Prawn Mousse Ravioli with Meyer Lemon Butter

When my first experiment with the Meyer Lemons turned sour (no punt intended), I promised myself that I would not lose heart. With the remaining 3 precious fruits sitting in my refrigerator, I tried my best to lock in the taste of the sweet tartness and the scent of the mild floral zest in my memory...refluxing the phantom flavours over and over on my palate... wondering, imagining, fantasising about how the floral citrusy flavours would work with different ingredients.

I was sure of one thing and that is, I had wanted to abandon desserts and work with something that is more savoury. Picking the brains of ZenCanCook over Twitter last weekend, I found new direction. Stephane had shared that the unique floral aroma of the Meyer Lemons would go well with fish and crudo. This immediately reminded me of the memorable Fluke Sashimi With Yuzu dressing I had at Nobu.... it was simply sublime.

Armed with these new inspirations, the 1/2 kg fresh sea prawns I had bought in the morning and my new Kitchen aid pasta roller attachment, I set my mind on making a Ravioli dish,filled with a prawn mousse which I had seen in one of the Junior Masterchef tag challenges with Justin North and Matt Moran.
The recipe in the challenge dresses the Tortellini with prawn oil which I felt could over power the flavours of the Meyer Lemon. I opted instead for a simple Lemon Butter sauce.


The verdict? Almost sensational.... ;) . The mild tartness of the Meyer Lemon was perfect as a dressing for the Ravioli and the floral aroma of the zest in the dressing and the prawn mousse was simply delightful. The flavour was refined and very elegant. What I can improve on, though, is my pasta. I wish I could get it thinner and more pliable. I am guessing that I did not knead and rest the dough enough to get the right silky and soft texture.

Two Meyer Lemons used up and one more left. I would be happy to simply juice it and enjoy it as a tall cold  lemonade :)

Recipe :
Pasta & Prawn Mousse (Adapted from Junior Masterchef)
Pasta Dough

200g type ‘00’ flour (I used plain flour)
2 eggs
1 tablespoon olive oil
Pinch sea salt

Prawn Mousse

600 g green prawns, whole (about 300 g prawn meat).
¼ teaspoon flaked salt
1 egg white
120 ml cream
zest of ½ a lemon

Lemon Butter Sauce
112g   Unsalted butter
Pinch of salt
2 tsp   Lemon zest
1 tbsp Meyer Lemon Juice
Method :
1. Pasta Dough

Combine flour, eggs, olive oil and salt in food processor. Process until mixture forms a ball.
Remove dough from processor and knead briefly on a lightly floured bench until smooth. Wrap in plastic wrap and rest at room temperature.

2. Prawn Mousse

Remove the heads from the prawns then peel the tails to remove all of their shells.
Take the prawn meat and remove the intestinal line by running a small knife along the back of the prawn tail, then scrape out the intestinal track then discard.

Process prawn meat, salt and white pepper in a food processor until a coarsely chopped. Add egg white and blend until mixture is smooth. Add cream and lemon zest and process until just combined. Avoid over mixing. Place into a piping bag and refrigerate

3. RavioliDivide dough into three balls. Flatten each ball into a disk and pass through the pasta machine on the widest setting. Fold pasta in half, lengthways and repeat without changing the roller settings. Cut pasta if it gets too long. Gradually narrowing the pasta machine settings 1 notch at a time. Roll the pasta through until the finest setting. Run through 3 times then cut out 3 rounds with a 10cm round cutter.

To make the Ravioli, brush one half of each circle with egg place a little of the prawn mousse in the center of each circle (about the size of a 20cent piece) and top each with another wrapper, pressing it around the edges to seal in filling.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 tsp of salt into the water. Working in 2 batches, cook ravioli until they rise to the top, 2-3 mins.
4. Sauce Meanwhile, make the sauce. In a frying pan, add 1/2 the amount of  butter and heat until just bubbling and frothy. Transfer first batch of Ravioli into pan using a slotted spoon along with 2 tbsp of pasta cooking liquid. Add 1 tsp of lemon zest and add half of the lemon juice. Swirl to combine. Transfer to plate.

5. Repeat with the next batch of Ravioli.

Lemon Curd Bites - Experimenting With Meyer Lemons

My business travels wreak havoc on my blogging activities but they also give me interesting new exposure to elements that very often turn into inspirational fodder for my blog.... provided if I find time to tap into those inspirations before they fade away in my memory....

I was back in the Big Apple region for almost 3 weeks, working on business plans. Between the cold rainy weathter, the floods in New Jersey and the first transfixing images of the engulfing tsunami in Japan, I was still fortunate enough to be blessed with 2 sunny, fair weathered weekends to roam the streets of New York. 

I saw these Meyer Lemons at Dean & Deluca on my first weekend in town. Fascinated by the collection of cross-bred citrus varieties available, I made a mental note to bring home some blood orange, meyer lemons and mandarinos... Unfortunately by the time I returned again on the weekend just before my departure, the stock has already dwindled to a haggard looking bundle, stripped of the barrels of sunshine I had seen a week earlier. I picked out half a dozen of the best looking Meyer Lemons I could find and hand carried them on my flight home.

Just a little bit of background on the Meyer Lemons for those who are interested - this citrus is a cross bred between a lemon and a mandarin orange. Believed to have been first bred in China for ornamental purposes, US started to consume this in the early 1900. However, I believe I have only become aware of this after I have seen this featured in gourmet magazines and Martha Stewart's recipes over the last 2 years.

Rounder than the ordinary lemon with a deeper orangey hue, the fruit smelt gorgeous like a sweet grapefruit with a mild hint of the lemony zest.  Taste wise, it is less tart than an ordinary lemon but with alot more tang than a sweet orange. I would think that the juice of the Meyer Lemon would be perfect as it is for a lemonade drink without the need for additional sugar.

I deliberated over what to do with the Meyer Lemons when I got back. Now, on hind sight, I have to admit that I had been too narrow minded and was too boxed in by my own pre-conception that to test a lemon,I would need to make a lemon curd. I played safe and fell back on Tish Boyle's Lemon Curd Bites from her The Good Cookie cookbook. 'The miniature tarts made with a tender cream cheese dough was filled with tangy lemon curd. Very posh, very sophisticated.' - I was sold.


These turned out to be pretty little things and yes, I could imagine them looking posh and sophisticated among a tea party spread but I have to admit that the Meyer Lemons did not quite give the right taste to the tarts. Lemon curd, I have come to conclude, should be smooth and tart. One expects the lemon curd to be bright and zesty. However, the subdued tartness of the Meyer Lemons was not enough to deliver the kick. With this recipe, I found that the curd was a little lost in its flavour. At one point, I think my disappointment even wryly hallucinated me into thinking that I was tasting Benadryl...  now I am really lost...

I have not lost heart. I still have 4 lemons in my fridge. I will think of something.....

After thought : I probably should have cut the sugar for the lemon curd by half and that would give me a more tart finish...


Recipe
Lemon Curd Bites (from Tish Boyles's The Good Cookie)

Cream Cheese Dough
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup confection sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter cut into tablespoons
3 oz Cream chees,cut into 1/2 inch chunks and frozen for 30mins
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Lemon Curd
1 large egg
4 large egg yolks
1 cup plus 2 tbsp granulated sugar
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
Pinch of salt
6 tbsp unsalted butter cut into tablespoons

Method:
Dough
1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, confectioners' sugar, baking powder, and salt and process for a few seconds, until blended. Sprinkle the butter and cream cheese pieces over the mixture and pulse about 18 times until the butter pieces are the size of peas and the mixtures resembles coarse meal. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and vanilla with a fork. Add the mixture to hte processor and pulse just until the dough starts to come together.

2. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and gently press it into a disk. Wrap the dough with cling wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, until firm.

3. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400F (205C). Coat 2 12 cup miniature muffin pans with non-stick cooking spray. Cut out twenty-four 2-inch squares of aluminum foil.

4. Remove the dough from the fridg and divide it in half. Divide each half into 12 portions. Shape each piece of dough into a ball. Place one ball in each muffin cup and press down into the center of the ball with the knuckle of your index finger to form an indentation, then press the dough up the sides of the cup to its rim. The cups should be completely lined with dough. Prick the bottom of each crust with a fork. Line each crust with a alumninum foil and fill with a few pie weights, dried beans or rice.

5. Bake the crusts for 10mins. Transfer the muffin pans to a wire rack and reduce the oven temperature to 350F (175C). Remove the foil and weights from the crusts and bake the crusts for another 7 to 9 mins until golden brown around the edges. Cool down the muffin pans completely before removing tart cases from the pan.

Lemon Curd
1. Set a fine mesh sieve over a medium bowl and set aside. In a medium sized heavy nonreactive saucepan, whisk together the egg, yolks and sugar until blended. Stir in the lemon juice and zest, salt and butter and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture thickens, 7-10mins. (do not let the mixture boil, or it will curdle). Immediately strain the mixture through the sieve, pressing it through with a rubber spatula. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the curd until chilled, about 1 hour.

Assembly

1. Placing the chilled lemon curd in a pastry bag fitted with a medium star tip, pipe a generous rosette of lemon curd into each crust.

Petit Fours : Lemon Meringue Tart

Psst... I am cheating with this one. Put together haphazardly before I left for Shanghai last week with the intention of finishing up my lemon curd from the Lemon Meringue Cupcakes. I then realised that it didn't quite help to clean out the clutter in my fridge because to get this, I found myself making up a huge batch of Pierrre Herme's  sweet tart pastry dough..... Consolation is that this keeps well for a couple months in the freezer and I suppose friends and colleagues will be happy to hear that I could potentially whip up an Apricot Chocolate/ Orange tart or 2 in the coming weeks for them.... or I could try to work on something gorgeous with strawberries... it is raining strawberries here in Seoul. I am lucky to be in the middle of what appears to be the peak season for strawberries in Korea. The fruits are a glossy garnet red (unlike the pale hue that I typically see for imported Korean strawberries in Singapore), sweet and flavourful with a tender bite. I am setting aside luggage space for 2 punnets to be brought home!

I had chosen to make these into petit fours, tiny bite sized treats that can be devoured in one single mouthful. I am a fan of miniature sized sweet treats. Sweets, I feel, are best enjoyed in small doses. Their ability to delight is indirectly proportional to their sizes. A fist sized cupcake or a 2"  macaron has little appeal for me.

Hence, I leave you this for now... my next teleconference's calling.



Recipe

Lemon Curd and Meringue : Please refer to recipe for Lemon Meringue Cupcake
Sweet Tart Dough : Please refer to recipe for Orange Tartlet

Isabella's Lemon Meringue Cupcake

At last! Star World is screening Australia's first Junior Masterchef here in Singapore! When I was in Sydney last November, practically everyone I met was talking about it. My Australian colleagues were raving in disbelief about how 12 year old kids were cooking snails and  11 year old boy was making lamb wellington.

When this started screening 3 weeks ago,I was shocked and amazed by what the children could do.The skeptic in me wondered if this is all preconceived...that the producers had put the kids in some perversely dark boot camp where they had to practice all the dishes before hand. There was something incongruent about watching the kids hovering and fussing over a real stove when one has been more used to see them molding  playdough over kitchen play kits.

Nevertheless, the kids were amazing and it was pure delight to watch them. Stripped of the ugliness, the politics and the sacarsm that usually accompany competitive reality TV, Junior Masterchef was sweet, endearing and inspiring.

The judges were always encouraging and it was wonderful to see the children's faces light up when they were praised. The camaraderie they showed for each other was also refreshingly sweet when compared to the conniving behaviour normally seen in the adult version of the same. Just yesterday, Pierre, the challenge winner from last week was asked to pick a leader for the opposing team for their new challenge.He picked Anthony (the goofiest of all contestants and my favourite!) because they are good friends.... how I wish the adult world can be as simple as this.


Today I share with you Isabella's Lemon Meringue Cupcake which won her the first mystery box challenge. In the challenge,the children were given a mystery box with a collection of ingredients with which they had to create a dish in 40mins... without a recipe in sight. When it came to judging time, Isabella's cupcakes were so luscious that it literally had the judges swooning over them.

When I saw the recipe in the Masterchef magazine, I knew that I had to recreate this....in 40mins. With enough focus, 40 mins is sufficient to create this 3 component cupcake which includes the cake, the tangy lemon curd and the meringue. The cake made with pouring cream instead of butter, is a breeze to make and yields a beautiful even dome shaped cupcake.

The verdict? I burnt the tip of the meringue a little but these cupcakes were GORGEOUS! The combination of fluffy meringue, tangy lemon curd and soft crumbly cake was an absolute winner. I now understand why judge Gary Mehigan almost melted when he tasted the cupcake.

So, dear readers, will you challenge yourself to complete this in 40mins? I hope you would.


Recipe (from Masterchef website )
Cupcakes

250ml /1 cup pure cream
220g /1 cup caster sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
225g/ 1 1/2 cups self raising flour
Finely grated rind of 1 lemon

Lemon curd
125ml/ 1/2 cup lemon juice
100g butter
110g/ 1/2 cup caster sugar
1 egg
3 egg yolks

Meringue
3 egg whites
110g/ 1/2 cup caster sugar

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180'C. Place 12 patty cake liners in a 12 hole 1/2-cup capacity muffin pan.

2. Place cream, sugar and eggs in a large mixing bowl and whisk until smooth. Gradually add flour and zest and continue whisking until mixture is thick and smooth.
3. Divide mixture between prepared liners and bake for 15-20 minutes or until cakes spring back to touch. Cool in muffin pan.
4. For lemon curd, heat lemon juice and butter in a small saucepan and simmer until butter has melted. Add sugar, egg and yolks and cook, whisking continuously until mixture becomes thick and glossy. Pour into a shallow oven tray to cool.
5. For meringue, beat egg whites in an electric mixer until firm peaks form, gradually add sugar, a tablespoon at a time, beating until sugar has dissolved between each addition. Spoon meringue mixture into a piping bag.
6. To serve, preheat grill to medium-high. Cut a small hole in the top of each cupcake and fill with 1-2 teaspoons of lemon curd. Pipe a swirl of meringue mixture on the top of each cupcake and place under heated grill for 60-90 seconds or until golden. Arrange on a serving plate with spoonfuls of lemon curd if desired.