Cappelletti w/ricotta & snails

6 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
24 Burgundian snails
1½ Stick unsalted butter
4 Cloves garlic; peeled
½ cup Fresh chopped Italian parsley
1 pint Fresh Ricotta cheese
2 cups Semolina flour
6 larges Eggs
2 teaspoons Milk
Salt
½ cup Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup Heavy cream

Directions

1. To prepare filling, soak snails in cold water for 30 minutes to remove sulphur taste, then drain. Melt butter in a saute pan over low heat with garlic cloves. Cook garlic until it becomes translucent, then discard & add snails. Cook snails in garlic butter over low heat turning from time to time, for 5 minutes.

2. Remove ¼ of garlic butter from pan & reserve it for sauce. Increase heat to high. When butter hisses, remove pan from heat and stir in ¼ cup chopped parsley. Fold in ricotta cheese so it melts & coats snails.

Refrigerate filling for at least 2 hours (it can be made the day before), or until cheese & butter gel.

3. Meanwhile, mound flour on large, clean, flat work surface. Using bottom of a tea cup, make a well in center of flour. Crack eggs into well with milk, &, using a fork beat eggs, gradually incorporate flour until egg mixture is no longer runny. Knead dough with heel of palm for 5 min. or until smooth. You may need to add a little more flour. When dough is right consistency, thumb print should remain visible when pressed into dough.

Note: pasta dough can be prepared up to 48 hours ahead of time & stored tightly wrapped in refrigerator. Once dough is rolled, next step, proceed very quickly.

4. Using pasta machine, roll dough into sheets as thin as possible. (Rolled pasta dough dries out very quickly, so work fast, & cover sheets with cotton towel until ready to use.) Cut pasta sheets into 2-inch squares, & place a ricotta & butter-coated snail in center of each. To shape cappelletti, fold one corner of square over snail to meet opposite corner & press edges to seal in snail. You should wind up with a triangular shaped dumpling. Place triangle on the back of index finger with apex pointing up.

Fold bottom corners of triangle around finger & pinch together to seal in front. (Dumpling should now be shaped like a ring.) Slip cappelletti off finger & place on baking sheet lined with a cotton dish towel. Refrigerate cappelletti for 30 minutes more. Invert each so air dries underside, & refrigerate for 30 minutes more. Note: cappelletti will keep in refrigerator for 4-5 hours. If not cooked right away, add extra minute to cooking time. 5. Cook & serve cappelletti, bring 5 quarts water to rapid boil & add ½ tsp salt. Add dumplings & cook for 8 minutes, or until thickest part of each dumpling (sealed part) is al dente. 6. Drain cappelletti & toss them with reserved garlic butter in large saute pan over medium heat. Sprinkle in the Parmesan cheese followed by cream. When cheese melts, stir in remaining parsley & serve at once, figuring 4 cappelletti per person.

UPSTAIRS AT THE PUDDING

HOLYOKE ST, CAMBRIDGE, WINE:

VERNOCCIA DI SAN GOMINIANO 1982 From the <Micro Cookbook Collection of Italian Recipes>. Downloaded from Glen's MM Recipe Archive, .

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