Tris di Pasta

  

Serves 6 

In Italy if a restaurant is known for pasta, the customers will often order a plate of pasta presenting a combination of different tastes, colors and styles. In some regions of Italy, risotto will often be a part of this mix. When making this dish you can use almost any kind of pasta and sauce you like. The only guideline is not to use sauces with both meat and fish on the same plate.

This recipe requires time and effort, but homemade pasta is nearly always worth the effort. You can streamline the process by using good quality commercial dry or fresh pasta, and making the sauce only.


Lasagna
  Ragu
60 ml/ ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
30 grams/ 2 tablespoons butter
1 carrot, diced
1 onion, diced
2 shallots, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
1 bunch flat leaf parsley, minced
1 bunch basil, chopped
200 grams/ 7 ounces chicken liver, diced
300 grams/ 10 ounces ground beef
300 grams/ 10 ounces ground veal
30 grams/ 2 tablespoons dried porcini
  mushrooms
250 ml/ 1 cup dry white wine
½ kilo/ 1 pound fresh tomatoes, peeled,
  seeded and chopped

  		 

          Place the mushrooms in a small bowl of hot water and soak for about 20 minutes. Remove the mushrooms and set aside. Strain the mushroom water of dirt and sand and set aside. Melt the butter and olive oil together in a large sauté pan, and add all of the diced vegetables with the parsley and basil. Cook about 10 minutes, adding white wine if necessary to keep the vegetables from burning. Add the chicken livers and cook until firm, then add the ground meats and porcini mushrooms.Continue to cook until the meat changes color then add the wine and liquid from the mushrooms. Stir well, add the tomatoes and cook over a low heat for about one hour. Béchamel see Béchamel Sauce


To assemble the lasagna:

Note:Make the spinach pasta according to directions on How to make Fresh Pasta .

         Cut the spinach pasta into 10 centimeter squares. Drop them, a few at a time, into rapidly boiling, salted water and cook for about 2 minutes. Gently remove them with a flat strainer and place on a linen towel to dry.

  
Tris di Pasta

           Butter the bottom of an ovenproof baking dish. Place a layer of pasta in the dish and add a thin layer of the ragu. Add a sprinkle of Parmesan and then a layer of béchamel. Now add another layer of pasta, ragu, Parmesan and béchamel. Place in a preheated 350 degree oven and bake for about 30 minutes. When browned on top, remove from the oven and let cool for 30 minutes before slicing.

Tris di Pasta

Tortelloni di Magro

        If you don’t want to make tortelloni use any dry shell pasta with this lovely sauce.

Filling:
1 ½ kilo/ 3 pounds of fresh or
  frozen spinach
500 grams/ 1 pound fresh ricotta
100 grams/ 4 ounces freshly grated
  Parmesan
2 large eggs, beaten
salt and pepper to taste

 

 
         Mince the cooked spinach. In a medium size bowl work the ricotta with a wooden spoon, when softened add the cooled spinach and eggs and the Parmesan. Mix well until you have a smooth paste. Put a tablespoon of the mixture in the pasta and fold as illustrated How to make Fresh Pasta Set aside.

Sauce:
60 ml/ ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
30 grams/ 2 tablespoons butter
2 shallots, minced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
125 ml/ ½ cup dry white wine
1 kilo/ 2 pounds fresh tomatoes, peeled,
  seeded and chopped
125 ml/ ½ cup heavy cream
125 grams/ 4 ounces fresh basil
50 grams/ 2 ounces grated Parmesan

         Heat the butter and olive oil in a medium heavy-bottomed sauté pan. Add the shallot and onion and cook gently until translucent, then add the white wine and stir. Add half of the basil and the tomato and cook slowly until the sauce is reduced by a quarter. Slowly add the cream, the Parmesan and the remainder of the basil. Place the tortelloni in the sauce and cook for 2-3 minutes until warm.


Tortellini alla Panna e Prosciutto
Filling:
50 grams/ 4 tablespoons butter
250 grams/ 8 ounces ground veal
salt and freshly ground pepper to
  taste
150 grams/ 5 ounces sliced
  prosciutto
50 grams/ 2 ounces mortadella,
  minced
2 large eggs, beaten
100 grams/ 4 ounces fresh grated
  Parmesean cheese
5 grams/ ½ teaspoon grated nutmeg

           Melt the butter in a sauté pan and add the veal and salt and pepper, cooking for about 5 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon to break up the meat. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the mixture to cool. Then add the prosciutto, mortadella, eggs, Parmesan and nutmeg. Mix very well then put through a meat grinder.

          Place a teaspoon of the mixture in the center of a square of pasta and wet the edges of the pasta with a little water on your fingertip. Fold the squares as illustrated How to make Fresh Pasta

   
Tris di Pasta


Sauce:
50 grams/ 4 tablespoons butter
375 ml/ 1 ½ cup of heavy cream
100 grams/ ¼ pound prosciutto sliced very
  thin
5 grams/ ½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
50 grams/ 2 ounces grated Parmesan

         Place the tortellini in rapidly boiling salted water. In the meantime sauté the prosciutto in the melted butter and slowly add the cream until well blended. Keep the sauce over a very low heat. The tortellini will float to the top of the water as it cooks. This usually takes about 1-2 minutes. Drain the pasta and add to the sauce.  Heat well.

 


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