It began innocently enough, eavesdropping via social media
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as two friends discussed the finer points of an odd-looking ravioli they'd discovered online
One friend, a great lover of all things beet. The other a great lover of the interactive dinner party
It made me smile
So the other evening when my husband casually said: “Have you thought about what you're going to make for this weekend's food swap?”
I couldn't help but remember the purple ravioli.
His brow furrowed ever so slightly as he silently assessed the gravity of this pasta making business. Pretty soon he smiled “Very well; it looks like it'll be interesting.”
Interesting indeed
Never before had I attempted pasta although I'd always wanted to. It's a world that's seemed rather mysterious. But heck, I bake bread, so pasta can't be all that much of a stretch
Right?
So I went forth. Beets from the farmer's market, fresh herbs, goat cheese and large work surface for rolling
Surprisingly, it was rather easy. The process itself took a bit of time, but really, all of the steps in between were a breeze. The dough came together nicely, although I will say, the kitchen was fifty shades of purple for a few hours.
Ahem
(Not to mention, we started with the beets around midnight, while we were catching up on old Dexter episodes. Yikes!)
The filling was easy to make, and we loved the combination of cheeses and herbs
After that, all that was required was a rolling-pin, a good surface from which to work, and pretty soon, little floured ravioli dotted the kitchen counter.
At the swap, they were a hit
This month we were at the Prairie Moon Winery, where a large crowd of people was leisurely listening to music and drinking Sangria. After a member of the band announced the Ames Food Swappers were in attendance, curious onlookers came by to see what we were up to
The epitome of what the food swap is about, a great excuse to cook something interesting. All to be shared with good friends on a beautiful summer afternoon
Enjoy!
xoxo
~ Adapted from Food52
Beet Ravioli With Goat Cheese, Ricotta, and Herbs
Ingredients
- Beet Pasta
- 2 large beets
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 eggs (large or XL)
- 3 ¼ cup all-purpose flour + more for dusting
- 1 tsp salt
- Filling
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- ¾ cup goat cheese
- 2 Tbsp chopped parsley
- 1 ½ Tbsp chopped mint
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- Parmesan cheese for serving
- Brown Butter Sauce
- 8 Tbsp butter
- 3 ½ Tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Roast the Beets
- Preheat oven to 400° F
- Wrap the beets in foil and place on a baking sheet. Roast about 1 hour or until the beets they're tender.
- Remove them from the oven and let them cool.
- Beet Pasta
- Remove the skins, place in a food processor, and puree until smooth. Add eggs and pulse until combined.
- In a mixer with a dough-hook, combine the beet puree with the flour, salt, and combine until the dough comes together. Up the speed to medium and knead, mixer style with the dough hook 5-7 minutes.
- Cover and let rest for 2 hours.
- Filling
- Before dough is done resting make the filling by combining chopped parsley, mint, ricotta, goat cheese, and salt and pepper in a mixing bowl.
- Set aside
- Ravioli
- When the dough is ready, cut it into 4 pieces.
- Roll out each piece to form a thin layer (about ⅛") of dough.
- Place ½ Tbsp (ish) of filling onto one sheet of the dough about ½" from the edge. Continue to place spoonfuls of filling along the dough about 1" from each other.
- Place one of the other pieces of rolled out dough on top of the piece with the filling on it.
- Pinch the dough around the filling to form the ravioli.
- Use a sharp knife to cut out the ravioli into individual squares. Pinch the edges of each ravioli with the edge of a fork.
- Set aside each ravioli in a single layer on a baking sheet dusted with flour until ready to cook.
- Add ravioli to a pot of boiling water. Stir until the water returns to a boil. When they float on their own, about 5-7 minutes, they're finished.
- Serve on individual plates drizzled with brown butter sauce (below) and shaved Parmesan cheese
- To make the Brown Butter Sauce
- Melt butter in a pan. Cook over medium heat until the butter is completely melted and brown bits start to form.
- Add lemon juice, remove from heat
3 Comments
SO glad you ended up making these!! They look gorgeous and glad they were a hit!! Can’t wait to taste them!
I pulled an IDIOT move! I had thrown the beet ravioli you so gracioulsy shared with me into the freezer. No big deal. I decided to enjoy them last night for dinner. For some reason, I thought it made sense to thaw them before cooking them. Guess what…NOT SMART! UGH! They kinda puffed up and made it a bit difficult to cook them. I was so mad at myself!
I did eat them anyway, no worries! I’m quite sure they would have been WAY better had I not thawed them. I could still get all of the yummy flavor, but the texture was a bit off.
At any rate, I cannot wait to make these myself! Thanks again for bringing me a generous sample!! Hopefully, no one else will have to go through what I did. Never thaw frozen pasta!! Duh!
Ack!!
Who knew? Certainly not me
Note to self 🙂