Recipe: Ravioli with Sturgeon

Ravioli with Sturgeon
There's something tremendously romantic about fish-based ravioli; this recipe is drawn from an old issue of Sale e Pepe, one of the major Italian food magazines.

2 sprigs fresh dill
1/4 lb (100 g) fresh sturgeon
Dry white wine
A bay leaf
A 6-inch rib of celery
A small carrot
1/4 pound (100 g) smoked sturgeon
A small bunch parsley
2 slices white bread
Milk
1/2 pound (200 g) frozen shelled shrimp, thawed
2 shallots
1/2 clove garlic
Brandy
Unsalted butter
1/3 cup cream
2 eggs
Salt and pepper
Pasta made with 2 1/2 cups flour (3/4 pound; see instructions on making it if you want to start from scratch)

Bring enough water to cover the fresh sturgeon to a boil with the bay leaf, carrot and celery. Add a squirt of wine, salt and pepper to taste, and boil the fish (the standard time calculation for cooking fish is 10 minutes per inch(2.5 cm) thickness). Remove it to a plate and let it cool. Mince the dill and beat an egg into it. Mince the boiled and smoked sturgeon together. Dip the bread in some milk, squeeze out most of the moisture, and combine it with the sturgeon. Mince the parsley and combine it with the remaining yolk, and add it to the filling mixture too. Check seasoning. Roll the pasta out dime thin and cut it into 4-inch (10 cm) squares. Put a half teaspoon of filling in the middle of each, fold them over, and tamp them down firmly. Set a pot of water to heat on the stove.

Mince the shallots and onions, and saut them in a dollop of butter. Add the thawed shrimp and continue cooking for a few seconds. Sprinkle some brandy into the pan, light it, and when it goes out remove half the shrimp. Pour the cream into the shrimp left in the pan, season with salt and pepper, and cook them for 5-6 more minutes. Blend the shrimp and return the sauce to the fire. Add the whole shrimp, cook for another couple of minutes, and the sauce is done.

While this is happening the pasta water will have come to a boil. Lightly salt it, cook the ravioli until the pasta is al dente (just a few minutes, since the pasta is fresh), and remove the ravioli carefully from the water with a strainer or slotted spoon. Put them on your plates, spoon the sauce over them, and serve. A note: If you'd rather use other fish rather than sturgeon, feel free to do so. From About.com