Mains + Pasta
Ricotta, beetroot, lemon ravioli
Posted On March 14, 2019 By Kathryn
Making your own pasta, in this case ravioli, is an indulgence of time, one which I know many of us don’t have. If you can find the time however, do give it a go. I find it amazingly grounding to make something like this from scratch. The combination of beetroot, lemon and oregano is delightful. Toasted pine nuts give the perfect element of texture. This can be made ahead of time, and takes no time to cook. The ravioli will freeze perfectly, so perhaps think about doubling on the recipe to make it worth your while.
Photo credit – Catherine Frawley
Ingredients
Serves 4
100g cooked beetroot
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
50g ricotta
6-7 sprigs of oregano, leaves picked
100g pine nuts, toasted in a dry frying pan
juice of 1/2 a lemon
75ml olive oil
salt and pepper
Pasta
300g 00” pasta flour
3 large eggs
large pinch of fine sea salt
semolina
You will also need a pasta machine and a 2 inch round cookie cutter.
Method
Place the beetroot and lemon zest in a small hand held food processor and blitz until finely chopped. Stir through the ricotta and season.
Pound the oregano, pine nuts, lemon juice and olive oil in a pestle and mortar until you have a nice rough texture. Season.
To make the pasta, place the flour and salt into a food processor, and pulse to mix. Add the eggs and pulse again, until the dough has come together. Tip out onto a lightly floured surface and kneed for a few minutes until smooth.
Cut the dough in half. Wrap the piece you are not using in some cling film to stop it from drying out. Pass the other through a pasta machine, using a little flour if it sticks. Begin on the lowest and widest setting (number one) and go all the way up to six, passing the sheet of pasta through twice on each setting. You will end up with a really long sheet of pasta.
Cut in half, and lay out each sheet onto a lightly floured surface. Using your cutter, mark out the ravioli shapes along one sheet of pasta as a guideline for where to put the filling. Place 1 tsp of the beetroot mixture into the centre of each circle. When you have done them all (you should be able to fit about 9-10 ravioli circles onto one sheet of pasta), brush a little water around the filling and lay the other sheet of pasta on top.
Very gently press the pasta down immediately around where the filling has been placed, making sure to press out any trapped air. Then, cut out each ravioli, pressing down all of the edges so that they are completely sealed.
Transfer to a large tray dusted with semolina, cover with a damp tea towel, and repeat the exact same process with the remaining pasta. Make sure to cover the ravioli as soon as they are made to stop them from drying out.
Cook in salted simmering water for 2-3 minutes and drain. Serve, with the oregano and pine nut dressing.