As you know I’m a free agent at this particular juncture in my life and although I am keeping my ear to the ground and looking actively for work in my field, I am pretty realistic about the prospects out there and I’m keeping an open mind. The support from my blogging peeps is phenomenal and I thank you for your interest and offer to help! I am constantly touched and surprised by the generosity and kindness of, for all intensive purposes, strangers! It is because of you I am keeping my mind open for alternative opportunities, one such opportunity became a reality just two weeks ago.
About a year and a half or so ago, I had the good fortune to be invited to a taping of Top Chef Canada, Season 3 and there I met with Lucie Richard, Toronto-based Food Stylist with whom I chatted extensively about her craft. At that time, she very generously offered to have me ‘assist’ on one of her photo shoots. Two weeks ago it came to fruition and I assisted on a National Brand ice cream shoot. You cannot imagine how excited I was!
Ice cream is one of the most difficult things to shoot because of the very short window of opportunity before it begins to melt. I was thrilled to experience such a challenging product with one of the best in the field; Lucie was kind and generous with her advice and patience and she taught me an incredible volume of information on shooting ice cream. The tricks of the trade tend to be quite personal and what one stylist does may not necessarily be exactly what another does, so experiencing variety is key to coming up with your own tricks of the trade. The client has very specific expectations in what the characteristics of the ice cream should look like so you really need to know what you’re doing.
We used dry ice to super cool the tools, we worked in small batches for short periods of time, constantly re-freezing the ice cream so it doesn’t glaze over in the melting process. And the studio was kept very cool with air conditioning so I brought a sweater and I even brought gloves in case I needed to warm my hands. Of course, the work is fast and furious and there is no time to be cold.
The trends 15-20 years ago was to use ‘fake’ product. Ice cream was a highly guarded secret recipe of shortening, food colourings and inclusions. Today, most companies want the real deal and that in itself presents some interesting opportunities. And then there is Photoshop®, which has at times saved this incredible craft. We even took Photoshop into consideration, shooting slightly brighter and darker versions of the same shot in order to make sure we have what it takes to make the best composite. Of course, the Photoshopers are so skilled and talented, you can’t tell that they have added a little of this and a little of that to make that shot.
The client was very happy with the ice cream photo and we even finished a few minutes early. It was a huge success for me, and gave me the confidence to send out notes to my Food Stylist peeps that I’d love to assist. Who knows, this may become something!
Sadly, blogging is the driver and result of cooking passion; I make recipes for meals that I want to blog about. But we also want to eat the food I blog about. It’s wasteful to make an extra portion just for the blog so either JT or I will suffer with the pretty but stone cold blog version of a dish or eat separately which is what happened with this amazing ‘ravioli’.
Some time ago I saw this unique ‘ravioli’ treatment on my friend Celi’s blog (the kitchen’s garden), she was inspired to make this delightful dish after her daughter who works in a very upscale restaurant in Melbourne told her about it. We were at the cottage at the time I read the post and you know how we are unable to divert from plan because of ingredient limitations, so I was itching to make this beautiful dish as soon as we returned to the city.
One thing led to another and it wasn’t until the Friday before Thanksgiving that I finally got it together to make this tasty dish. Thank you Celi, it is exceptional! It’s reasonably fussy so I will have to figure out a way to simplify it so I can make it as a starter for a dinner party. I used John’s recipe (from the Bartolini Kitchen) for the pasta dough (with minor modifications) and Celi’s rough description for the filling. Even JT commented that he would definitely have it again. So it’s a win/win, all the way around. Thank you Celi and John for inspiring me to make this gorgeous dish.
The ravioli is comprised of sautéed spinach, ricotta and parmesan cheese and the crowning glory is the simple egg yolk enveloped within the light pasta dough. When it is cooked, the yolk is simply warmed so that it becomes thick but remains runny and once it’s broken into, it mixes with the sage brown butter and becomes a delightful sauce over the ricotta, spinach and pasta. This is definitely a winner and will be shared with friends soon.
Ravioli with Egg Yolk and Sage Brown Butter Sauce (uova-da-raviolo)
Serves 2 with lots of pasta left over (I made additional plain ravioli and filled it with seasoned ricotta and froze them for future use).
Ingredients, for the pasta:
- 1 scant cup flour
- 2 egg whites
Directions, for the pasta:
- In a food processor, combine the flour and egg whites and process until you achieve a ball of dough.
- Allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes.
Ingredients, for the brown butter sauce:
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp finely sliced sage
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
Directions, for the Brown Butter Sauce:
- Melt the butter and cook until it is brown, remove from heat and add the sage and garlic and allow to infuse while making the filling.
Ingredients, for the ravioli filling:
- 2 whole egg yolks, at room temperature
- 2 handfuls of spinach
- 1/4 cup ricotta
- 1 roasted garlic, puréed (I used a fork)
- 2 tbsp Parmesan Cheese, and 1 tbsp for garnish
Directions, for the ravioli filling:
- In a small frying pan, sauté the spinach with a splash of EVOO until wilted, set aside to cool.
- In a small bowl, mix the ricotta, roasted garlic and 2 tbsp parmesan cheese. Taste and season with salt as desired.
Directions, for assembly of the ravioli:
- Heat a large deep pan of salted water to a steady boil.
- Roll out four thin sheets of pasta about 10-15cm in diameter (4-6″) (I used #5 on my Kitchenaid Pasta Attachment, but I think #6 would have worked very well too).
- In the centre of two of the pasta sheets, add a mound of spinach and on top of that add 1/2 the ricotta mix. Make a divot in the centre and add the room temperature, raw egg yolk. Place the second sheet on top and push out any air and seal the edges well. Cut this into a shape or leave it rustic.
- In the meantime, reheat the brown butter sauce on low.
- Boil the large ravioli for 2-3 minutes or until the pasta is completely cooked but leaving the egg yolk runny. Serve with the hot brown butter sauce and parmesan cheese for garnish. If you have a few extra sage leaves, add them as garnish too.
- Enjoy while the yolk is still runny.
[…] for these extraordinary ravioli and, not long after, my friend Eva posted her “delightful” recipe. Luckily, Zia saw neither post so my plans remained secret. Weeks later, before my last trip home, […]
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Eva these are beautifully presented! I love how you captured the rustic look of restaurant ravioli! I would most certainly over-eat these. 🙂
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Thank you so very much Kristy, I’m very flattered! I haven’t had a chance to make them again, but I’m quite excited to do so.
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Oh how wonderful you have created a beautiful version. In fact if it is Ok I may revisit my page and pop in a link to here in case anyone wants a real recipe for my rather shambolic assembly. Beautiful!.. c
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Thanks Celi, I’d be honoured.
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i love adding an egg to dishes so that the yolk runs and i get all that yummy goodness
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Thanks Jessica.
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You know I thought of John when I saw that. This looks worthy of him and that’s high praise. Not that you can’t cook anything you set your mind too! Glad you had a chance to do that photo shoot. Sounds like a cool time.
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Thanks Greg, I am indeed very, very flattered by your words. Yes, the photo shoot was a great day.
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How exciting to be able to work on a photo shoot like that! And I’m glad that they use real ice cream. It’s a lot more effort but we do want the food to look like it does in the shots too 🙂 Best of luck with the work situation Eva, you’re smart and talented so I’m sure something great will spring up 🙂
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Thanks so much Lorraine, your kind words mean a lot to me.
I agree, it’s great that now a days they use the real food for photography, it has so much more appetite appeal.
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What a fun experience, Eva! I had a heck of a time photographing ice cream this summer. Maybe I should have had some dry ice on hand 😉 Now on to this amazing pasta! It looks divine. The last ravioli I attempted was pre-blog and not so successful…but you’ve inspired me to try again.
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Thanks so much Liz, I am so happy that you will try again. The single large ravioli is much easier to make than the little tiny one’s.
I’m not sure we can buy dry ice for home use, it’s rather dangerous and can burn your skin very easily so please be very careful. And NEVER put it in the freezer, it is much colder than your freezer and will shatter the inside I’m told.
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What a great opportunity, Eva. I’d love to watch one of those photo shoots but to actually take part? Wonderful! Having heard stories of shortening being used, I’d enjoy seeing just what goes on before the shutters click.
And what a great dish of ravioli! These aren’t a simple pasta to prepare and I give you credit for not just attempting it but for succeeding so beautifully! They look fantastic. I’d promised to make these ravioli for Zia but using quail eggs. Unfortunately, there were no quail eggs to be found before my last visit home. Hope springs eternal for my next trip.
Like you, there are times when I would love to just sit down and eat the meal I’ve prepared while hot. It’s so rare when that happens. With such bad lighting in this house, many of my photos are taken on my open-air the back porch. Winter’s pending arrival doesn’t bode well for my chances of eating another hot meal for quite some time. 🙂
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I wrote all that and still neglected to thank you for your kindly mention. Where are my manners? Thank you, Eva.
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Not a problem, my friend. I thank you for your great instructions for the pasta recipe, it was delightful!
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I was specifically thinking of you John when I wrote this post, knowing that you shoot outdoors particularly in the winter time. Brrrr. I’m flattered by your lovely words, thank you. I hope you do find quail eggs, I can usually buy ours at a specialty butcher so one would think that in Michigan, you would have an easy time finding them.
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What an exciting opportunity for you Eva and learning from the masters too, fantastic! I hope there are more gigs of this nature for you, sounds like a lot of fun and a source of positive energy. Congrats! And speaking of photos…. that second photo is lovely. It showcases the deliciousness of this recipe – so unique with the soft egg within the pasta pillow; I don’t think I’ve come across this before. Must be delicious! Sage and brown butter… talk about a match made in heaven! And, of all the herbs, I think sage reminds me most of fall.
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Thanks Kelly, your kind words are wonderfully welcomed. The pasta dish was exquisite, creamy and rich but not too much (even though it looks gigantic!). Sage is definitely a fall herb!
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Hey I am happy for you what an opportunity Eva! I am constantly fighting with the light. Not enough, or too bright and in the winter… it’s all artificial. Some things just don’t look good the next day or reheated. And ice cream… one of the most challenging photos I ever took was of the cherry jubilee. I never got a shot I liked. My photos are getting progressively worse. I wonder if the memory card is worn out or should I just buy a new camera?
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Hi Zsuzsa, I know what you mean about the light…we’re getting into the yellow season where all light makes everything look like a golden yellow wash over it. I am often not happy with my night time shots, but I’ve developed a system of bouncing natural light from a white card to the subject which works when the light is not as good, it’s a tip I learned from the photo studio where I worked! My phone camera is now a higher resolution than my Rebel! I don’t think I’m going to invest in another SLR, particularly when my iPhone gets better and better every three years! We haven’t even bothered to bring the big camera on holidays any more!
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Wow! This is one for my retirement Eva, when I have more time to concentrate on the recipe. Looks awesome!
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Thanks Lizzy, I’ll try to make a simpler version and post a recipe!
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I remember when we were tweeting (or on FB) about your day with they stylist. It sounds like you got so much out of it. Yes, ice cream is so challenging to photograph! Such a small window of opportunity. I love this ravioli dish. I think it’s a fantastic vegetarian meal and I love a brown butter sauce. Looks very pretty, Eva xx
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Thank you so much Charlie. I have another assisting experience to blog about! The dish was extremely tasty, I highly recommend it.
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A gorgeous dish and presentation, Eva. One day I’m going to buy fresh sage leaves and try that sage browned butter sauce on my own ravioli now that I can finally make my own pasta. The combination of flowing egg yolk and butter sounds like it would be very delicious.
You’re lucky that there’s someone else in the house to help eat the cold results of that wonderful food photography.
PS: Using the whites for the pasta and the yolks for the filling seems remarkably efficient, by the way. No waste at all. 🙂
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Thank you, as always for your kind words Maria. Yes, I am fortunate to have JT help with the results of the blog. I am not one to waste and felt that the dish was rich enough with the yolk, the ricotta and the brown butter so using the egg white in the pasta made sense!
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I recently watched a food show called ‘Simply Italian’ on tln (Telelatino Network) and one of the dishes they showed was this gorgeous ravioli with a whole yolk. I downloaded all 4 22 minute episodes for a look at all the different pasta recipes, sauces and techniques she featured. There’s even a gluten free noodle version.
Here’s a link to the episode guide.
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/simply-italian/episode-guide
If you’re interested in taking a look, I re-uploaded the eps to my Sendspace archive and can send you the links.
Please PM me through LJ. I thought I had your email addy but seem to have lost it.
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That would be great, thank you.
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I hate photographing ice cream. I always wonder how people get it so perfect..lucky for you to have that amazing experience….this is an amazing dish, especially where you have egg running when you open the ravioli. The presentation is awesome.
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Thanks Minnie, I’m not sure what you would do at home, dry ice is not easy to come by. But I would definitely recommend to avoid the really hot days.
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Beatiful! Egg yolk is rich, lovely, and always tasty ~ well done.
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Thanks Judy.
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What an amazing dish. I love the idea of cutting the ravioli open to find the egg yolk. Congratulations on your cool new job experience. That does sound like a fun and fascinating kind of role. Food, art and time management – sounds perfect for you!
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Thank you so much Michela, the egg yolk was the reason I was so drawn to this recipe, it’s just so decadent!
Thank you also for your kind words regarding this new experience, it certainly is worth exploring.
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A giant ravioli…so delicious with brown butter sauce.
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Thank you kindly Angie.
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I think anything this beautiful is worth the extra steps.. but if you find a way to simplify it I’d love to try:) I so hope you get the job you’re looking for.. no one is better suited. Ice cream! That would send me running! Who knew that real food photography is so filled with little tricks like that. What a dream job that would be, Eva! Fingers are crossed:) xx
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Thank you kindly Barbara, all of these positive sentiments will definitely help!
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I am sitting down for breakfast while reading your post and would love to have your ravioli instead of what’s in front of me.
Beautiful photos and pretty presentation. Hope your experience working with Lucie Richard leads to getting many requests for assist in the field. Good luck and all the best.
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Thank you so much Norma, I am hoping so too.
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ohhhh myy…. i cant even describe how badly i need to eat this..
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Thanks Jen.
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This is divine! 🙂
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Thank you.
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Thanks so much and welcome to my blog.
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🙂
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I have seen this ravioli before and it is intriguing for sure. I can see why you were so keen to make it — and it turned out beautifully! Looking forward to hearing more about your stylist experience. See you Thursday.
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Thanks Barb, it was quite delicious too. I know you and Kevin would love it. Looking forward to Thursday, I can tell you all about another assisting job I did on Monday!
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It looks amazing, Eva! I have never seen anything similar and I wish I had your patience and perseverance to at least try making it (I am very lazy when it comes to preparing any kind of dough…).
Your job experience sounds fascinating! I’m sure I’m not the only one who envies you 🙂 Good luck for your future adventures in this field!
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Thank you very much Sissi, but I must insist that you not refer to yourself as lazy, your recipes and posts certainly don’t reflect it!
I assisted again yesterday and it was amazing, I am hoping to have more of these ‘jobs’ in the future.
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