Pasta lover alert: Here comes Ravioli!

Best thing about ravioli is that you can pretty much stuff it with anything. Here is a vegetarian take on the dish!

Carlisle Vaz March 07, 2012


Ravioli is a very easy dish to make, and serves as a complete meal in itself. However, elbow grease is involved - especially in the making of the pasta - but a pasta machine can be used as well. The best thing about ravioli is that you can pretty much stuff it with anything. It works very well with seafood, but below is a vegetarian take on the same dish. 




Ingredients:

For the ravioli dough:

  • 2 tablespoons flour

  • 1 egg

  • A pinch of salt and black pepper


For the stuffing:

  • 2 cloves of garlic

  • 1/2 onion (finely chopped)

  • A handful of Mushrooms

  • 1 tomato

  • 3 tablespoons paneer (cheese)

  • Olive oil


For the butter sauce:

  • 2 tablespoons butter

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

  • Orange juice (1/2 orange)

  • 5 olives (chopped) or a couple of tablespoons of chopped asparagus

  • 1 teaspoon chilli flakes


Preparation method:


Ravioli dough:

  • Add two heaping tablespoons of flour, a pinch of salt and an egg in a bowl and mix till dough is formed. Transfer the dough from the bowl to a flat surface and continue kneading, dusting it with flour occasionally to dry it up. The egg ensures that the dough remains elastic at all times. Spend time kneading the dough and do not try to rush it as it may ruin the end product.

  • When the pasta dough is ready, divide it into four pieces and roll them out as thinly as you can, yet still making sure that it is firm enough to hold the stuffing in while it is being cooked in the boiling water. Once the sheets are rolled out, move on to the stuffing.


Stuffing:

  • Heat olive oil in a pan and add to it a couple of garlic cloves. Cook it for a bit till the garlic starts to colour.

  • Add the onion, some more finely chopped garlic and continue sautéing for some time.

  • Soon after that, put in the chopped mushrooms, chopped tomatoes, a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of chilli flakes. Cook for another couple of minutes and then turn off the heat.

  • When the mixture cools down, add two heaping tablespoons of cottage cheese (paneer) and mix it well with the remaining ingredients. (This stuffing is very basic and can be tweaked depending on personal preferences and tastes)

  • Take a sheet of pasta and put a small amount of the stuffing in the center of the sheet. With a brush or the tip of your finger line the edges of the sheet with water and place another sheet over it, pressing gently on the edges so that the stuffing is secured well in the center. With the help of a fork, press down on the edges to completely seal the ravioli, but by doing this you also create ridges that enhance the look of the ravioli.

  • Take the ravioli and place it in boiling water - just like any other pasta.  It will sink to the bottom at first, but will eventually rise to the top when cooked. Keep flipping the ravioli occasionally when it's in the water.


Butter sauce:

  • Add a decent knob of butter to a pan with about a tablespoon of olive oil.

  • Once the butter has melted, add to it some chopped olives, asparagus, a splash of orange juice and some chilli flakes and mix well.


Drizzle the butter sauce over the ravioli just before serving, and preferably eat it as soon as it's cooked.

Hope you enjoyed the recipe!

Alternate stuffing: Another popular option for the stuffing is the spinach and cottage cheese stuffing. For that; warm the spinach in a pan with a knob of butter and a pinch of nutmeg. Add a splash of water to create some steam and leave it to cook with the lid on. When the spinach wilts down, leave to cool and then mix in the cottage cheese. 
WRITTEN BY:
Carlisle Vaz A business graduate from the Institute of Business Management, and a soon-to-be chef in the making.
The views expressed by the writer and the reader comments do not necassarily reflect the views and policies of the Express Tribune.

COMMENTS (11)

Lubna Saad | 12 years ago | Reply looks delicious, but wont the Rivoili open up in boiling water.
Pakistan politics | 12 years ago | Reply Hmm looks great, the photo above increased my appetite :p
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