Curried Conch and Plantain Ravioli with Mango and Papaya Coulis
These lovely large ravioli are filled with curried conch with just a touch of hot pepper. They are served with mango and papaya coulis, and a warm wine sauce. Conch is hard to find outside of tropical areas; you may substitute chopped clams for conch if you can’t get it in your seafood market. If you use the clams, omit the conch preparation steps.
Ingredients
- Ravioli
- All-Purpose Flour - 1 pound, 2 ounces
- Salt - 1/2 teaspoon
- Olive Oil - 1/2 teaspoon
- Eggs - 4
- Egg Yolks - 6
- Conch Curry Filling
- Conch - 1, removed from the shell
- Fish stock - 2 cups (alt. clam juice)
- Water to cover
- Olive Oil - 2 tablespoons
- Red Onion - 1 small, diced
- Garlic Cloves - 2, chopped
- Habanero - pinch, diced (alt. jalapeno pepper)
- Ginger - 1/2 inch, fresh, peeled and minced
- Plantain - 1. diced
- Tomato - 1 small , peeled and diced
- Coconut - 1 teaspoon, freshly grated
- Curry powder - 1 tablespoon
- Pineapple Juice - 1 cup, fresh
- Mangoes - 2, peeled and cut from pit
- Papayas - 2, peeled and seeded
- Sugar - 2 tablespoons
- Egg - 1
- Water - 1/2 cup
- Garnish
- Fried ginger strips
- Mango - 1, quartered and cut from pit (leave skin attached)
- Red Wine Glaze (recipe follows)
- Red Wine Glaze
- Red Wine - 1/2 cup
- Honey - 1 tablespoon
Instructions
To make the ravioli dough: Put the flour, salt, and olive oil in a food processor or mixer with a paddle attachment and process for a few seconds to mix. Add the eggs and egg yolks and process until the dough starts to come together in a loose ball. Knead the pasta dough on a floured surface until the dough is smooth. Cut the dough into 8 equally-sized pieces and roll them into balls. Wrap each ball in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes. The dough may also be frozen, and thawed later for use.
To prepare the conch: Cut the hard dark skin off the conch meat. Bring the stock or clam broth to a boil, add the conch, add enough water to cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 3 - 4 hours, skimming any foam that forms. Remove the conch and let cool. Cut in large dice.
To make the filling: Combine all ingredients in a large saute pan over medium heat and cook until nearly all the liquid has been absorbed. Remove from heat and let cool. Heat the olive oil in a skillet and saute the onions, garlic, pepper, and ginger until softened and translucent, about 1 minute. Stir in the plantain and tomato and saute for 30 seconds. Add the coconut and curry powder and saute for 30 seconds. Stir in the conch. Add the pineapple juice and simmer for 20 minutes. Chill in the refrigerator.
To make the coulis: Place the mango and 1 tablespoon of sugar in a blender and puree, Press through a fine-meshed sieve and put in a squeeze bottle. Clean the blender and repeat with the papaya, putting the sieved puree in another squeeze bottle.
To complete the ravioli: Mix the egg and water together to form an egg wash. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll out one ball of dough. Cut out 4 3-inch circles of dough. Brush the edges of two circles with egg wash. Put a spoonful of filling in the center of these two circles. Cover each with one of the remaining circles of dough and press around the edges to seal. Press again, using the tines of a fork. Repeat with remaining dough.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and drop in the ravioli a few at a time; do not crowd them. When the ravioli float back to the top, cook 2-1/2 minutes. Take one out with a slotted spoon or skimmer and check for doneness; when cooked through, remove and drain, then place on a warmed platter and keep warm in the oven as you cook the remaining ravioli.
To serve: Drizzle the mango and papaya coulis onto the plates. Place 2 cooked ravioli on the sauce, and cut one open to reveal the center. Garnish the center of the sliced ravioli with fried ginger. Keeping the skin attached, cut each mango quarter in a cross-hatch pattern. Place one mango piece on each plate. Drizzle plates with red wine glaze.
Red Wine Glaze
Cook the wine and honey together in a saucepan over medium-low heat until reduced by one fourth. Remove, cool, and place in a squeeze bottle.
