Mint Ravioli Stuffed With Goat Cheese Food

MINT RAVIOLI STUFFED WITH GOAT CHEESE

Steps:

• Make the pasta: Prepare an ice-water bath. Cook mint in a small saucepan of boiling water until bright green, about 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer mint to ice-water bath. When cool, drain, and squeeze out excess water.
• Transfer mint to a food processor. Add eggs, and process until mint is finely chopped. Combine flour and salt on a work surface; make a well in the center. Add the egg mixture, oil, and water to the well. Using a fork, lightly beat wet ingredients. While beating, draw in the flour mixture, a little at a time, until fully incorporated. (Dough will be shaggy.)
• Knead dough by hand or in a mixer fitted with a dough hook until very smooth and supple, 10 to 15 minutes by hand, 8 to 10 minutes with a mixer. Wrap in plastic, and let stand for 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, make the filling: Beat ricotta, goat cheese, salt, and pepper with a mixer on medium speed until well combined and smooth, about 2 minutes.
• Divide dough into 4 portions. Feed 1 piece of dough (keep remaining pieces covered with plastic) through a pasta machine's widest setting (#1) twice. Continue to feed through ever-finer settings, 2 passes on each setting, ending on setting #6. (The sheet will be very thin.) If dough is sticking, dust very lightly with flour. Cover dough sheet with plastic. Repeat with remaining dough.
• Using a round cutter, cut pasta sheets into 3 1/2-inch circles. Spoon 1 generous tablespoon of the filling in the center of 1 round. Wet edges of pasta with a finger dipped in water. Top with another pasta round; press edges tightly to seal. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
• To serve: Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add 1/2 of the ravioli, and cook until they float, 1 to 2 minutes. Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. With a slotted spoon, transfer ravioli, along with 1 to 2 teaspoons cooking liquid, to the skillet. Cook, turning occasionally, until just glazed, about 2 minutes. Transfer to serving plates. Repeat with remaining ravioli and butter.
• Garnish with lemon zest and mint, and serve immediately.

PEA AND GOAT CHEESE STUFFED RAVIOLI

Steps:

• For the dough: Mound the flour on a clean, dry work surface and make a big hole in the center of the pile. Crack the eggs into the hole along with the extra yolks, olive oil, water and some salt. Using a fork, beat the eggs. Incorporate the flour, a little at a time, into the egg mixture, being careful not to break the well (or the egg mixture will run everywhere). When enough flour is incorporated that you can handle the dough, use your hands to combine everything really well. (If the mixture is tight and dry, wet your hands a bit.) When the mixture is homogeneous, start kneading. Knead until the dough is smooth and supple, anywhere from 8 to15 minutes. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for at least an hour.
• For the ravioli: In a food processor, pulse the peas to make a coarse paste. Mix the pea paste, goat cheese, Parmigiano-Reggiano and eggs in a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt. Set aside.
• With a rolling pin, roll out the dough into sheets about 1/4-inch thick and 12 inches long, using extra flour as needed to prevent sticking,. (Reserve the excess dough for another use.) Brush the bottom half of the pasta sheets lightly with water.
• Fill a disposable pastry bag (or a resealable bag with one corner snipped) with the pea mixture. Pipe 1-inch balls of filling onto the pasta about 1 1/2-inches apart on the bottom half of the pasta sheets. Fold the top half of the pasta sheets over the filling so the top edges meet the bottom edges. Use your index fingers to press around the filling and seal the edges shut. Use a fluted ring cutter or fluted pasta roller to cut out the ravioli. Place the ravioli on a semolina-dusted baking sheet.
• Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Heat the chicken stock and butter in a large saucepan over medium heat; season with salt.
• Add the ravioli to the boiling water and cook until they float to the top, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer the ravioli to the sauce and cook, shaking the pan frequently, until the sauce begins to thicken and cling to the pasta, a few minutes. (If the sauce seems too thick, add a bit more stock.) Place five ravioli on each serving plate, spoon a little extra sauce on top and garnish with pea tendrils, sugar snap peas and mint. Sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano.

BEET AND GOAT CHEESE RAVIOLI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Individually wrap beets, onion, and head of garlic in aluminum foil. Place on a baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until beets are fork-tender, about 1 hour depending on size. Remove garlic once soft, after about 30 minutes. Allow beets, onion, and garlic to cool to room temperature.
• Meanwhile, prepare the dough. In a large bowl, mix together all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Make a well in the center and add in eggs. Gradually add in the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until dough comes together (more water may be needed depending on how dry your dough is).
• Turn dough out onto a work surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Divide dough into 4 portions, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
• For the filling: Peel skin off beets, onion, and 3 cloves of the roasted garlic. Reserve the rest of the garlic for another use. Cut beets in half, and place them in a food processor. Add onion and garlic cloves; pulse until smooth, scraping down sides as necessary. Add in 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon fresh dill, and 4 ounces goat cheese; pulse several times until thoroughly combined.
• Remove 1 piece of chilled dough from the fridge. Shape into a rough rectangle about 3x4 inches. Set pasta maker to the widest setting, and run dough through 3 times. Reduce pasta width setting to the next narrowest setting, and run pasta through twice. Continue to run pasta through pasta maker, dropping the width each time, until about 1/16-inch-thick. Cover pasta sheet with a kitchen towel to prevent it from drying out. Repeat with additional pieces of pasta dough, as needed.
• Lay one sheet of pasta on your work surface. Scoop teaspoon-sized portions of beet filling onto the dough about 3 inches apart. Lightly brush water around the edges of the filling. Gently place another sheet of pasta over the filling and press pieces together around the filling, removing as much air as possible. Seal firmly.
• Using a 2 1/2-inch cutter, cut raviolis from the dough, ensuring the filling is as centered as possible. Gently press edges again to seal. Place finished ravioli on a lightly floured baking sheet. Continue making pasta and filling raviolis until all the beet filling is used. Reserve any extra dough for another use.
• When ready to serve, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add a few ravioli at a time to the boiling water. Boil until they rise to the top, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from water with a slotted spoon and set aside.
• Melt 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter in a second saucepan over medium heat. Add a few ravioli at a time to the pan and cook for 2 minutes. Flip over and cook an additional 2 minutes.