Lemon Ricotta Lobster Ravioli

Lemon ricotta lobster ravioli are easy to make and even easier to eat with their light, flavorful filling and tender pasta outside. Truly it’s a special meal for any special person or occasion. 

As I said in my original spinach and cheese ravioli post, our family loves the group project of making ravioli. The joint effort produces more ravioli much faster which helps us not feel so bad when they are eaten even more quickly. And they do disappear quickly. 

I was on my own making these lemon ricotta lobster ravioli so I decided to pare down the ingredients for the pasta dough and make just enough for about 24 ravioli, a manageable amount and still more that my husband and I could eat at one sitting. It’s always nice to have some leftovers of a nice dish and I can assure you, this is indeed a Very Nice Dish.

Lemon Ricotta Lobster Ravioli

You can serve this with your favorite sauce, but one caveat: Choose one that will complement and not overwhelm the flavors in your filling. We want that lobster to shine! I’ve included the ingredient list and instructions for my garlic browned butter wine sauce, in case you’d like to try it as well. It’s not the prettiest color but, oh, the flavor! So good. For the lobster meat, I used two lobster tails (8 1/4 oz or 230g total weight) and steamed them for about 7 minutes until internal temp reached 160°F or 71°C.

Ingredients

For the pasta dough:

1 1/2 - 1 2/3 cups or 187.5- 208g tipo 00 flour (plus extra for rolling out the pasta)

1 egg 

1 egg yolk (save white for filling)

2 teaspoons olive oil or salad oil 

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

For the ravioli filling:

4 oz or 112g cooked lobster meat, chopped

1 large clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup or 125g whole milk ricotta cheese

1 egg white

Zest of 1 lemon

1 sprig Italian parsley, just leaves, chopped finely, plus extra for garnish, if desired

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the garlic brown butter wine sauce (optional):

3 tablespoons butter

1 clove garlic, sliced as thinly as possible

2 tablespoons flour

1/4 cup or 60ml dry white wine

1 cup or 240ml lobster or seafood stock (from a cube is fine – I used shrimp)

1/2 teaspoon salt

Method

In large bowl, combine 3/4 cup or 94g flour, 1/4 cup or 60ml water and remaining dough ingredients. With mixer at slow speed, beat for two minutes, occasionally scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Using a wooden spoon or a Danish dough whisk, stir in enough of remaining flour to make a soft dough.

Turn out onto floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Wrap in cling film and let stand at least 30 minutes. (After the 30 minutes, refrigerate the dough if you are making this ahead of time.)

While the dough rests, we can get on to the ravioli filling. It couldn’t be simpler. Mix all the ingredients together well in a mixing bowl. Set aside.

Once the dough has rested, cut it in four equal pieces and remove one. Wrap the rest of the dough again with the cling film.

Flour the dough ball well and use a rolling pin or a pasta roller to roll it out quite thinly to the size of your ravioli plaque. Check out my original ravioli post to see my roller in action.

Flour your ravioli plaque liberally and lay the sheet of pasta on top. Fill each hole with about a teaspoon of the filling.

Using the second quarter of the dough and, following the same instructions, roll it out to the size of your ravioli plaque.

Use a pastry brush to wet the pasta on the plaque between the spoons of filling.

Carefully, starting at one end, lay the second sheet of pasta on top of the filled one, sticking the two sheets together and pressing out the air as you go along.

Turn the ravioli plaque over and let the filled pasta drop out onto your countertop. If it sticks, just gently pry it off.

Trim the ravioli around the edges and cut them apart.

Set them aside on a plate lined with cling film that has been well floured.

Continue the process until all the ravioli are rolled out, filled and cut apart. I put another layer of cling film and flour again with each layer of ravioli.

The ravioli should be stored in the refrigerator, covered with cling film until you are ready to boil them.

I re-rolled the scraps that were cut off and just made a few noodles with them so they didn't go to waste. I cooked those a different night to add to a veggie stir-fry.

If you are making my garlic brown butter wine sauce, now’s the time. If not prepare your own sauce.

Cook the butter over a medium heat, watching it carefully and stirring occasionally until it turns a nutty caramel color. 

Add in the sliced garlic and cook stirring for about 15-20 seconds. 

Immediately whisk in the flour until it's incorporated into the butter.

Slowly pour in the wine and stock and whisk until creamy. Cook over a medium heat until the sauce reduces slightly and thickens. 

Add the salt and stir well. Keep warm until the ravioli are cooked. 

To cook the ravioli, boil water with salt and a little olive oil in a large pot, as you would for regular pasta, and lower the ravioli in gently a few at a time. Stir gently so they don’t stick to each other or the bottom of the pot. They only take a few minutes to cook. 

Remove with a slotted spoon and tap it gently on a folded paper towel to get rid of most of the water. 

Serve with the sauce of your choice or my garlic brown butter wine sauce. Spoon over the ravioli to serve.

Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired. 

Enjoy!

It’s Fish Friday Foodie time and this month we are starting the year off in style by sharing lobster recipes. Check out the links below! Many thanks to our host Camilla of Culinary Cam. 

• Keto Lobster Scrambled Eggs by Sneha's Recipe
• Lemon Ricotta Lobster Ravioli by Food Lust People Love
• Lobster Tacos by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Spicy Lobster Bao by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Surf and Turf (Grilled Steak and Lobster) by Palatable Pastime
• Warm Lobster Salad by Culinary Cam

Would you like to join Fish Friday Foodies? We post and share new seafood/fish recipes on the third Friday of the month. To join our group please email Wendy at wendyklik1517 (at) gmail.com. Visit our Facebook page and Pinterest page for more wonderful fish and seafood recipe ideas.

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Breakfast Martinis

This special cocktail from the Emirates business class menu features bitter orange marmalade, gin and Cointreau, a delightful libation to perk you up any time of the day.

Back when we were living in Dubai, my husband flew Emirates Airlines for all of his business trips. The upside to his constant travel was that he quickly moved up to a platinum frequent flyer membership which allowed him to nominate one friend or family member to gold status. I was that lucky person!

There were several advantages to gold status the least of which was occasional upgrades to business class or, more often, offers of an upgrade for a just a few hundred dollars more at online check-in. For flights longer than seven hours, I always jumped on those deals. Once I even got to travel first class and take a shower at 30,000 feet but that's a story for another day!

On the Emirates A380, the business class cabin includes a bar, with drinks, snacks and places to sit and chat. The friendly cabin crew manned the bar and would make any cocktail you could imagine. We even had them make our own cocktail invention Bulago Breezes for us on occasion. 

But one of my favorites from their own menu were their breakfast martinis. Sharp in a good way from the marmalade, gin and lime juice but sweetened slightly by the Cointreau and orange juice, I think breakfast martinis are the perfect Sunday morning brunch drink. 

Breakfast Martinis

Full credit for this drink recipe goes to the lovely folks at Emirates Airline and the wonderful crew who always made each trip such a great experience. I don’t recall the name of the lovely person who gave me permission to take photos as he made the cocktail and share them, but I am very grateful. We miss flying Emirates so much and it will probably be our favorite airline forever. 

Ingredients for 1 breakfast martini (easily doubled for two!)

1 teaspoon orange marmalade

1 1/2 oz or 44ml gin

3/4 oz or 22ml Cointreau

3/4 oz or 22ml lime juice

3/4 oz or 22ml orange juice

Ice

Note: 1 1/2 oz is one standard jigger, also known as "a measure" in many cocktail recipes. 

Method

Put 3-4 ice cubes in a cocktail shaker. 

Add the teaspoon of orange marmalade, the gin, Cointreau, lime and orange juices. 

Shake for 10 seconds.

 Strain into a martini glass. 

Good morning and enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today is all about breakfast! Check out the great breakfast recipes below. Many thanks to our host, Sue of Palatable Pastime. 

• Breakfast Martinis from Food Lust People Love
• Breakfast Quesadilla from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Cinnamon Sugar Dutch Baby Pancake from Our Good Life
• Cottage Cheese Pancakes from Palatable Pastime
• Egg-Free Wheat Pancakes from Mayuri’s Jikoni
• Millet Set Dosa from Sizzling Tastebuds
• Mini Cinnamon Rolls from Amy’s Cooking Adventures
• Kesari Semolina Sheera / Kesari Rawa Sheera from Sneha’s Recipe
• Maple-Sweetened Overnight Oats from Culinary Cam
• Quick Kande Pohe from The Mad Scientist’s Kitchen

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Feta and Mixed Fruit Focaccia #BreadBakers

Slightly sweet and a little savory, this feta and mixed fruit focaccia is the perfect snack to eat with a cup of tea or even a cold glass of beer or a cocktail. The somewhat bitter candied peel and soaked dried fruit are a great combination with the salty feta and soft pillowy bread.

It’s time for my Bread Baker friends to share their recipes again and today’s theme or ingredient is dried fruit. I was quite delighted when our host chose this theme because I have a big bag of mixed fruit that was supposed to be a steamed Christmas pudding, which never materialized. Mainly because my husband and I are the only ones who like it and who can be bothered some years, if you know what I mean. 

Mixed peel is a combination of raisins, sultanas and currants with candied orange and lemon peel. It’s used in fruit cakes, tea loaves, Chelsea buns, and, of course, traditional British Christmas cakes and steamed Christmas puddings.  

Mixed fruit is available year-round in British supermarkets but it really comes into its own during the holiday season. One spot on a shelf in the baking aisle often becomes a whole table of it in the front of the store with other seasonal items like fondant icing, marzipan, confectioner’s sugar and Christmas decorations.

If you can’t find mixed fruit where you live, you might find this Q and A on Nigella Lawson’s website helpful. 

Feta and Mixed Fruit Focaccia

This recipe is an adaptation of one from King Arthur Flour baking website. Theirs is much sweeter and doesn’t contain any feta. I stand by my decision. We enjoyed this version much more than we would have a wholly sweet bread. 

Ingredients

3/4 cup or 110g mixed fruit

3/4 cup or 80ml boiling water

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

3/4 teaspoon instant yeast or active dry yeast

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1 1/2 cups or 187g unbleached bread flour, plus more for dusting

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 oz or 50g feta, crumbled

Method

In a large bowl, combine the mixed fruit with the boiling water; let soak for 10 to 15 minutes. Drain the fruit, reserving 1/2 cup of the soaking liquid; set the fruit aside.

Add the sugar and sprinkle the yeast over the top of the reserved soaking liquid and set aside to proof. 

If your yeast is active, it should start to bubble up and get frothy. Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to the soaking liquid.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the beater paddle, combine the flour and salt. Mix just to combine. 

Add the soaking liquid/olive oil mixture and all but about 2 tablespoons of the fruit. The reserved mixed fruit will be used to top the focaccia. Mix until the fruit is evenly distributed, but the dough is still tacky, about 3 minutes.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface, and knead for 1 minute.

Prepare one 8" or 20cm square pan by coating the bottom with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. 

Place all of the dough in the pan. Grease your hands and spread the dough out as much as possible without tearing it.

Cover the dough and let it rest, pressing it out every 10 minutes until it fills the pan; this may take up to about 40 minutes. 

Then let the dough rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour. 

Meanwhile, near the end of rising time, preheat your oven to 425°F or 218°C.

Just before baking, grease your fingers and press dimples into the risen dough.

Drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, and sprinkle the reserved mixed fruit and crumbled feta over the top. 

Bake in your preheated oven until the focaccia is deep golden brown on the top and bottom, about 25 to 30 minutes. If it starts to brown before you think it's cooked through, cover the top with foil. 

Remove from the oven and transfer from the pan to a rack to cool. Despite the olive oil, mine tried to stick to the pan. A gentle prod with the spatula did the trick to release it. 

Cut into squares or rectangles using a serrated knife, and serve warm.

Enjoy!

As I mentioned above, it’s Bread Baker time, the second Tuesday of every month and we are sharing bread recipes with dried fruit. Many thanks to our host, Kelly of Passion Kneaded! Check out all the links below. 

• Apricot Braided Breakfast Bread from Sneha's Recipe
• Cranberry Raisin Bread from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Fennel and Golden Raisin Bread from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Feta and Mixed Fruit Focaccia from Food Lust People Love 
• Panettone from Culinary Cam
• Pineapple Sour Cream Coffee Bread from A Messy Kitchen
• Walnut Raisin Wool Roll Bread from Passion Kneaded

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

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Hatch Chili Pepper Meatloaf

This hatch chili pepper meatloaf is flavorful and tender. It’s a meaty well-seasoned main course, made with both ground turkey and beef. So easy too!

When it’s Hatch chili pepper season (generally August and September in Hatch, New Mexico, depending on the weather) I buy lots of those great peppers, roast them in the oven, peel and freeze so we can enjoy their flavor all year round. 

I use them in lots of dishes, like my Creamy Hatch Chili Pepper Spinach Chicken (where you can see my roast and peel method) and even pimento cheese. As you’ll see in the pimento cheese recipe, if you don’t have Hatch peppers in your freezer, they can also be purchased in cans. 

It’s Sunday FunDay and we are celebrating Elvis Presley’s birthday by sharing recipes to honor him! Had he lived this long, Elvis would be 88 today. Everyone knows about the iconic sandwich he loved, but did you know that his actual favorite dish is meatloaf? 

Or so said Elvis impersonator, Mark Hussman in an interview with the Chicago Tribune many years ago: "Elvis ate a lot of Southern food, he loved steak, and he loved meatloaf. His favorite food was meatloaf. He ate it every day for month one year."  

That sounds a bit much but his former wife Priscilla Presley once confirmed that at one point, Elvis wanted his Sunday Meatloaf for every evening meal for six months straight! 

According to yet another source, once a week, Elvis would request meatloaf on the menu, a recipe subsequently printed in the Presley Family Cookbook. I did find that one online and considered making it but while my Hatch Chili Pepper Meatloaf is not the original Presley family recipe, I like to think Elvis would approve. My own family certainly did! 

Hatch Chili Pepper Meatloaf 

This meatloaf is one of my favorite dishes with the Hatch chili peppers. They add a lovely fresh and slightly smoky flavor to the meat. If you aren’t a fan of spicy, by all means substitute green pepper. 

Ingredients

4 slices sandwich bread or 2 hamburger buns

1/2 cup or 120ml milk

1 small onion

2 eggs

1 1/3 lbs or 600g ground beef

1 lb or 450g ground turkey

2 roasted peeled Hatch chili peppers

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup or 80ml ketchup

2 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard powder (like Colman’s)

Method

Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C.

Rip the bread into rough pieces and, in a small bowl, pour the milk over it, pushing the pieces down into the milk. Soak until all the milk is absorbed.

Put the onion in the food processor and process till chopped finely.

Add the hatch chili peppers and process again briefly.

Mash the soggy bread with a fork and then add to a large bowl with all of the other ingredients. 

Mix well.

Tip the lot into a loaf pan lined with foil. (The foil is not essential, especially if your pan is nonstick, but it does make clean up so much easier.)

Bake for about an hour or until the meatloaf is browned nicely and internal temperature reaches 155°F or 68°C. The temperature will continue to rise, reaching a safe temp of 165°F or 74°C for the ground turkey. Cover with foil for 10 minutes before slicing to serve. 

I suggest serving this juicy meatloaf alongside some rich mashed potatoes, gravy and the vegetable of your choice.

Enjoy!

As I mentioned above, it’s Sunday FunDay and we are honoring Elvis today! Check out the links below. Many thanks to our host, Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm. 

• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Brown Sugar Glazed Salmon 
• Karen's Kitchen Stories: Buffalo Chicken Baked Mac and Cheese 
• Food Lust People Love: Hatch Chili Pepper Meatloaf
• Culinary Cam: Oysters Rockefeller 
• Palatable Pastime: Pineapple Poke Cake 
• Sneha's Recipe: Pork Chops In Homemade Recheado Masala 
• Amy's Cooking Adventures: "The Elvis" Peanut Butter, Bacon, & Banana Sandwich

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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