Valentine's Day, Gordon Ramsay's starred recipe: 'red cappelletti' to remake at home

Gordon Ramsay's cappelletti are an homage to Italian pasta with an extra splash of color: “dressed in red,” they will color your table on Valentine's Day (and any other special occasion).

Recipe taken from Gordon Ramsay's official website

BEET CAPPELLETTI WITH MEYER LEMON ZEST GOAT CHEESE AND BEET VEGETABLE PESTO

Ingredients

For the beet pasta

• 1 medium-sized beet, cleaned and trimmed
• A dash of red wine vinegar
• 256 g “00” flour + more for kneading
• 32 g of semolina flour
• 2 whole eggs (100 g)
• 1 egg yolk (18 g)
• 1 teaspoon (6 g) salt
• 2-3 teaspoons of olive oil

For the goat cheese filling with lemon zest

• 120 g goat cheese, softened at room temperature
• 60 g of sour cream
• 60 g ricotta cheese, drained
• ¼ cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped herbs (parsley, mint or basil)
• 1 tablespoon Meyer lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For the beet green pistachio pesto

• 3 cloves of garlic
• ½ cup roasted pistachios
• 2 cups beet leaves, cleaned, stripped of stems and sliced
• ¼ cup freshly picked parsley leaves
• ½ cup freshly picked basil leaves
• 2-3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
• 3-4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 meyer lemon
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For the white wine sauce infused with shallots and thyme

• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 small shallot with intact stem, cut into quarters
• 3 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 1 cup unsalted butter, cubed
• 1 lemon, zest
• Flowering thyme, microgreens or chervil, to serve

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees and arrange beets in a small loaf pan, or wrap in aluminum foil. Season with olive oil, salt, pepper, a dash of red wine vinegar and a tablespoon of water. Roast until tender, about 25-35 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, prepare the filling: using a whisk, beat together goat cheese, crème fraîche, ricotta and Parmigiano Reggiano until smooth. Season with herbs, Meyer lemon zest, salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Place in a piping bag and store.
3. Remove from oven and allow beet to cool enough to handle, then peel. Blend the beet over high heat, adding just enough cooking liquid (or red wine vinegar) to blend until smooth. Set aside 84 grams for the paste and store.
4. Prepare the dough for the dough: place both flours on a work surface or wooden cutting board and use a fork to form a hole in the center. Pour the salt into the center of the hole and add the olive oil. Crack the eggs into the center along with the beet puree. Using a fork, beat together the eggs and puree until smooth, continuing to beat while pulling in flour from inside the circle. Continue until almost all the flour has been incorporated. If the dough seems too dry, add a little water (or olive oil to make it glossy); alternatively, if the dough is too wet, sprinkle lightly with flour.
5. Using a spatula, compact the rest of the dough with your hands. Dust the surface with more “00” flour and knead for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic to the touch. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes to an hour.
6. While the dough is resting, prepare the green beet pesto: in a food processor, blend together the garlic, toasted pistachios, green beets, parsley, basil, and half of the Parmigiano until fine. With the processor running, add olive oil until smooth. Season with Meyer lemon zest, salt, pepper and a good splash of lemon juice.
7. To roll it out, unwrap the dough and place it on a clean, cool, dry work surface, such as marble. To shape it more easily, let the filling come to room temperature.
8. Divide the dough into quarters and, working one piece at a time, roll it out with a rolling pin until it is about 3x3” square. Start with the machine at the thickest level and insert the rolled out dough. When it is halfway through, pull it out. Once it is completely through the machine, take it out and air it out. Repeat 2 or 3 times with this process. Lightly flour your hands each time. Using the back of your hand, fold the dough. Then change the setting on the dough machine to 1. Run the dough through the machine. After 10 turns, take the dough, stretch it and fold it. Change the setting on the machine to 2 and repeat. Repeat 10 times, flouring your hands and increasing the level each time, until the dough is smooth and thin like tracing paper (level 5 on any pasta machine).
9. Then cut and shape the cappelletti: dust a baking pan with semolina and roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface (a pastry brush and a pinch of flour are very helpful here). Using a pastry cutter (or the rim of a glass) cut out circles from the dough. Place 1 heaped teaspoon of goat cheese filling in each circle, then form the cappelletti by folding them in half to create a “crescent” and pressing well to make the edges stick. To complete the shape (with the bow facing up) join the two ends with your index finger and thumb to create the outline of the cappelletti. Set aside on the prepared baking sheet and repeat with the remaining dough.
10. Prepare the butter and wine sauce: heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add wine, shallots and thyme and cook until reduced by half. Remove thyme and shallots and discard. Whisk in butter and season with salt and pepper; keep warm over low heat while cooking pasta.
11. To cook the pasta: heat a large pot of water until gently boiling and season generously with salt. Gradually plunge the cappelletti into the pot and “turn” them in the water carefully, to prevent the fresh pasta from sticking or sinking. Cook for 2 to 2½ minutes until the pasta is al dente.
12. Using a skimmer, remove the al dente pasta by shaking it off to remove excess water and plunge it into the butter and white wine sauce to lightly cream it. On the plate garnish with a drizzle of sauce, pesto, a sprinkling of herbs and grated Parmigiano Reggiano.