Scallop ravioli with shellfish bisque

scallop_ravioli.jpg

Serves 4 as a starter, 2 for main 

Preparation time: 45 minutes 
Resting time: 30 minutes
Cooking time:
1 - 1½ hours

Ingredients
Pasta 

200g 00 pasta flour 
1 tbsp water 
5g sea salt 
2 medium eggs 
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 

Filling 
12 large Scallops roe removed - keep for the bisque
250ml whipping cream 
8 queen scallops (small scallops) 
1 beaten egg 
Salt 
Pepper  

Seafood bisque
500g of the shells, heads etc you can top this up with shell on prawns if you do not have enough 
12 scallop roes, chopped 
1 onion 
1 carrot 
1 celery stick 
50ml brandy 
1 litre chicken stock 
Salt 
Pepper

Method
Put all of the pasta ingredients in a food mixer with a dough hook and knead the dough in the machine for 5 minutes until smooth. You can bring it all together in a food processor until the dough is just coming together, or by hand.  Then turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand until perfectly smooth which will take 5-10 minutes.  Shape into a ball and flatten, do not however make this wider than your pasta machine.  Wrap in cling film and put into the fridge for an hour.  

Brown and caramelise the shellfish shells on a medium heat (this will take around 10 mins). When caramelised, get a potato masher and crush the shells.  Add the scallop roes and the chopped vegetables and cook for a further 5/10 mins until soft. Add the alcohol and bring to the boil to burn off the alcohol. Add the stock, bring to the boil then reduce the heat to low and cook for 1/1½ hours stirring occasionally. 

When the time is up, strain, pushing against the shells and vegetables to extract every bit of flavour you can.

Season the large scallops and put into a small processor and pulse until smooth.  Add the cream and pulse until just combined.  Put into the fridge. 

Get a sheet of clingfilm on your workspace - when you roll out your dough you do not want it to try out so cover any pasta you are not using to stop that. 

Flatten the dough with a rolling pin to the width of your pasta machine. Cut it in half lengthways, put half back under the clingfilm.  Roll the other piece through the machine on the thickest setting.  Keep passing your pasta through the pasta machine, gradually narrowing the setting until you reach the thinnest setting for ravioli on your machine.  My pasta machine goes to 9 and I would stop at 7.  If the pasta starts to stick put a very, very light dusting of flour or semolina over it.  If the pasta gets too long for you to feel comfortable passing it through the machine then cut it in halfway lengthways again making sure you cover with clingfilm.  I usually pass my dough through on a setting 2 or 3 times.  

Lay one pasta sheet on a clean surface. Put 1 tbsp of the filling in mounds at 6cm intervals along the middle of the sheet. Into the middle of each mousse press a small queens scallop and top with another tbsp of the scallop mousse.  I like to seal the two sides with a very very light amount of water so I dip my finger into water, shake it off and run around the circle of my ravioli.  I know not everybody does this but I feel safer knowing that my raviolis are sealed.  Take another sheet of pasta and drape it loosely over, pressing around the mounds of filling with the side of your hand to seal and expel any air bubbles. Cut out the ravioli with a 8cm round cutter. Place on a large cling film lined plate that is covered with a light dusting of flour or semolina.  

When you are ready to eat, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil.  While the water comes to the boil, heat the seafood stock gently on a low/medium heat. When hot add the butter until melted and then reduce the heat to low and add the cream.  Check the seasoning and keep on a low heat.  Put the ravioli into the now boiling water, reduce the heat and cook for 4 minutes exactly.  

Carefully take the ravioli out of the water with a slotted spoon and put on a sheet of kitchen paper.  Put 2 ravioli in the middle of the plate and top with the sauce.