Chef Bill Clifford prides himself on keeping things simple in the kitchen. He plans to use that technique when he competes in the Top Lobster Chef Competition at the Harvest on the Harbor festival this weekend.
Chef Bill enters competition armed with his recipe for rustic Maine lobster and butternut squash raviolli with toasted walnuts sage and maple bacon. He preaches keeping it simple, find out how simple it is using the recipe below.
Serves six as an entrée
For the Filling
1 pound of Maine lobster meat cut into bite sized cubes
1 pound of peeled butternut squash cut into cubes
1/2 pound of peeled Russet potato cut into cubes
2 leeks cleaned and cut into 1 inch cubes
5 cloves of fresh garlic
2 cups of light cream
1 cup of water
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
1teaspoon of ground coriander
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
Salt and pepper to season, approximately 1 ½ teaspoons
For the rest of the dish
1 package of prepared pasta sheets, or 6 squares 10 inches by 10 inches
3/4 cup of walnut halves, lightly toasted and seasoned with salt and pepper
1 bunch of fresh sage, roughly chopped
6 slices of good bacon
2 tablespoons of real Maine maple syrup
8 tablespoons butter
¼ cup of dry vermouth
1 bunch of chives, minced
Preparation
1. In a large, shallow pot combine the butternut, potato, leeks, garlic, cream, water and spices. Cover the pot and cook over medium heat for 45 minutes or until the squash and potatoes are tender.
2. When the mixture is cool enough to handle, ladle the solid part of the mixture in batches into a food processor and blend until smooth, adjusting the consistency with the liquid. We want a smooth paste. There might be leftover liquid when you are finished. That’s OK — the liquid content of the squash varies wildly. Make the paste and thin it out as you go with the cooking liquid. Taste for salt and pepper and set aside.
3. Preheat your oven to 350F degrees.
4. Drizzle the maple syrup over the bacon and roast the bacon at 350F for 10 to 12 minutes or until the bacon is crispy and fragrant. Cool, roughly chop and set aside.
5. Boil a large pot of salted water for your pasta sheets.
6. Melt two tablespoons of butter in a medium-sized sauté pan, add the lobster, season with salt and pepper, and as the meat becomes fragrant, add the squash puree. Fold the mixture together and keep it warm.
6. Melt the other 6 tablespoons of butter in another medium-sized sauté pan. When the butter begins to foam, add the walnuts, the sage and the bacon. Off the heat, add the vermouth. The alcohol should burn off at this point. Toss the mixture together, season with salt and pepper, and keep warm.
7. Cook the pasta sheets, draining each one of excess water. As they are complete, rest each one on a dinner plate. You want to leave some off each sheet, resting off the plate. We are going to fold the sheet in half over the filling, creating the ravioli effect.
8. Carefully spoon 1/6 of the mixture, or approximately 8 ounces, onto each sheet, fold the top over the mixture, and press a small dimple into each ravioli.
9. Spoon 1/6 of the walnut mixture, or approximately 3 ounces, on top of each one, carefully drizzling some of the pan butter on top of each ravioli.
10. Garnish each one with minced chives.
To sample more of Chef Bill Clifford’s dishes, visit Portland Harbor Hotel in Portland, Maine.
The 2010 Maine Lobster Chef of the Year Competition will take place at the Harvest on the Harbor festival, which will be held Oct. 21-23 in Portland. Tune in to NESN on Oct. 29 to watch the battle. For more information on the event, please visit www.harvestontheharbor.com.
