Sunday, December 20, 2009

Meatless Monday: Homemade Pumpkin Goat Cheese Ravioli with Fried Sage, Wilted Spinach and Roasted Pumpkin Seeds



Just another Meatless Monday!

Well, not quite, but I'm posting this a little bit early because I'm in Floyd, Virginia, buried under almost twenty inches of snow, with the power going on and off, and while we have a generator, the internet ceases to work.  So I'm blogging this while I can!  

The inspiration for this meal came from Soledad Farms and their spectacular chevre! They sell many flavors at the Hollywood Farmers Market, which I always sample, and the second their pumpkin chevre hit my tongue, I knew it had to be transformed into ravioli!  So I set about conceptualizing a hearty yet delicate winter pasta dish that would showcase the goat cheese first and foremost.  I made the ravioli using a whole grain spelt flour, stuffed them with pumpkin chevre and caramelized shallots, and served them over lightly wilted organic spinach from the farmers market.  Then, I topped the ravioli with roasted pumpkin seeds, crispy fried sage and walnut oil.  Finally, right before serving, I shaved some parmesan reggiano over the top with my microplane grater.

And then... deliciousness ensued!   

I hate to brag, but it was a spectacular dish, with texture, color, depth of flavor, and the goat cheese was truly the star.  I just ordered the pasta attachments for The Original Diva's stand mixer, and I plan to make a similar dish for Christmas Eve dinner.  To complete this meatless meal, after the ravioli, we dined on my Curried Cauliflower Soup, and throughout the night, we sipped a yummy bottle of Windy Oaks 2006 Pinot Noir, Diane's Block, Santa Cruz Mountains.  




Note:  If you don't have access to Soledad Farms pumpkin chevre, this recipe would still taste amazing with plain goat cheese stuffed into the ravioli. 

Homemade Pumpkin Goat Cheese Ravioli with Fried Sage, Wilted Spinach and Roasted Pumpkin Seeds 
Serves 4 people 

4 cups organic spinach
1/4 cup roasted pumpkin seeds (pepitos)
4 sage leaves
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp roasted walnut oil
salt & pepper
parmesan reggiano, for shaving 

homemade whole grain spelt ravioli:
makes 1/2 lb 
2 cups whole grain spelt flour (whole wheat can be used)
2 large eggs
1/4 tsp olive oil

1/2 cup pumpkin chevre or plain chevre
2 shallots, chopped and caramelized in olive oil

Directions: 

To make the ravioli, place the flour on a cutting board.  Create a well in the middle of the flour and add the eggs and olive oil.  Using a fork, whisk them together and then slowly start to incorporate the flour starting with the inner wall of the flour.  As you expand the well, keep reinforcing the flour walls to keep the mixture in the center.  The dough should come together when about half of the flour has been incorporated. Once the dough comes together, clean off the cutting board, lightly dust it with flour and knead the dough with the heel of your hand for about 6 minutes.  The texture should be elastic and slightly sticky.  Once you're finished kneading, wrap the dough in plastic and set it aside for 30 minutes. 

Using the pasta attachments (or can be rolled out by hand), divide the dough into four pieces and feed each one through the pasta roller serveral times, beginning with the widest setting, and gradually moving to the thinnest setting.  Lay one sheet at a time out on the cutting board.  Place little mounds of goat cheese topped by some shallots about 1 inch apart halfway down the sheet.  Fold the top of the sheet back over the mounds, and then stamp out the raviolis using a ravioli cutter.  Place the raviolis on a cookie sheet lined with a kitchen towel.  Repeat with the other sheets of pasta dough.




To make the fried sage, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a small frying pan over medium high heat.  Add the sage leaves and fry until crispy, a few minutes.  Remove and drain on paper towels.

To make the wilted spinach, heat the remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil in a saute pan over medium high heat. Add the spinach and cook until lightly wilted.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To cook the ravioli, bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil.  Add the ravioli and cook for a few minutes, until tender.  Remove and rinse with cool water.

To plate, place some of the spinach in the bottom of a wide-bottomed bowl or plate.  Top with about 7 or 8 raviolis.  Sprinkle with the roasted pumpkin seeds, top with a fried sage leaf and then drizzle with some walnut oil.  Sprinkle a little salt and fresh cracked pepper over the dish.  Finish it with some grated parmesan reggiano.  Enjoy!




Businesses Mentioned: 

Soledad Goats
6501 Backus Rd.
Mojave, CA 93501
 


Producers of award-winning goat cheese (literally the BEST fresh chevre I have ever tasted), they can be found selling their artisanal cheeses at the Hollywood Farmers Market on Sunday.  Stop by their booth for a free sample and I promise you won't be able to leave without bringing some home with you! 

Source for Ingredients: 

pumpkin chevre from Soledad Farms (Hollywood Farmers Market)

organic eggs from Healthy Family Farms (Hollywood Farmers Market)

organic spinach and roasted walnut oil from Hollywood Farmers Market

organic olive oil, organic whole grain spelt flour, roasted pumpkin seeds (pepitos), parmesan reggiano and organic sage from Whole Foods

3 comments:

  1. this was really really good. i'm craving this.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Now if we could only veganize this little gem of a recipe... hehe...

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  3. Ha! Well, you could stuff the ravioli with roasted pumpkin instead of pumpkin goat cheese for starters. And I'd imagine there's a way to make pasta without eggs, but I've never tried! But it would be delicious without cheese!

    xo

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