I am writing this recipe that I reconstructed based on my birthday week dinner at Blackie’s (formerly Blackie’s Bulldog Tavern) in Smithfield RI. I’m posting it to my website because this is what will probably live on long after I’ve lost the piece of paper I’ve written it down on, and this way maybe you can enjoy making it, too. It was one of the very best meals I’ve ever had. My husband said the recreation of it was his favorite thing I have ever made for him (in 22 years).
Start first:
Roast 6 Roma tomatoes after removing liquidy bits at 400f for 40+ minutes
Skins down seems slightly better.
Ravioli: Italianhttps://gfjules.com/recipes/easy-gluten-free-ravioli-or-tortellini-recipe/
Use bobs red mill 1 to 1 if gf
(other gf flour is all gross or stupid expensive)
Filling: Irish
Yukon Gold mashed potato (1)
Shaved corned beef (1/4lb)
Sharp white cheddar (sliced thin at deli so melts) (3 slices)
(Vegetarians, you could use some mushrooms either marinated in vinegar but dried out slightly, or cut real thin/tiny and sauteed with shallots in alcohol of your choice (hard cider!), for similar flavor/texture effect to the corned beef. For full St Patty’s multiculti effect but diff taste, you could go super Irish and make colcannon (mashed potatoes w lots o cabbage and peas). if you do plain mashed potato+chz w no color you will be missing out visually. Need color bursting out as you eat ravioli.)
Sauce: French
Make roux in small saucepan with ghee (2 Tbsp), bobs red mill.
Make sauce with white wine (or, most accurately, leftover flat NYE champagne) and more bottled whole grain mustard than you think (almost 1/4 bottle)
Add a few Tbsp whipping cream
and a little more salt than you would normally put (soooo for me 3 pinches), and at the last minute some basil (2tsp???)
Maybe add more cream.
More veggies to make after sauce while dough sets:
Slice 1 red onion very thin
Sautee in ghee until just short of fully caramelized. You want it soft and starting to be all the same color-ish yet still maintaining all its separate onion strings, not fully cooked down or sticking.
Rip stems out of baby spinach like for a spoiled princess. Microwave for 30 seconds. Keep doing more in little cupfuls until you have a substantial amount. About 5 custard cups of raw leaves is the bare minimum, more would be cool. Could you do this a better way? Surely. Would it take more time and dishes? Also yes. And the spinach is Not the star here, it is for color and vitamins, not texture or looks.
Takes maybe 2 hours start to finish if making the mashed potatoes from scratch this same day, considerably less if not and if have help in kitchen. Bare minimum 45min at warp speed w 2 sets of hands, prolly 1.5hrs the first few times if solo.
Plating:
Sauce on dinner plate center, spread out in a circle that’s a little bigger than the raviolis
Lots of onions, some spinach and tomato
Raviolis
More sauce
Little bit onion
Little bit tomato
Voila.
