Crab and Shrimp Ravioli with a Saffron Cream Sauce

One day, before my boyfriend was leaving to his new base in Anchorage, he wanted to cook me a special dinner. He said anything I wanted, he'd make me. Now, being a person who likes to cook, I wanted to try something different and well, I really wanted to test his cooking skills, so I went online and tried to find the most complicated thing I could find for him to make me and I stumbled across this recipe for crab and shrimp ravioli. http://www.food.com/recipe/crab-shrimp-ravioli-with-saffron-cream-sauce-448376
It ended up being a meal that we cooked together rather than him making it for me because it was a bit tricky making the pasta from scratch, but it was a good lesson for both of us and it was a fun thing for us to do together.

I love crab and shrimp anything, but a saffron cream sauce? I had no idea what saffron was and had to look it up. It's not the easiest thing to find at the grocery store, at least it wasn't at the time we were trying this recipe out, but now I see it all over, at Sam's Club, Walmart, Costco. Maybe it's starting to become popular now? It usually comes in a little glass jar and it's red, but it's not very cheap. I think for a little jar of it, it's around $10, but it will last you a long time.

There are a lot steps to this recipe and it does take a couple hours to make, but it's very good and a great thing to make for maybe a special romantic dinner or maybe you have a fancy dinner party that you're hosting or something. Or if you're not doing anything and just feel like making a special treat one day for your loved one while they're at work or your family. One thing that comes in handy when making this, is a ravioli stamp. We didn't have one when we made these so it took a little longer to cut the dough and they weren't exactly the same size. They were close, but if you can find a cheap stamp on eBay or at Marshalls or something, it'll save you some time and make them look prettier.

 You can buy pasta sheets that would take a load off your time and work, but I wanted to attempt to make pasta dough from scratch. If you choose the easier route, you can skip the first steps and go right to the filling. Before you start, get the ¹⁄₄ tsp saffron and soak in 1 tbsp water for 2 hours.

For the pasta:

1 ¹⁄₂ cups all-purpose flour
4 large egg yolks (save whites, put them aside)
¹⁄₂ tsp sea salt
1 tsp olive oil
2 -3 tbsp water
4 tbsp flour

For the filling:

16 oz ricotta cheese
1 cup lump crabmeat
20 large shrimp, raw, deshelled
2 tbsp butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
¹⁄₂ cup parmesan cheese
salt & pepper
1 tsp thyme

For the sauce:

2 tbsp butter
1 ¹⁄₂ tbsp flour
¹⁄₄ tsp saffron
¹⁄₄ medium onion, finely chopped
1 ¹⁄₂ cups chicken broth
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup dry white wine
³⁄₄ cup heavy cream
salt & pepper
¹⁄₂ cup lump crabmeat
¹⁄₄ cup parmesan cheese (garnish)
1 tbsp parsley (garnish)



To start, you need to make your pasta dough. On a clean surface, make a mound with flour and create a well in the middle for the eggs. Pour egg yolks into the well of flour, along with the olive oil, salt and water. Gradually mix in flour towards the middle until all of it is mixed into the eggs. Add another tablespoon or two of water if the dough is too dry. Knead dough for 10 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic. Prepare filling while dough rests. Wrap the ball of dough in plastic and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Sautee shrimp with butter and garlic until cooked and then remove from pan. Chop shrimp into 1/4" pieces and scrape out eveything from pan and mix with ricottta. Add crab meat, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and thyme and stir until mixed together. Set aside.

Bring 4 quarts of salted water to a boil. Cut dough in half. On floured surface, roll dough to make a thin sheet (about 1/16" thick) or if you're using pasta sheets, get them available now. Cut rounds using a ravioli stamp or the top of a glass. Brush the edge of each piece with reserved egg white. Fill each piece with about 1 tbsp of filling. If you used the top of a glass to cut your ravioli, fold over and pinch shut, making sure the pasta is completely sealed (will look like the picture above). If you have the stamp, take a second cut out and place over the first and seal the edges together with the egg whites, pressing firmly so filling doesn't come out.

In a large pan, over med-hi heat, sautee butter, garlic and onions 2-3 minute. Whisk in 1 1/2 tbsp flour to create a "roux" or a thick paste. Add wine and reduce 2-3 minutes. Add saffron, chicken broth, heavy cream, salt, pepper and crabmeat, cook 3-5 min until sauce is thickened & bubbly.

Boil ravioli 3-5 minutes until done. Gently remove and add to sauce. You can either toss  the ravioli in sauce until coated or do I like I did and pour the sauce over the center of the ravioli on the plate and garnish with parmesan cheese and parsley. Enjoy!





 *We served ours with sauteed green beans with garlic and sliced almonds.