Casunzei: Delicate Pillows of Yumminess

I realized today that I am at my ideal weight if I were 6'7".  I would also be polishing my NBA championship ring and gargling Cristal Champagne while lounging on a pile of cash.  Of course none of that would change the fact that I am still bald.  So, given that I am not 6'7" and a specimen who can easily get away with a bald head, I compensate for my aesthetic misfortune by not making very much money, having a poor attitude and poorer social skills.  My wife is the envy of our entire community. 

I hate that term, by the way; bald.  I prefer the term 'balding.'  That just sounds more productive.  "Hey Brent, what are you up to?"  "Who me?  I've been balding.  Gotten it down to science in fact."  And I really can't stand the phrase "losing his hair."  That implies that if I had been more responsible, this never would have happened. 

Of course, I can't really get away with the term 'balding' either.  Look at me.  Saying I'm 'balding' is like saying pregnant women are 'pregnanting' or Snooki is 'annoying-ing.'  I just have to face the ugly reality that I have climbed Mt. St. Bald and I have planted my flag.  Is it any wonder, why I fill my empty void with food and the laughter of strangers?  And by the way, you hoity toity full frock of hair types, I have some information for you.  When we are born we are given a fixed amount of hormones.  If you want to use yours to grow hair that's your business. 

But I have declared that if I'm going to be miserable, I can at least make it a delicious ride.  My latest cooking obsession has been with pasta and Italian cuisine.  The impetus for this obsession comes on the heals of a summer trip I made to Babbo Ristorante in NYC.  It is the flagship restaurant of celebrity chef Mario Batali. 

This was a bucket list restaurant that I had wanted to try for ages.  We made the reservations, which can be booked as far as 2 months in advance and be quite difficult to come by.  Fortune must have been on my side as a table was available the week we were going to be there.  We decided to partake of the pasta tasting menu with wine pairing and it was a feast that I will never forget.  The food was so good it literally made my knees buckle.  I would take a bite and have to sit and come to grips with what I was experiencing, like some hippy in a moment of existential discovery.  It was a soul singing kind of moment. 

One of the pasta dishes that was served to us was Casunzei, which is the Italian term for a fresh filled pasta consisting of a filling sealed between two layers of thin pasta dough, folded in a typical half-moon shape. They are commonly home-made and are typical of the culinary tradition of the Dolomites area, in the north-eastern part of Italy, especially the provinces of Belluno, Vicenza, and Verona. The pre-cooked and finely ground filling varies from area to area and typically includes vegetables and ricotta cheese.  We were served one of the traditional forms consisting of roasted chioggia beets and ricotta filled ravioli.  This was my wife and I's favorite course of the whole 8 course meal.  The ravioli was earthy and sweet from the beet that was balanced with a rich brown butter sauce and finished with poppy seeds, scallions and a smoky shaved ricotta salata.  I knew after I had sampled this Casunzei, that this bald fat man would have to try this at home.  So this entry is devoted to my attempt at replicating this ridiculously delicious pasta dish.  It is fairly straight forward and simple in its process, but does take time if you go the extra step in making your own pasta.  If you do not wish to make your own pasta you can get some won ton wrappers from the grocery store and use those as a suitable substitute.

 What you will need:

INGREDIENTS
1 pound roasted Chioggia beets, peeled and finely chopped to yield 2 cups
1 pound russet potatoes, boiled and riced to yield 1 cup
1 cup fresh ricotta
1 basic pasta recipe (see below)
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
Smoked ricotta salata
Parsley

So what in the world is a chioggia beet?  It is named for a fishing town near Venice. Uniquely beautiful flesh has alternating red and white concentric rings that resemble a bull’s-eye. 

If you can't locate one of these, you can easily substitute a red beet.  In fact many italian restaurants utilize the more common red beet, which gives the dish a rather compelling contrast of colors that is quite interesting. 

So first things first.  Roasting the beet.  I was able to find a single beet that was 1 lb, which is pretty large, so the roasting time lasted just over an hour.  Your roasting time may vary based on the size of the beets you buy.  The process for roasting these little darlings is quite simple.

Preheat your oven for 400 degrees.  While the oven is heating up trim you beets until the bulb is remaining, drizzle it generously with extra virgin olive oil; add salt and pepper and place in tin foil.  Fold and crimp the edges and place in the oven to bake.

In the meantime, make your pasta.  If you decide to go the wonton wrapper route, you can skip this process entirely.  If you are stlightly more daring, the recipe for basic pasta dough is as follows:

Basic Pasta recipe

3-1/2 to 4 cups flour

4 large eggs

½ teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

Mound 3-1/2 cups of the flour in the center of a large wooden cutting board or workable surface.  Make a well in the middle of the flour and add the eggs and the olive oil.  Using a fork beat together the eggs and oil and begin to incorporate the flour, starting with the inner rim of the well.

As you expand the well, keep pushing the flour up from the base of the mound to retain the well shape.  The dough will come together when half of the flour is incorporated.

Good Lord.  I think I've found "Big Foot."  Is that my arm or the setting for this season of Survivor?  Gracious, you could brush your teeth with that thing.  Sorry, I digress.

Start kneading the dough with both hands, using the palms of your hands.  Once you have a cohesive mass, remove the dough from the board and scrape up and discard any leftover bits.  Lightly re-flour the board and continue to kneading for 6 more minutes (don't skimp on this step; it is crucial that the dough be thoroughly worked to help develop the glutens and elasticity that is necessary).  The dough should be elastic and a little sticky.  Wrap the dough in plastic and allow to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.  Makes 4 servings.

At this stage you should still have 30 minutes or more of roasting time remaining.  Take this time to peel, dice, boil and mash your russet potato.  If you have a ricer or food mill, by all means use it for a smoother texture.  If you don't have one, simply use a masher or pulse it in a food processor.

 Peel and dice your beet and add to the potatoes and mash together or pusle together in a food processor.  If using a food processor you may need to do this in batches.

 

 

Mix the beet, russet and ricotta together in a large bowl.  Add salt and freshly ground black pepper cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Using a pasta machine roll out the pasta to its thinnest setting and cut the sheets into 4 inch squares.  The pasta needs to be thin enough to see your fingers through.  This is a delicate pasta that screams of a need to see the filling it is holding.  With a ring cutter cut out circles.  Place a tablespoon of the ricotta mixture on one half of the circle, with water or egg wash moisten the edge  then fold over and seal. 

Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil and 2 tablespoons of salt to a boil.  The rule of thumb here is 6 quarts of water per pound of pasta.  This helps prevent sticking and keeps the water at a boil when you add the cold pasta.  Which is critical.  If you do not have enough water for the pasta, the temperature drops significantly and it won't cook properly.  This pasta is done when it starts to rise to the top. 

In a 14 to 16 inch saute pan heat the butter on high heat until it foams then subsides.  This needs carefull attention, because the window between delicious and disgusting is small.  This is a step that is just beyond melted butter to where the butter starts to change colors and adds a more complex nutty taste that is ridiculously tasty.  What is happening is the milk solids are separating and browning.  The trick is to recognize the right color and aroma, then to stop the cooking by adding a bit of the pasta water.  When it reaches the right color as seen below, add a spoonful of pasta water and toss gently for a minute.

 Season with salt and pepper.  Add the pasta and toss gently.  Divide the pasta evenly among 4 plates and finish with poppy seeds, parsley and the smoked ricotta salata.  I couldn't find any smoked ricotta salata so i added a bit of smoked paprika to get that smoky feel and just used regular ricotta salata.

For those of you who don't know, ricotta salata is a variation of traditional ricotta that has been pressed, salted and dried.  If you can't find any, parmagiano reggiano is fine or a pecorino.  You really can't go wrong. 

Here is my version side by side with what I had at Babbo.  Can you tell the difference?

The paprika on mine gives it away.  I also used parsely instead of scallions, but not too far from the original if I do say so myself.  I loveeee this dish.  And I don't typically even like beets, but presented in this format it is yumminess the 2nd power.