We are deep into holiday season. I’m sure you’ve all noticed. I can’t log into social media without scrolling through copious amounts of Christmas cookie pics, nor can I walk through Boston without finding garlands everywhere. Now, I’m not complaining. I love this time of year. There’s something special in the air that I only really feel in early fall and December. A unique vibration or energy or something.

Or maybe that’s the extra sugar and booze…

Regardless, I’m a big supporter of the notion of slowing down a little bit around the holiday season. We spend so much time during the year rushing, rushing, rushing. And the holidays are a time for us to connect to others while rushing around more than ever to get it all done. But my favorite thing to do is get in the kitchen and cook something. But just by myself. To connect with myself.

I’m someone that has difficulty unwinding by just doing nothing, so I love the therapeutic tasks like peeling chickpeas and making hummus from scratch or making pasta. It gets me thinking in a different way than I normally do—it slows me down.

This dish is something I’ve been meaning to make for some time now after seeing a few different inspirational recipes and restaurant features. Pear and cheese (blue and parm) all swirled together and stuffed into giant raviolis, aka ravioloni, along with sage and browned butter sauce. My happy place. There’s no better way to reflect on your year so far and look forward to celebrations with family and friends than kneading, rolling, and forming pasta shapes. The special filling is a bonus. I think a simple arugula salad alongside would make for a perfect meal—especially if you’ve got some crisp white wine to sip along with.

The science-y bits of this post come from my good friend, Pat. First, we need to congratulate him because he has won the Saveur Blog Awards “Best Single Interest” Editor’s Choice award! Which is basically like the Oscar’s of the food blog world, so that is a big deal. You’ve seen a few pieces from him on the blog, but I suggest you head over to his site and peek around. He also recently wrote about the science of fondue for Saveur.

Anyway, he has some interesting tidbits about the science behind blue cheese flavor. Check it out!

Also called “Ketone”, “Medicinal”, and “Perfume-y”, blue cheese flavor is very complex and owes much of its existence to the molds used to produce it.

Some of the characteristic flavor comes about due to the breakdown of fat (called lipolysis). When fat breaks down, fatty acids are formed. (as we’ve discussed before: here, here, and here) The metabolism of a blue mold, Penicillium Roqueforti for example, further transforms those fatty acids into compounds called methyl ketones. 2-heptanone is an example of a methyl ketone that smells similar to blue cheese.

If you’re looking for more cheese science in this recipe, check out the method behind famous Parmigiano Reggiano.

Pear and Blue Cheese Ravioloni

On a personal side-note, I’ve written a piece recently for Edible Boston. This season’s issue is all about the women of food in the Boston metro, and I highlighted the women of food science. There is some interesting research that is breaking barriers and pushing us forward in science and technology—I recommend a read if you’ve got five minutes!

Okay, now onto zen ravioloni. Happy Holidays!

Pear and Blue Cheese Ravioloni with Sage and Butter

Serves 4, or 3 generously

Print the recipe

Adapted from Here and Here

Pasta

400g (14 oz) all-purpose flour

2 eggs, plus yolks (reserve 1 egg white for later)

2 tablespoons water

Filling

2 medium pears (firm, yet ripe), peeled, cored, and quartered

4 oz blue cheese

4 oz heavy cream

¼ cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino cheese

1 egg yolk (optional)

Pinch salt and pepper each

Sauce

50g (1 ¾ oz) butter

8 sage leaves, slightly torn

Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino cheese

1. Begin by making the pasta. Put the flour into a large bowl, making a well in the center. Whisk the eggs, yolks, and water together with a fork in a small bowl and pour it into the well of the flour. Using the fork, begin introducing the flour into the well of wets, stirring to combine. When you can no longer use the fork, use floured hands to combine the flour and wets until you get a rough dough ball. Depending on how much liquid your eggs have, you may have to add another teaspoon or two of water to make this work. Knead your dough ball for 5-8 minutes until it is soft and elastic. I moved from the bowl to a countertop for this. You’ll know your dough ball is ready to rest when you press a finger into it and it bounces back. Wrap the pasta dough in plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.
2. Prepare the filling. Fill a medium saucepan with water ⅔ of the way. Bring to a boil and add the pear quarters. Poach for 8-10 minutes until the pears are just soft. You can check by piercing with a fork. Drain when ready and chop into small pieces.
3. Combine the pear pieces with the other filling ingredients. I like to start by smooshing the blue cheese with the heavy cream followed by the parmesan cheese and pear chunks. I did not use an egg yolk in the filling, but if you want a more substantive filling that tastes richer, add the yolk. Hold off on adding salt until you taste the filling. The saltiness of your cheese may be enough. Cover and place in the fridge until you are ready to fill the ravioloni.
4. Now you’re ready to roll the pasta. Cut the pasta dough disc into four equal pieces. Work with one quarter at a time, keeping the other three covered. I like to use semolina for this part, but regular flour will work as well. Smush one of the quarters into a somewhat flatter disc. Sprinkle both sides lightly with semolina. Use a pasta roller to thin the sheets. Start with the biggest/widest setting and work your way down to thinner thicknesses. Use semolina every couple turns through the machine. You should be able to see your fingers through the dough sheets when you’re done. For me, that was the number 3 setting on my machine. You can also roll your dough out by hand with a rolling pin. Just make sure the thickness is even throughout the dough sheet.
5. Once you’re done with one dough sheet. Sprinkle your countertop with semolina and lay the dough on that space. Do the same with one of the other quarters. Spoon half of your filling by the tablespoon onto the first dough sheet leaving space for your ravioloni to form. I leave about an inch a half between fillings. Brush around the filling areas with egg white. Place the other dough sheet on top and press into the cavities around the filling deposits. Be careful to get rid of as much air as possible from the centers and seal around the edges as much as possible. Using a fluted cutter or a sharp knife, cut the ravioloni out. Give them another good press on the edges to seal. Put the assembled ravioloni on a semolina-dusted plate or baking sheet.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 with the other two quarters of pasta and remaining filling/egg white wash. I like to keep scraps of pasta for future pasta snacks because it tends to get tough if you re-roll them.
7. When you’ve assembled the pasta, put a large pot of salted water on the stove to boil as well as a tall-sided pan. This next part should be as simultaneous as possible. If one part is going faster than another, slow it down to try to finish both parts at the same time.
8. Put the butter in the pan over medium heat. Once it melts, put the sage in the pan, swirling to evenly heat. After a minute, turn the heat down to medium-low. Heat, swirling every so often for a few minutes. You want to begin to brown the butter, but not burn it.
9. Drop the pasta in the boiling water and boil for a total of about 3 minutes, until al dente. During the boiling time, you should be browning the butter in the pan. After it begins to smell nutty, add a ladle-full of pasta water to the pan and swirl to emulsify a sauce. Turn heat up to high and boil off some of the water while the pasta finishes cooking. When the pasta is done. Use a slotted spoon to drain the pasta and transfer them to the pan of sauce. Toss the ravioloni to coat in the pan’s sauce. Turn heat off. Top with a handful or so of more parm, a generous amount of black pepper, and a pinch or two of salt if needed. Serve right away. The sauce will thicken as it stands and the butter begins to solidify.