Homemade For The Holidays

Okay, so last week we provided some special kitchen tips to make the holidays a little easier and this week we are tackling home pasta!? We get how different these posts must seem, but think that vacations around the holidays can be the perfect time to have some fun and try something new in the kitchen. If you've been wanting to tackle homemade pasta, or even if you haven't, now is your chance! Add a pasta roller (hand or electric) to your holiday wish list and let's get started.

First of all we want to comment on the fact that this is our first recipe including eggs - a complete must for fresh, homemade pasta. Being plant based foodies we do try to use plant based egg substitutes when possible to keep plants the focus of our diets. We find this quite easy when baking as ground flax seed produces a similar texture in the final product and what we feel is a superior taste in certain baked goods when substituted for eggs. However, there are specific homemade recipes that just aren't possible or the same without eggs - so we use them! Eggs provide a good dose of protein, B vitamins, and are one of the few natural sources of vitamin D. When using eggs we try to choose eggs that come from happy/healthy animals so eggs from local farmers or friends raising chickens are our first choice. This would be considered "pasture raised" and will likely not be found in stores. If purchasing eggs from the store we do spring for the more expensive options which include organic, cage-free, and free range. Though these designations do not guarantee that the chickens were raised as happily and healthfully as "pasture raised," the animal conditions will be better than most standard grade. One day we will have a chicken coop along with our kitchen to ensure the quality of our eggs - hey we can dream right! But back to pasta making, with the right ingredients and tools it is very manageable and so fun. We have detailed instructions for you and step by step pictures of the raviolis we created this week. Good luck!

Shiitake Mushroom Ravioli Kale Salad with Brown Butter Miso Sauce
PREP TIME: 1 hour
TOTAL TIME: 1 hour 30 mins
Servings: salad serves 4 (recipe makes 48-50 raviolis)

Ingredients
Dough
1 1/2 cup spelt flour
1/2 cup semolina flour
1 Tbsp ground flax seed
2 whole eggs
3 egg yolks

Filling
5 oz shiitake mushroom, diced
1 medium yellow onion
1 medium garlic clove, minced
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp cracked black pepper
7 1/2 oz whole milk ricotta cheese
4 oz goat cheese

Sauce  
4 Tbsp unsalted butter (we used Kerrygold butter)  
2 tsp miso paste, any variety would work  
2 Tbsp starch water (reserved from cooked ravioli)
2 Tbsp organic half and half or cream
1 small clove garlic, minced

Kale Salad
6 cups raw kale
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 Tbsp shelled hemp seeds

In a shallow dish mix together spelt flour, semolina flour and ground flax seeds. Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and add both the eggs and egg yolks. Using your hands, mix together flours and eggs until a dough is formed. Using a standing mixer with dough hook attachment or by hand knead dough for ~10 minutes or until a smooth dough that holds its shape is formed.  Add 1 Tbsp additional flour at a time if dough is sticky while kneading.  Make sure you knead the dough long enough to properly develop the gluten which will results in a strong and stretchy dough. Cover finished dough with plastic wrap and allow to sit at room temperature while you prepare the filling.

To make the filling, begin by dicing the onion and mushrooms. In a saute pan on medium heat add  butter and chopped onions and cook until onions are wilted with golden edges, ~5 minutes. Add chopped mushrooms to the pan along with the minced garlic and continue to cook for and additional 5 minutes. Remove from heat, place sauteed vegetables in a bowl, then add both the ricotta cheese and goat cheese. Add salt and pepper and stir until mixture is combined.  Allow mixture to cool at room temperature while you roll out the pasta dough.

Cut dough into 4 segments. Either using a standing mixer with the  pasta attachment or a hand held pasta machine, set the roller to #1 (and if using a standing mixer turn to speed #2) then run pasta dough through the machine. Fold pasta sheet in half and repeat this step 4 times. Set roller to #2 then feed pasta sheet through the machine twice (now without folding) and continue this process until you have reached the #5 setting. The higher the number, the thinner the dough. Place finished dough on well floured surface and cut dough in half to fit metal ravioli mold making sure to leave about 1" of additional dough on both ends. Using the ravioli press, gently indent dough to create wells in the dough - this is where your filling will be placed (see photo above). Carefully place ~1 tsp of filling in each well then place the other flat pasta sheet on top. Using a rolling pin, press top dough sheet onto bottom filled dough sheet. The weight of the rolling pin along with the zig-zag grooves on the metal mold will seal the raviolis. At this point you should be able to remove the excess dough from the edges of the ravioli mold. Carefully remove each ravioli from mold and place on lightly floured pan. Repeat process with eat segment of dough until you have made ~48-50 raviolis. Cook raviolis in salted boiling water, 8-10 at a time, for 5-6 minutes. Repeat process until all raviolis are cooked. Please note, this recipe calls for 16 raviolis (4 per person). Any uncooked raviolis you do not plan to eat within 2-3 days should be placed on a pan in a single layer and put in the freezer until fully frozen . The frozen raviolis can then be stored in a freezer bag for up to 3 months.

To make the sauce add butter to a small sauce pan and cook on medium heat, stirring constantly until butter begins to brown and become fragrant. Lower heat to a simmer, add garlic and miso paste to brown butter, and continue to stir until the miso is well incorporated. Add cream and starch water and continue to stir until sauce comes together. Remove from heat and set aside.

To make the messaged kale salad, wash, destem, and chop the kale. Add olive oil, salt, and hemp seeds and begin to message kale until it is well covered and kale is slightly wilted.

To assemble the salad, combine the cooked ravioli with the brown butter sauce then place over messaged kale salad. Serve warm with additional brown butter sauce as desired.

How fun was that? And so worth it! We just love, love this meal! The raviolis are so fresh and rich that they seem to melt in your mouth. The massaged kale wilts slightly from the warmth of the ravioli yet still provides a delightful crunch. To top this off, the brown butter sauce envelopes everything with a decadent finish. Just the meal to enjoy this holiday season or anytime at all.

Enjoy,
Jess and Cecelia