Sweet Corn Ravioli with Blistered Grapes December 2013

Executive chef Brian Pawlak of Deepwood Restaurant in Columbus, OH, has more than 15 years of restaurant experience specializing in New Italian, Classic French and American Regional cuisines. Here’s his seasonal spin on ravioli.

Sweet Corn Ravioli with Blistered Grapes

From: Executive chef Brian Pawlak, Deepwood Restaurant, Columbus, OH. Yield 40-50 ravioli.

Pasta Dough:
3½ cups all-purpose flour
4 eggs
1 tsp. salt

Sweet Corn Filling:
¼ cup garlic, finely chopped
¼ cup shallots, finely chopped
10 ears corn
1 cup madeira
1 cup mascarpone

Pistachio Pesto:
1½ cups parsley
1 cup basil
1 cup pistachios, shelled
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 Tbsp. olive oil
to taste, salt and pepper

Lemon Emulsion:
14 lemons
1 cup sugar
4 sprigs thyme
15 g agar agar
4 drops yellow food dye

Blistered Grapes:
2 lb. red seedless grapes
1 Tbsp. sugar
3 Tbsp. oil
to taste, salt

For pasta: Place flour in a bowl. Make a well; add eggs and salt. Using a fork, combine eggs into flour. Add extra flour as needed to form dough into a ball. Knead for 10 minutes, then let dough rest for half an hour. Run dough through pasta machine on setting #6. Fill raviolis with 1 Tbsp. sweet corn filling and seal. Drop into boiling salted water; cook until done, about 3 to 4 minutes.

For sweet corn filling: Saute garlic and shallots over low heat. Add fresh corn and cook until caramelization begins. Add madeira to pan and continue to cook until reduced by half. Incorporate mascarpone into mixture. Cool in refrigerator; mixture should be thick.

For pistachio pesto: Place all ingredients in food processor and mix until incorporated. Toss with cooked raviolis.

For lemon emulsion: Zest 10 lemons, then juice them. Combine lemon juice, thyme, 1 cup sugar and 2½ cups water. Simmer to reduce mixture until total volume is 2 cups. Puree in blender with four drops yellow food dye.

Place 1 cup of water into pot; dissolve with agar agar. Bring to a boil, then add lemon mixture. Return to a boil, strain and then cool. Once cool, the lemon emulsion will be firm; place in a blender, adding just enough liquid to mix.

For blistered grapes: Remove grapes from stems. Mix all ingredients in a bowl, then spread on baking sheet. Bake at 350°F until grapes begin to pop.

To plate: Add 2 to 3 Tbsp. lemon sauce to plate. Place ravioli and top with blistered grapes.