Ring Molds

We "eat" with our eyes just as much as with our sense of taste. The anticipation of how the food will taste is piqued with visual beauty. Some dishes such as stews are meant to be served with a rustic appearance, but some dishes, no matter how humble, can become elegant and desirable with the use of ring molds. Ring molds come in many shapes and sizes and are inexpensive. I have a set of square ones, a set of circular ones with serrates edges, and 2 circular ones that I use most frequently. You can

buy them at most kitchen stores and are usually found in the bakeware section. Below are a few examples of how I have used my ring molds to elevate my dishes to the next level:

Agnolotti

I have been knee-deep in checklists, procedures, and system diagrams as I have been training on the Boeing-777 in Dallas (Cooking Hiatus). Fortunately, I have been able to come home for short breaks every week during this 6 week training program. California and my kitchen are both welcome sights during these breaks. My hectic studies, and my training location have left little time or opportunity for good food, so I have been VERY eager to cook when returning home.

Last week, I wanted to spend one of those quality days in my kitchen with no people or distractions. I decided to make agnolotti stuffed with sausage served with tomato sauce. Agnolotti is a style of ravioli that hails from the Piedmont region of Italy. It's not the traditional ravioli that comes to mind when one hears the word "ravioli". I first saw it made during my Internship at the restaurant and was immediately enamored with the technique of making this beautiful pasta. The agnolotti can be filled with any type of filling in the same way as traditional ravioli. In this particular instance, I chose to stuff it with a mixture I made with my homemade sausage as the base. I will just share the technique for making the pasta and the agnolotti and leave the stuffing and sauce up to you to match your own creative desires.

I started by making pasta dough. I love using ratios to avoid referring to recipes whenever the opportunity lends itself. Here is a simple ratio whenever you want to make pasta for any use:

100 g flour
1 egg
pinch of salt

It's that simple! I like to make pasta by using my hands rather than the mixer. It's just a personal preference because it allows me to know the exact state of the dough (too dry, lumpy, too moist) and what it requires to make it perfect. I also like to pretend that I am some old Italian dude making it the traditional way by spreading the mixture on my counter instead of mixing the dough in a bowl.

I make the traditional "well" with the flour and then add the eggs in the middle. Initially, I stir the egg with a spatula by making circles in the center of the "well", and slowly expand the circles larger and larger to slowly incorporate the flour into the egg. Once all of the egg and flour are mixed, I place the spatula aside and start working the dough with my hands. Initially, it may be lumpy as shown below:

But the goal is to work the dough until it's nice and smooth like below. If the dough is too dry, add just a touch of water. If it's too moist slowly add four to absorb the excess moisture. After making pasta a few times, you'll learn how to judge the perfect balance of flour and moisture.

Next, I allow the dough to rest covered for 20-30 minutes. I then roll it out into large thin sheets using a pasta roller shown above. The technique is to begin with the lowest setting (1) and gradually roll the strips of pasta thinner and thinner until you reach the desired thickness. I usually take it all the way to setting 9. A good rule of thumb is a thickness that allows you to see your hand through the pasta when you place your hand underneath the sheet.

Now you're ready to construct your agnolotti. You would need to make your filling ahead of time because this is the time that you would need it. In my case, I made my sausage filling beforehand and placed it in   a pastry bag ready to be piped. Rather than a longwinded explanation, we all know that a picture (or video) is worth a thousand words. I found a great U-tube video that perfectly demonstrates how agnolotti is made. Notice the rather ho-hum, bored looking wife in the background!

How to Make Agnolotti - YouTube

Here's my finished product:

To cook, simply bring to boil a pot of water and salt, and drop the agnolotti into the water. They will rise to the top when cooked. It should take only 1-3 minutes if you cook right away, and not much longer if you store before cooking. I like to store the agnolotti uncovered in the fridge on a parchment-lined cookie sheet, and dusted with flour so they do not stick. Enjoy!