Masterchef UK Professionals
Baker:
Season:
Week:
Challenge Type:
Egg Yolk Raviolo, Pea & Ricotta, Cacio e Pepe
Lana made her raviolo with visible calm and confidence, noting that ravioli is currently on her restaurant menu. Her filling combined ricotta and peas with seasoning; she did not include mint, creme fraiche or lemon zest as used in the demo. Rather than piping the filling she spooned it directly onto the pasta, noted as unconventional by {Matthew Ryle}. She made only one raviolo, carrying real risk given that any burst would end the dish. The pasta was observed as slightly thin for a large raviolo encasing a liquid egg yolk, which needed marginally thicker pasta for structural support. She did not toast the peppercorns before use, instead crushing them directly in a pestle and mortar, a missed opportunity to deepen the sauce flavour. Her sauce was made predominantly with creme fraiche and butter with only a small amount of the two cheeses, resulting in insufficient cacio e pepe character. The egg yolk was cooked to perfection: warm, just set on the outside, and running beautifully on cutting. The pasta itself was cooked perfectly. Overall a composed and skilled performance under pressure, with the sauce as the main shortfall.
Matt Tebbutt: 'I would be very happy with this dish if I was served it in a restaurant, but I would be asking for some parmesan to put over the top. The filling could have done with a bit more cheese in there, but overall the ravioli was beautifully made. And that beautiful egg yolk just oozed out. To get it to just that stage is skill.'
Marcus Wareing: 'The sauce making, you have used the cheese, you have used the pepper. Just not enough of the oomph to really sing out. But raviola is beautiful. Well done.'
Matthew Ryle: 'That looked pretty close to how I did it. The sauce did cut through the richness of the egg yolk and the filling and I think it worked. Pasta was cooked perfectly. Well done.'
Monica Galetti: 'Lana, I thought you smashed that skills test, quite frankly. You were calm, very cool under pressure. Very much looking forward to seeing what you have got for us next.'
Would you like us to create a recipe to match this dish?
We try to create several recipes every day, and we'd love to prioritize a recipe for you. Just fill out the form and watch your inbox - no cost, no catch.
