sliced into rings
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 tbs. vinegar - red wine, white wine, cava, or champagne vinegars will all work
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
/2 tbs. fresh dill, finely chopped
1/2 tsp. granulated sugar
1 tsp. fresh cracked black pepper
Optional for a thicker, creamier, more traditional buttermilk dressing: 1-2 tbs. sour cream and/or mayo (1 tbs. of each if using both) - I personally prefer it without
Place the sliced shallots and endive in a bowl. Mix the rest of the ingredients to combine. Taste and season with more salt/pepper as needed or more sugar if it is too salty/acidic.
Dress the slaw right before serving with the pasta.
