Desserts

Pineapple Ravioli with Pineapple Sorbet

Not the traditional Italian pasta ravioli!

I first came across this dessert in 2012 when I was a student at the Paris Le Cordon Bleu school. This is not the traditional Italian Ravioli pasta dish, but consists of a very thin slice of pineapple wrapped around a sweet mascarpone filling, often served with a fruit coulis or syrup. I was intrigued with this recipe but had a few key questions to answer before daring to make this dessert myself. How do you slice the pineapple so thin and what do you do with the core? Doesn’t the core have to first be removed and how do you make the pineapple slice pliable enough to fold over? Anyway, after a little research and experimentation, I decided to take the plunge myself!

The Answers!

First of all, you will need to use a whole piece of uncut pineapple, not canned. In order to slice the pineapple thinly, you’ll need to first remove the outer shell with a knife, then use a Mandolin slicer set on a very low thickness setting (1/16 or1/32 of an inch). This makes it so much easier, otherwise you’ll need a very sharp knife and steady hand indeed! To make the pineapple slices pliable, soak them for several minutes in a warm syrup of water and sugar (although this isn’t essential, they will fold over pretty easily anyway). Also, the pineapple core does not need to be removed since you are slicing the fruit so thinly, it just sort of blends in with the rest of the fruit.

After slicing the pineapple, soak pieces in warm syrup water and neaten up any rough edges with a knife. Pipe the mascarpone mixture onto the lower half of the slice, then fold over and press the tines of a fork onto the bottom edge to make ridges.

To make the Pineapple Sorbet

Sorbet is easier to make than regular ice cream since no eggs or milk are required. To make the Pineapple Sorbet, add 2 cups pineapple purée and juice from one lemon to a saucepan. (To make the purée, I blitzed a 20- ounce can of pineapple chunks in a food processor). Add 3 Tbsps. of glucose or honey to the pan and cook for 5-8 minutes over medium heat. Remove pan from heat and add 1/2 cup granulated white sugar. Let mixture cool in fridge for one hour, then transfer to an ice cream machine and mix for 30-45 minutes according to manufacturer’s instructions. Freeze for several hours or longer until mixture is solid.

Pineapple Ravioli with Pineapple Sorbet
Print Recipe
Serves: 8 Cooking Time: 15 mins

Ingredients

1 ripe whole Pineapple

For the Mascarpone filling:

1 8 oz. container of Mascarpone cheese

2 Tablespoons powdered sugar

2 sprigs mint leaves, finely diced

1 sprig coriander, finely diced

dash salt

For the Orange/Pineapple syrup:

1 cup orange juice

1 cup pineapple juice

2 Tbsps, sugar

2 Tbsps. honey

For the Pineapple Sorbet:

2 cups (500 g) pineapple purée

1/2 cup white sugar

fruit of 1 lemon

3 Tablespoons glucose or honey

Decoration: several fresh mint leaves

Instructions

1

Cut off top and bottom of ripe pineapple. Starting with pineapple in upright position, use a sharp knife to slice downwards along the sides, removing the outer skin of the fruit. Cut at least 1/4 inch deep along the sides. If there are still a lot of brown 'eyes' remaining on the sides of the fruit. slice off at least another 1/4 inch of the meat. Don't worry if there are still some 'eyes' remaining. Cut the pineapple in half along the horizonal.

2

Use a Mandolin slicer set on a low setting (1/16-inch setting or lower) and cut at least 8 very thin slices of pineapple (you will probably have a lot of fruit leftover). To soften the pineapple slices, bring 1 cup water and1/4 cup sugar to a simmer, then soak the slices in the solution for several minutes; set aside.

3

To make the Mascarpone filling, finely dice two sprigs of fresh mint and one sprig of coriander. Also recommended to place the herbs in a mortar and pestle and mash them further. Add the mashed herbs, two Tbsps. powdered sugar, and dash of salt to the mascarpone cheese and combine. Transfer to a piping bag without a tip and set aside.

4

To make the Pineapple Sorbet, add 2 cups Pineapple purée and juice from one lemon to a saucepan. Add 3 Tablespoons of glucose or honey to the pan and cook for 5-8 minutes over medium heat. Remove pan from heat and add 1/2 cup granulated white sugar. Let mixture cool in fridge for one hour, then transfer to an ice cream machine and mix for 30-45 minutes according to manufacturer's instructions. Freeze for several hours or longer until mixture is solid.

5

To make the Orange/Pineapple Syrup, add 1 cup orange juice, 1 cup pineapple juice to a saucepan along with 2 Tbsps. sugar and 2 Tbsps, honey. Over medium low heat, reduce the ingredients until it becomes the consistency of a runny syrup.

6

To finish, place the individual slices of pineapple on a flat surface and pipe about 1 Tbsp. of mascarpone onto the lower half of each piece. Fold over each 'leaf' to resemble ravioli and trim off any rough ends. Press the folded edges of each ravioli with the tines of a fork for decoration and to help secure the folded edge.

7

To serve, add several drizzles of orange/pineapple syrup on a plate, Add several pieces of ravioli leaves on top and decorate with several sprigs of mint.