Lamb Liver Risotto with Sage & Marsala

This was our second time cooking risotto and as the first time it was a success! It turned out delicious. I love liver and the combination with fresh sage and the Marsala wine that it is cooked with made this recipe taste wonderful. If you do not have Marsala use red wine, the taste will change but will definitely turn out as good. All you need for a perfect risotto is patience, it takes between 20-30 minutes to cook a good risotto and you have to keep stirring all the way to make sure the rice soaks up all the stock. So do have a go at the recipe. For 4 people you will need...

• 1.5 litres boiling water
• 2 vegetable stock pots (or cubes)
• 300g Arborio rice
• 250g lamb liver, cut into small pieces
• 6 fresh sage leaves
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 1 celery stick, finely chopped
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 100ml Marsala wine
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 60g (½ cup/½ stick) butter
• 60g grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• Salt & freshly ground black pepper

How to...

1. Start by preparing the stock. In a large pan dissolve the stock pots or cubes in the boiling water, bring back to the boil and turn off the heat.
2. In an other small pan put 50g of the butter and the sage leaves and heat up until the butter has melted. Add the chopped liver, season with salt & pepper, stir well and cook for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally. 
3. Now add the Marsala to the liver and cook on high heat until all liquid has disappeared. Remove from heat, remove the sage leaves and set aside.
4. In a large heavy based frying pan or pan (I prefer a frying pan because it spreads the heat evenly during cooking), add the olive oil, carrot, onion and celery and cooked covered on low to medium heat until soft, about 10-15 minutes. 
5. Now add the rice turn the heat to medium and toast the rice for a couple of minutes stirring continuously. 
6. Add a cup of the vegetable stock whilst constantly stirring until all stock has been absorbed by the rice, this takes about 2 minutes. 
7. From now on, keep adding the remaining stock ½ cup at a time, always adding the next one when the previous one has been completely absorbed by the rice.
8. After you have used half of the stock, stir in the cooked livers and continue adding the remainder of the stock until all stock has been used. This process took me about 25-30 minutes.
9. After all the stock is absorbed, stir in the grated parmesan and the last 10g of butter. Serve immediately!!

Enjoy!!

R&A

Pumpkin Ravioli with Sage Butter - Ravioli alla Zucca con Burro e Salvia

During pumpkin season, I am always looking for new recipes as it is always so cheap. It is delicious, you can use it in both sweet and savoury dishes. This time I made these ravioli from scratch (you can always buy some sheets of fresh pasta if you are not so adventurous or short of time). I also utilized a ravioli making gadget thingy that my dad used to use in the 1970's. They are very easy to prepare and they are served with sage butter...nothing else...simple as you like! So, try them out as they are delicious...for about 24-30 ravioli you will need...

For the pasta dough

• 300g ''00'' plain flour
• 3 free range eggs
• Some semolina flour

For the filling

• 450g pumpkin, deseeded, peeled, cut into cubes
• Pinch of mixed spice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• Olive oil

For the sage butter

• 75g unsalted butter
• 15/20 small sage leaves (or 2 teaspoons dried sage)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Salt & pepper, to taste

How to...

1. Start by preparing the dough. Put the flour in a large mixing bowl and make a well in the middle, add the eggs and mix well with a fork. Tip the bowl contents on a well floured surface and knead the dough well for a few minutes. If too dry add a bit of olive oil. When you get a smooth elastic dough, wrap in cling film and put in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
2. In the meantime, preheat the oven to about 200°C. Put the pumpkin cubes in an oven tray drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper and some extra nutmeg if you wish. Bake into a preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until soft. Take them out and let them cool down.
3. When the pumpkin has cooled down, put into a food processor with salt, pepper, nutmeg, ginger, mixed spice and blend until you get a fine puree. 
4. Now, to remove excess moisture from the puree, put it into a pan and heat gently. Leave to cool again. The filling has to be completely cold to make the ravioli.
5. Prepare the pasta sheets by rolling the pasta very thinly, preferably use a pasta machine or do it like the old Italian ladies (& me) do...by hand :)
6. To make the ravioli, place the sheet of pasta dough onto a floured work surface and cut into a 40cm x 6cm rectangle. Cut equal-sized squares from the rectangle, about 6cm wide.
7. Put a teaspoonful of filling onto a pasta square (make sure the filling is in the centre) cover with another pasta square and seal (using some water) onto the other square. Repeat until you use all the puree/pasta or whichever finishes first :)
8. When the ravioli are done, toss them in semolina flour to avoid them from sticking to each other. Set aside when done.
9. To prepare the sage butter, melt the butter until foaming and add the sage and fry for a few seconds. Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice and some salt & pepper.
10. Cook the ravioli in boiling water for about 3 minutes and serve with the warm sage butter. Alternatively, you can freeze the ravioli.

Enjoy

R&A