Storing of ravioli

[pacman1978]

Hi,

I make a roasted butternut squash ravioli served with sage and pine nut butter, roasted squash and pea shoots which is one of my signature dishes but I struggle with it sticking to the ceramic plate I store it on even though I flour it. I used to put it in the fridge which I thought might have been the issue due to the moisture in there but have experienced it storing it outside of the fridge as well. Then I realised not letting the filling completely cool before making them was not helping either

I have a dinner party on Saturday and I want to make the ravioli on Friday so my question is what is the best way to ensure it does not stick to the plate - it has Parmesan cheese in the filling so should be refrigerated I assume so should I let them dry out first before placing them in the fridge. I also thought of placing them on top of bounty or towel although concerned they will just stick to that instead.

Thanks for any help.

Paul

[LindaK]

Once ravioli are filled, I put them on cake racks to keep them dry until ready to cook. On the few occasions that I've made really large quantities of filled pasta a day before serving, I've lined sheet pans with parchment paper and then sprinkled them liberally with semolina before putting down the pasta, covering them with a clean dry tea towel, and putting them in a cool place overnight. No plastic wrap, which traps moisture, and not in the fridge. If possible, turn them over once so they dry evenly. That's why cake racks are nice, the bottom won't get soggy while the tops dry.

If I need to store them longer, I'd freeze them rather than put them in the fridge, which inevitably gives you soggy pasta.

[Paul Bacino]

Corm meal..on the bottom..is what I use

[Syzygies]

I've used silpat or similar sheets in the fridge.

Do you have a good source of pine nuts? I'm worried about "pine mouth" or "pine nut mouth" (http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm247099.htm) which is generally attributed to the broader species definition in response to people's unwillingness to pay $50 a pound for the genuine article. Most pine nuts are Chinese in origin, and one of dozens of nontraditional species. In taste tests (none resulting in pine mouth) I also found that the genuine article tastes much better. As in, while the risk of pine mouth may be low, we're kidding ourselves to buy the inexpensive article, we might as well draw pine nuts on the tablecloth, and serve instead some other nut.

[basquecook]

I would lay a towel down in the freezer. Put them on top of the towel in the freezer for say 30 minutes or 45 minutes until they are fully frozen, then take them from the towel into a plastic bag. I just made ravioli with some leftover pasta dough last night. I froze what I didn't eat for dinner.

Edited February 27, 2013 by basquecook (log)

[Ttogull]

Hi,

I have a dinner party on Saturday and I want to make the ravioli on Friday so my question is what is the best way to ensure it does not stick to the plate - it has Parmesan cheese in the filling so should be refrigerated I assume so should I let them dry out first before placing them in the fridge. I also thought of placing them on top of bounty or towel although concerned they will just stick to that instead.

Thanks for any help.

Paul

Would the Parmesan cheese require you to refrigerate? A lot of places that sell cheese leave their hard aged cheeses at room temp, including Parmesan, Gouda, cheddar, etc.

[basquecook]

Wouldn't the butternut squash ravioli also have ricotta and egg in the filling or are you using a different filling.

[janeer]

I would lay a towel down in the freezer. Put them on top of the towel in the freezer for say 30 minutes or 45 minutes until they are fully frozen, then take them from the towel into a plastic bag. I just made ravioli with some leftover pasta dough last night. I froze what I didn't eat for dinner.

This is what I would do--although I'd probably freeze them on a sheetpan.

[pacman1978]

Thanks for the all the tips, I put them on a wire rack dusted with flour and worked a treat. Not a single one stuck nor split when cooking them.

Wouldn't the butternut squash ravioli also have ricotta and egg in the filling or are you using a different filling.

No its roasted squash pan roasted with coriander seeds mashed and then nutmeg, a couple of biscotti, ground pepper and parmesan added.

Never heard of pine mouth and used them a lot of times in a multitude of ways. Generally in the UK pine nuts are about £28($42) a kilo/£13 ($20) a pound anyway so not that cheap.

Edited March 12, 2013 by pacman1978 (log)

[Syzygies]

never heard of pine mouth

So last Sunday my wife and I pulled several corks, because each bottle of wine tasted off. We both said "pine mouth" but purely as a descriptive phrase ("boasts striking inner perfume" is too affected for us), as we hadn't been cooking with pine nuts in months.

Then we remembered the salad from the banquet on Friday night. A step up from rubber chicken, but do you think a caterer will buy Italian pine nuts when a species the Chinese will label as pine nuts sells for less?

The symptoms cleared, and the leftover wine tasted fine. Know your pine nut sources, use Mediterranean pine nuts or use something else. And assume a caterer is either unaware of the issue, or is willing to mildly poison you to make a buck.