With a change in season comes a change in cravings and go-to dishes. At Wildebeest, chef Ian McHale make the most out of seasonal mushrooms and game meats in his new fall and winter menu, which includes this mushroom ravioli with consommé, garlic purée and pickled mushrooms.
Feeling ambitious? Try this recipe for a deeply flavourful dish. Or, visit Wildebeest for its new winter menu.
Saffron water
Add saffron to hot water. Allow to steep for minimum one hour.
Ravioli filling
In a heavy bottomed pot, melt butter over low to medium heat.
Once butter is melted, whisk in flour to make a blonde roux. Cook roux out for two minutes, whisking repeatedly.
Slowly add cold milk in two to four stages until mixture has a thick, smooth consistency.
Remove from heat and whisk in the cheese. Once incorporated, add mixture to a blender and blend until smooth.
Remove and leave to cool overnight with parchment on top to avoid a skin from forming. The next day, add ravioli filling to piping bags.
Ravioli dough
Combine dried ingredients by hand or with mixer.
Slowly incorporate the wet ingredients until a dough forms. At this point, the dough should stretch in your hand and fold over itself without breaking. If it looks crumby, add a little more of the saffron water.
Roll out pasta dough until you can see your hand through the other side of the dough.
Cut dough in half and reserve other side for top of ravioli.
Pipe ravioli filling (see recipe above) onto dough to your required size.
Place top sheet of dough and punch with a ravioli punch.
Place onto a tray dusted with semolina or flour and place in fridge until ready to cook.
Mushroom broth
In a heavy bottomed pot over medium heat, caramelized the onions, leeks and garlic. Add thyme and mushrooms.
Cover with water and simmer for two to four hours.
Lower heat to low and strain mixture into another pot.
Reduce until you are happy with the intensity of mushroom flavour.
Season to taste with soy sauce.
Garlic puree
In a small pot over high heat, cover garlic with water and bring to a boil.
Repeat the process seven times, straining and then adding fresh water each time.
Once you have strained the last batch of water, cover the garlic with heavy whipping cream, and reduce the heat to medium-low.
Reduce cream by exactly half.
Blend until smooth.
Spruce tip oil
Add spruce tip, spinach and oil to blender and blend on high until the oil splits. Strain mixture in cheesecloth and then place clarified oil in bottle.
Pickled mushrooms
Incorporate all ingredients except the mushrooms in a sauce pot and bring to boil over high heat. In a separate heat-proof container, add mushrooms. Once pickling liquid has come to boil, pour over mushrooms.
Reserve until ready to use.
Assembly
Bring a sauce pot filled with heavily seasoned water to a boil over high heat. Add raviolis to boiling water and cook for 90 seconds, then remove.
In a separate pot, bring mushroom broth to a boil and add your choice of wild mushrooms.
Add mushroom broth to a shallow bowl along with your ravioli.
Pipe dots of garlic puree into bowl and generously drizzle the spruce tip oil.
Finish with the pickled mushrooms and–if you're feeling fancy–some freshly shaved truffle!
