Iberian Bacon Ravioli and Minted Baby Broad Beans

By corlear

Ingredients

• For the peeled broad beans:
• 7 oz baby broad beans
• salt
• For the Iberian belly pork slices:
• 1 chunk of Iberian belly pork (approx. 14 oz.)
• For the Iberian bacon and broad bean ravioli:
• 8 slices of Iberian belly pork (see previous step)
• 4 1/2 oz peeled broad beans (see previous step)
• 8 fresh mint leaves
• For the mint oil:
• 1/2 cup sunflower oil
• 4 oz fresh mint
• For the Iberian belly pork cubes:
• 1 slice fresh belly pork, 1/10" thick
• For the lettuce hearts:
• 2 cos lettuce
• For the Iberian ham oil:
• 1/2 cup 0.4º olive oil
• 4 oz Iberian ham fat, softened
• 1/4 cup water
• For the meat stock:
• 2.2 lb veal knucklebone
• 2.2 lb veal blanquette
• 12 1/4 oz onion
• 5 1/4 oz carrots
• 5 1/4 oz leeks
• 2 oz ripe tomato
• 4 1/2 cups red wine
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 tbsp 0.4º olive oil
• 10 cups water
• For the Iberian ham and meat sauce:
• 1/4 cup reduced meat stock (see previous step)
• 1/4 cup Iberian ham oil (see previous step)
• cornflour

Details

Servings 4

Preparation

Step 1

For the peeled broad beans:
1. Blanche the broad beans in salted boiling water. Plunge into salted ice-water for approx. 5 seconds.
2. Peel. Make sure you have ½ oz of broad beans per person.

For the Iberian belly pork slices:
1. Soak the Iberian belly pork in cold water to remove the salt.
2. Cut the meat into 2 ¼" x 2 ¼" chunks and wrap in clingfilm.
3. Freeze to make it easier to cut.
4. Using the finest setting, use the meat slicer to cut the meat into very thin slices,
less than 1/10" thick.
5. Arrange a slice of belly pork per person on a piece of waxed paper.

For the Iberian bacon and broad bean ravioli:
1. Spread the pieces of waxed paper on the table and place a mint leaf in the center of each slice of belly pork.
2. Place ½ oz of peeled broad beans on the mint leaf and in the center of the belly pork.
3. Fold the ends of the belly pork slices into the middle to make a triangle.
4. Use a cutter to cut around the ravioli, making sure you leave a paper base so that you can handle the ravioli. Keep on one side.

For the mint oil:
1. Pick off the mint leaves and blanche in boiling water.
2. Plunge into iced water. Drain.
3. Blend with the oil in a food processor. Use the back of a spoon to press the mixture through a sieve.

For the Iberian belly pork cubes:
1. Cut into ½" x ½" cubes.
2. Brown the cubes in fat in a frying pan until they stop sizzling.
3. Remove the cubes from the oil and leave to drain on kitchen paper.

For the lettuce hearts:
1. Wash and clean the lettuces, keeping the yellow baby leaves and the hearts.
2. Break the leaves up with your hands into ¾" pieces.
3. Blanche the lettuce hearts and then plunge into salted iced water.
4. Trim the stem, removing the outside leaves and cut a rectangle (2/3" wide x 2/3" thick x 1 ¾ " long) from the heart.
5. Cut the lettuce heart width wise into 1/10" slices, without separating the pieces.

For the Iberian ham oil:
1. Put all the ingredients to simmer until all the water has been absorbed and the solid fat has turned into crackling. Strain and keep the oil on one side.
Note: We currently make this recipe in the microwaves, without water or oil.

For the meat stock:
1. Add the sugar to the red wine and reduce it by half. Keep to deglaze the frying pan used to seal the blanquette.
2. Brown the veal bones in the oven at 355 ºF.
3. Cut up the veal blanquette into pieces, 4" long and 2/3" wide. Seal in a little oil over a high heat. The meat should be golden on the outside, but raw inside.
Deglaze with the wine.
4. Cut the vegetables into small pieces. Brown on the oven in a little oil at 300ºF.
5. Once they begin to brown all over, add the tomato quarters.
Continue cooking until the juices have come out of the tomato and the vegetables are golden brown.
6. Put all the ingredients in a pressure cooker. Cover with cold water and cook over a medium heat. Whisk constantly.
7. Once the liquid has started to boil, lower the heat so that it simmers for 6 hours.
8. Strain and leave to cool so the fat solidifies. Scrape it off.
9. Reduce until you have a tasty, thick stock. Strain.

For the Iberian ham and meat sauce:
1. Thicken the meat stock with the cornflour. Boil for 2 minutes.
2. Add the Iberian ham oil and remove from the heat. Keep warm.

Final Steps & Preparation:
1. Seal the 4 sides of the lettuce heart on a grill over a high heat.
2. Sauté the lettuce leaves for 2 seconds and deglaze with 1 ¾ oz of the Iberian ham and meat sauce. They should be nearly raw.
3. Place 2 raviolis on a dish, leaving the wax paper on the top part. Heat gently in the salamandra and remove the paper.
4. Put a crackling cube on top of each ravioli.
5. Stand the lettuce heart upright in the upper half of the dish, surround the heart with the sautéed lettuce and heat in the salamandra.
6. Drizzle the mint oil over the lettuce heart.
7. Drizzle the meat sauce and Iberian ham oil between the raviolis.