Sunday, October 24, 2010

Pumpkin Ravioli WOW WOW WOW

I am so proud - I made pasta from scratch AND it turned out! It is one of the  best dishes I ever had. The pumpkin in the ravioli was....words can't describe how great, then mixed with the caramelized onions....oh wow.

1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/2 cup extra-firm tofu, well drained and crumbled
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
2 tbsp minced fresh parsley
Pinch ground nutmeg
1 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 recipe Egg-Free Pasta Dough (recipe follows)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced thin
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup peas, thawed

Use paper towel to blot excess liquid from the pumpkin and the tofu, then combine in a food processor with the nutritional yeast, parsley, nutmeg, and salt and pepper. Set aside.
Roll out the pasta dough thinly on a floured surface. Cut the dough into 2 inch wide strips. Place 1 heaping tsp of the stuffing onto 1 pasta strip, about 1 inch from the top. Place another tsp of filling on the pasta strip, about an inch below the first spoonful of filling. Repeat along the entire length of the dough strip. Lightly wet the edges of the dough with water and place a second strip of pasta on top of the first one, covering the filling. Press the two layers of dough together between the portions of filling. Use a knife to trim the sides of the dough to make it straight, then cut across the dough in between each mound of filling to make square ravioli. Use the tines of a fork to press along the edges of the dough to seal the ravioli. Transfer the ravioli to a floured plate and repeat with remaining dough. Set aside.
In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden brown but not burned. Stir in the peas and season with salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm over very low heat.
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the ravioli until they float to the top, about 5 minutes. Drain well and transfer to the pan with the shallots and peas. Cook for a minute or two to mingle the flavours, then transfer to a large serving bowl. Season with lots of pepper and serve immediately.

EGG-FREE PASTA DOUGH
2 cups of flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 - 3/4 cup hot water
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and salt. Make a well in the centre and add the oil. Pour in 1/2 cup of the water and stirring with a fork, gradually incorporate the flour into the liquid. Add additional water if needed to make a stiff dough.
When the dough is pliable, and not sticky knead it on a lightly floured work surface until smooth, about 2 - 3 minutes. Shape the dough into a disk and wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest for 15 minutes. The dough is now ready to roll out and cut per recipe instructions.

1 comment:

  1. I think fresh pasta is the most amazing food in the world. This looks incredibly delicious.

    ReplyDelete