Stefano’s quail ravioli

By: Jim McDougall, Stefano de Pieri
From: Nuovo Mondo
Makes: 10
Photographer: Alan Benson

Stefano: My quail ravioli has been the most popular dish in my restaurant for over twenty years. We have not taken it off the menu, partly because it is not commonly found in many other restaurants. There’s not much point undertaking this dish, which is rather elaborate, for only a few serves – make enough for at least ten people and freeze what you do not need. The preparation time is rather long, especially if you are making it for the first time, but the cooking time is very short, making it an ideal fast-food.

Ingredients

Quantity	Ingredient
8	quail
1 litre	Chicken stock
100g	unsalted butter
	olive oil, for cooking
1 cup	carrots, celery and onions, finely chopped
1	free-range egg, lightly beaten, plus 1 extra
70g	grated parmigiano reggiano cheese, plus extra to serve
15g	fresh breadcrumbs
	flat-leaf parsley, chopped
	lemon zest
	salt and freshly ground black pepper
300g	Homemade pasta
	plain flour, for dusting
	semolina, for dusting
100g	salted butter
8	sage leaves

Method

Separate the leg and breast meat from the quail. Put the skin and carcasses in a saucepan with enough Chicken stock to cover, and simmer for 2 hours. Strain, discard solids and reduce to less than 125 ml. Set aside.
Heat the unsalted butter with some olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the vegetables and cook until soft, then add the quail meat and cook for a few minutes until pink. Remove from the heat, transfer to a food processor and process to make a fine paste. Add one egg, cheese, breadcrumbs, parsley and lemon zest. Season and process to combine.
Roll the pasta through the thinnest setting of a pasta machine. Cut the sheet in half, and keep half under a clean damp tea towel to prevent it from drying out.
Place small dollops of quail filling at regular intervals in two rows along each sheet of pastry, about 4 cm apart. Brush around the filling with the extra beaten egg. Place the other sheet of pasta neatly over the filling and gently press around the mounds to prevent air pockets. Cut with a ravioli cutter and place the ravioli on a tray dusted with a little flour and semolina. Cover with a clean tea towel and refrigerate until needed. You can freeze the ravioli at this point if you need.
Cook the ravioli in plenty of salted boiling water, making sure they are cooked around the edges. Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the sage leaves and when sizzling add a little of the quail stock. Swirl the pan around so the sauce emulsifies. Place the cooked ravioli in the sauce, and finish with extra cheese.