Beetroot Rose Ravioli with Mushroom Filling
A beautiful rose shaped ravioli is filled with earthy mushrooms and cheesy tofu for a beautiful dish that is both impressive and nourishing. Add beetroot powder for a deeply satisfying color and extra depth of flavor. Pair with your favorite sauce and top with a little parmesan cheese.
Ingredients
Pasta Dough
- 400 grams "00" or semolina flour, or all purpose can be used roughly 2 1/2 cups
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1-2 tbsp water
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp beetroot powder
- 4 eggs plus one yolk substitute 3/4 cup warm water for vegan ravioli
- extra flour for dusting
Ravioli Filling
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 8 oz mushrooms- chopped
- 14 oz tofu- crumbled
- 1 cup spinach- chopped
- 1/4 cup crushed walnuts
- 1/2 tbsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Beetroot Ravioli Dough
- Weigh out the flour and mix in the salt and beetroot powder. Dump the mixture in a big mound on a countertop. Make a well in the middle using the bottom of a bowl. Make it big enough so the egg yolks (or water for the vegan version) won't run out. It's ok if they do, it's just a little messier.
- Gently pour the egg yolks (or sub for 3/4 cup warm water for egg-free pasta), oil, and water into the center of a well. Using a fork, start to gently mix in the flour until it resembles scrambled eggs.
- Using a bench knife or your hands, keep kneading for several minutes until the dough is hydrated and comes together. Use gloves if you don't want to stain your hands from the beetroot, but it will wash off with soap.
- Note: You can also just use a stand mixer with a dough hook and incorporate all the ingredients until a shaggy dough forms. Then knead the dough by hand for a few minutes.
- Tightly wrap in plastic wrap and let it sit at room temp for at least 30 minutes, but up to two hours to let the dough form.
Mushroom Ravioli Filling
- While the dough rests, chop your veggies and press and crumble your tofu.
- Heat a tbsp of oil in a pan over medium heat and add the chopped mushrooms. Saute for a few minutes until softened.
- Crumble in the tofu and add the crushed walnuts, nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for another minute or two to let some of the moisture evaporate from the tofu.
- Add the spinach and heat until wilted. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
Assemble the Ravioli
- Remove the dough from the plastic wrap and cut it into four roughly equal sections. This makes it easier to work with in smaller batches. Keep the remaining sections covered until you are ready to prevent them from drying out.
- Lightly flour a countertop and roll out one-quarter of the dough. Place the pasta machine on the widest setting and run the dough through twice.
- Fold the dough in half and run it through again. Run it through the next two to three settings and then fold it into a trifold by folding one half into the middle and then the other to make a sort of brochure.
- Run it through the widest setting again and then through the next three to five settings until you get to a really thin pasta. On my Nuvantee, it's setting 7.
- From each sheet of dough, cut out as many little circles as you can. I used a large shot glass to get circles that were approximately 1 1/2" to 2" wide.
- To make each ravioli, slightly overlap three to four circles lightly pressing down on the edges to seal them.
- Using a piping bag or a small spoon, place about 1/2 tbsp of filling in the middle of each circle. You will want to fill them as much as you can without making it impossible to seal the tops for cooking.
- Fold the circles in half from the bottom, sealing the top edges with a dab of water if needed. Then roll up the ravioli starting from one edge. Lightly seal the last "petal," and you should have something resembling a rose.
- Repeat with all the dough and filling. Let them dry while you prepare the rest of the rose ravioli.
- At this point, you can either freeze them or cook them and prepare them with your favorite sauce. To freeze, place them on a cookie sheet so they aren't touching to prevent them from sticking, and place them in the freezer for an hour. Once mostly frozen, you can put them together in a ziploc bag or container and freeze them for up to three months. Just boil from frozen for about 5 minutes to reheat.
- To cook them from fresh, boil in water for about 3-4 minutes. Serve with a lemon butter sauce and top with extra crushed walnutes and parmesan. Or dress them in your favorite alfredo sauce, pesto, marinara, or anything you like!