Mostly, ravioli are filled with ricotta cheese and spinach or various meats. I opted for a lighter, more subtle sea-bass ravioli, to be enjoyed with a flavoursome clam and fish sauce.
I therefore grabbed my motivation and decided to prepare some sea-bass ravioli this morning. Before heading out for my shopping, I prepared the dough using:
- 200g semolina flour
- 100g plain flour
- 3 medium eggs
- a pinch of salt
- a tablespoon of water
While the dough was resting, I went out to buy the following ingredients:
- 1 fresh sea bass
- Some breadcrumbs, or a slice of bread which you will soften in water or milk
- 1 egg
- Some herbs. I used parsley, fresh oregano and chives.
- Pink peppercorns, crushed
Steam the sea bass until cooked, remove the skin and separate out the meat. Finely chop the herbs, then mix with the sea bass meat, the egg, the breadcrumbs (or softened bread), and a pinch of salt. Mash gently using a fork, until you obtain a mixture that can be scooped into your ravioli.
Pull out the dough from the fridge and roll into thin sheets using a pasta machine. These need to be thinner than you would roll if you were making tagliatelle, as you don't want your ravioli to feel "doughy". I used a raviolatrice (see picture) to fill my ravioli, but you can easily make them one by one by hand, it just takes a little longer.
I made the accompanying sauce with a 50-50 clam and fish stock reduction as I had these two ready made in my freezer. Make the sauce by mixing in equal parts clam and fish stock in a frying pan together with a few tablespoons of tomato water and reducing on medium heat with a lemon zest and a sprinkle of breadcrumbs. Reduce until the sauce reaches the right level of thickness, then remove from the heat.
Tomato water: to make tomato water, blend a couple of fresh tomatoes, wrap the blended pulp into a cheese cloth and place onto a colander on top of a bowl. The tomato water will slowly drip over an hour or two.
Clam stock: simply sauteé the clams until they open up and release their juice, then separate the clam juice out.
Fish stock: Simmer the bones and of the fish over slow heat together with an onion, a stalk of celery, some button mushrooms, and preferably some fennel and fresh parsley. The stock will be ready after about 40 minutes.
Finally, boil the ravioli for a couple of minutes in a large pot of water, drain them out of their water and place on high heat into the frying pan together with the sauce. Sauteé for a couple of minutes, basting them with their own sauce, then remove from the fire and top with some delicate extra virgin olive oil. The ravioli are ready to be served.
For this recipe, I used the following ingredients:
Cooking process:
I transferred the parcel onto a plate, opened up the foil and served the whole fish at the table portioning chunks of flesh and a few of the herbs and lemon slices for decoration, for the enjoyment of the family!
This is what I used to make this pasta:
Preparation steps:
The Pomodorini del Piennolo are one of the best varieties of Italian tomatoes, originating from the 
This was the perfect opportunity to pair a batch of Paccheri di Gragnano I have been storing for some time, with these beautiful tomatoes, grown form a nearby area.
I used a few simple ingredients:
Heat some olive oil in a frying pan, and add the squashed garlic and bay leaves (I also added some chilli flakes for a bit of heat). Once the garlic is golden, carefully add the crab meat, lightly toss it for 30 seconds, then add the white wine and let evaporate.
When the crab meat is cooked, remove it from the pan together with the garlic, which you will discard. Set the crab meat aside in a small bowl. In the meantime, you will have boiled and salted some water for the pasta. Put the Paccheri in the boiling water, as they will need about 12 minutes to cook.
Finally,
add some of the basil leaves together with the remaining tomatoes, salt as needed and lightly toss for a couple of minutes. Add the crab meat and the remaining basil, followed by the Paccheri pasta when ready, and sauteé all together for a few seconds. Top with a dash of light extra virgin olive oil and serve with a fresh basil leaf.
We were soon given a Lunch Set Menu, with either 2 or 3 courses and a choice of about 4-5 dishes per course. The bread soon followed, and it wasn't the best thing we were served, as I prefer traditional crusty bread to the soft, brioche style one which tends to remind me of BreadTalk.
I was a lot more impressed by the amouse bouche, which was a crab meat based soft mousse, with a combination of beautiful flavours and textures. There was even some refreshing soft tofu right at the bottom of the jar to settle the palate.
Together with the amouse bouche, the waiter placed a couple of pretty cards right in front of us to announce the next dish, which we selected out of the set lunch. This was without a doubt a beautiful idea, as it prepares you mentally to what's coming and entertains you with the history and composition details of the dish. I much prefer this approach to the typical waiter babbling some hard to understand long memorised description when the dish is served.
The young Young Beets Salad with roast beets, spinach, hazelnuts, pear and blue cheese was well balanced and a way apart from what you would get in a regular café.
I ordered a Reinvented Vitello Tonnato, which was a brilliant variation on the classic Italian dish, still staying truthful to the original. The slices of veal were topped with some tomato marmalade and tuna tartare, and a few scattered large capers. In my case, the creamy tuna sauce was served separately, as the waiter gathered that I don't like "creamy stuff" while doing my orders. I was in fact enquiring about the risotto, which he told me contains cream, and I didn't choose for that reason. He asked me if I can't eat dairy products, but I explained that I actually just don't like food with a lot of cream. The kitchen was, from then on, very careful with adding too much cream to my dishes. This was a sign of excellent, attentive service and good partnering work between kitchen and serving staff!
Next, was the Venison Loin with coffee jus, Jerusalem artichoke paste, and almond powder. The dish was well presented and the venison just right, although I personally found that it was too "gamy", and it needed something either herby or acid to cut through that smell. This could be improved upon.
The Seabass from Italy was served on a potato brandade, green asparagus, and a capsicum sauce. The fish was well cooked, the skin was crispy,
and the capsicum sauce was an unusual but great accompaniment to the fish.
Soufflé is perhaps my favourite dessert these days, and I am always seeking for the "best soufflé", so I didn't let this opportunity slip, and I ordered the Apple and Calvados soufflé with Chocolate ice cream. I wouldn't rate this soufflé very highly, primarily because it was very spongy, almost like a cake, while I prefer soufflés to be light and airy. Also, what was advertised as an ice cream was actually a mousse (which was the best part). Between the two desserts we ordered, I would recommend the chocolate test.
It is actually the 40 hands owner who has a share in this restaurant, where he guarantees that speciality coffees are served. The quirky setup certainly keeps diners entertained, with the kitchen bringing action into the narrow dining room, natural light filtering from the glass ceiling at the back, the rustic materials such as brick walls, steel and rusted chairs. Such exciting combinations make the place feel "real" and alive, for once away from the polished, aseptic setups that have been out of fashion abroad for quite some time and are also becoming dated on this island.
Chef Ryan Clift from Tippling Club also has a stake in this restaurant as the food concept supervisor. Unlike the Tippling Club which is more experimental, the menu here is very simple and earthy, the kind of food which you would enjoy for a Saturday or Sunday lunch. And it was in fact during a Saturday lunch that I visited the place and tried a couple of their dishes.
The Flamed tuna carpaccio with radish and yuzu salad (S$19) came topped with abundant "radish noodles" in a tangy yuzu sauce. The tuna medallions were lightly seasoned and seared all around them for flavour. I liked the fact that the slices of tuna were thick enough to appreciate the texture of the fish.
The Grilled carrot salad with snow peas, orange walnuts and cardamom dressing (S$16) was a bit of a pleasant surprise. A bed of fresh rocket salad unveiled a warm carrot pureé, which also served as the sauce for the whole salad. Shreds of carrot and walnuts added a bit of crunch. This was really a bit of a welcome twist to what I would have expected from the description.
Unfortunately, the Pork belly with parsnip puree, braised quinoa and celery (S$29) looked better than it tasted. I must say that the amount of meat was incredibly generous, in fact too generous perhaps, for a cut of meat which is so extremely sinful. In this case, less is more. The lack of sauce to complement the meat was where this dish fell short, as the parsnip puré was just not enough to help it come together. On the other hand, both the quinoa and parsnip chips were excellently done.
I enjoyed the Roasted salmon with panzanella salad although the salmon was surprisingly quite raw (they claim it's 80% cooked, but it seemed more like 60%). This was perfectly fine with me, since I like my fish raw, but some customers might return it, if unaware at the time of ordering it. The panzanella dressing was a fantastic combination, and the crispy fried basil leaves were beautiful and aromatic.
We were too full to try the desserts, or perhaps there was nothing on the menu that was tempting enough. I was intrigued by the fact that "Amaro Montenegro" was available in the list of spirits. It is my favourite "amaro", a very Italian drink virtually unknmown abroad. It goes to show that this place really tries to offer something different! Overall, the place offered a good dining experience both in terms of setting and food. Don't expect anything out of the ordinary, but you will get some modern, earthy, no frills food at affordable prices in a cool setting in an up and coming district. I would go back try this again soon.
