Pasta With Pears And Pecorino Recipes

Steps:

• Place the peppercorns in a mortar and pestle and crush them until you have a mixture of coarse and fine bits. (You can also grind them in a small food mill or coffee grinder.) Set aside.
• Fill a large, heavy-bottomed pot with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon salt and the pasta and cook according to the directions on the package until al dente. Ladle 1 cup of the pasta cooking water into a glass measuring cup and reserve it. Drain the pasta quickly in a colander and return the pasta to the pot with a lot of the pasta water still dripping.
• Working quickly, with the heat on very low, toss the pasta with 1/2 cup of the grated Pecorino, the crushed peppercorns, cream, butter, parsley, and 1 teaspoon salt, tossing constantly. If the pasta seems dry, add some of the reserved cooking water. Off the heat, toss in the remaining 1/2 cup Pecorino. Serve immediately with a big bowl of extra grated Pecorino for sprinkling.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Halve and peel the pears, and carefully remove the seeds and core.
• Melt the butter in a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Arrange the pears, cut side down, in the skillet so they just touch one another. Sprinkle the sugar, over the pears and butter. Cook, tilting the pan back and forth gently from time to time, until the sugar dissolves and melts into a golden caramel, about 4 minutes. Scrape the vanilla seeds into the pan, and add the pod. Reduce the heat, add the brandy, and cook a few minutes more. Be aware that the brandy may ignite, but the flames will die down quickly.
• Carefully turn the pears over, and transfer to the oven. They should be deep golden brown. Roast until the pears are fork tender, about 10 minutes, depending on the ripeness and size of the pears. Serve with thick slices of pecorino and caramel sauce.

Steps:

• Topping: mix breadcrumbs and aromatic herbs and fry them a bit, with olive oil. Transfer to a sheet pan and toast the mixture in a 300 degree oven for 5 - 10 minutes til crunchy. Pears: peel, thinly slice and flash fry in pan you used for breadcrumb mix, on high flame with olive oil and ground pepper, til they become crispy. Spaghetti: cook until "al dente", drain, reserving some of the water. Return the pasta to the pot and stir in the pecorino and enough of the water to make a smooth sauce. Pour into the pan with the pears and mix. Season to taste with S&P. Serve on plates and top with breadcrumb mix.

Steps:

• Place pears in large bowl. If too much liquid, drain through fine strainer. Mix in pecorino, mascarpone and egg yolk.
• Place 1 wonton wrapper on work surface. Place 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons mixture in middle of wrapper. Brush edges with water, and fold wrapper over. Press firmly to seal.
• Fill 4-quart saucepan two-thirds full of water. Add salt; heat to boiling. Gently slide in 5 ravioli. Cook 3 to 4 minutes or until done. Repeat until all of the ravioli is cooked.
• In 8- to 10-inch skillet, heat butter and sage over medium-high heat until butter is golden brown, reducing heat if needed to keep butter from burning. Remove sage; pour butter over ravioli. Sprinkle with extra cheese as desired.

Steps:

• Peel and core the pear, and shred it against the large holes of a box grater. Stir the shreds with the shredded cheese in a bowl, and blend in the mascarpone.
• Following the master method, page 189, roll dough strips for filling. For each raviolo, scoop a scant tablespoon of the filling, shape it round and drop in place. Cover and cut ravioli by master method.
• Cook the ravioli as in master method, page 192. Meanwhile, heat the butter until simmering in a large skillet and thin it with a cup of the boiling pasta water. Lay the cooked ravioli in the skillet, and coat with the hot butter. Remove the pan from the heat, and sprinkle over it the grated aged Pecorino, mixing gently so the cheese begins to melt into a sauce, then grind coarse black pepper all around.
• I serve these with a melted-butter sauce and sprinkles of black pepper and more Pecorino Romano-details are in the recipe. If you can, find a mild, one-year-old aged Pecorino for the finishing touch.