Decadent Dish With Blue Lobster Agnolotti Del Plin

Although we all speak different languages, food is the unifying bond that can change any setting, be it at a restaurant or a home-cooked meal, into a special one.

As many enjoy days where the only agenda is staying at home and relaxing, one aspect that makes the day a blissful one is food, and a dish like lobster ravioli that, although may seem like a tedious one to make, is simple and surely to be a staple addition to the weekly cooking plans.

Perfect for any occasion, ravioli is a popular Italian dish that means 'to wrap'. With the addition of stuffing to the pasta and wrapping it up tightly, each bite of ravioli is a burst of flavour from the pasta and the filling.

The lobster ravioli dish, made by Chef Giovanni Papi, Head Chef at Michelin-starred restaurant, Armani/Ristorante, is a great comfort and decadent dish that, when made, is surely going to leave everyone wanting more.

Ingredients:

For the pasta dough:

300g semolina extra large grain

200g flour

500g pasteurised egg yolk

500ml extra virgin olive oil

100g mascarpone cheese

1 lemon

1 fennel

1 basil leaf

50g tomato paste

1 white onion

100ml white vinegar

pinch of salt

For the filling: 

800g lobster

50g mascarpone cheese

zest of a lemon

pinch of salt

fresh basil

1 baby zucchini

1 fennel

1 onion

200ml olive oil

1 tablespoon tomato paste

Recipe:

To make the pasta:

1. Combine the semolina and flour together. 
2. Make a hole in the middle of the mixture and add the egg yolk, salt, white vinegar and olive oil.
3. Use a fork and mix it thoroughly until the dough is smooth and soft.
4. Cover the bowl with cling film and keep it in the fridge for three hours.

To make the filling:

1. Separate the lobster tail and claws from the lobster and set the lobster carcass aside at room temperature.
2. Blend the lobster tail with 50g of mascarpone cheese, zest of lemon and salt. Transfer the mixture into a piping bag and keep it in the chiller for an hour.
3. Roast the lobster carcass in the oven for 15 minutes at 180ºC.
4. Chop the fennel and the onion and add into a saucepan.
5. Add the olive oil, the roasted lobster from the oven and the tomato paste and cook on high fire for 40 minutes.
6. Strain the broth and, in a separate pan, reduce it to 70% of the original volume.
7. Keep the lobster claws and tail aside and mince the meat from the lobster.
8. Once the lobster sauce has reduced, add in the basil leaves and set the sauce aside.

To make the ravioli:

1. Use a pasta machine, roll out the pasta into the shape of ravioli. 
2. Add around 20g of the lobster filling to the ravioli and close it tightly, so it does not open while cooking.
3. Boil the filled ravioli in salt water for five minutes.
4. Once cooked, transfer the ravioli to the sauce and cook for two more minutes for the flavours to infuse.
5. Slice the baby zucchini into thin slices and season with olive oil, salt and a few drops of lemon juice. 

To plate, add the ravioli to the centre of the plate and top it off with the sauce and the zucchini. Garnish with lobster meat.

Chef Giovanni Papi

Head Chef

Armani/Ristorante

04-8883666