Love Heart Ravioli

Looking for the perfect Valentine's Day recipe?

This all-organic ravioli will be the ideal addition to your Valentine's Day celebration. The pasta dough is made with beetroots, giving the ravioli a stunning colour, and they are filled with a creamy ricotta and pinenut filling. To top it off, they are served in a delicious brown butter and sage sauce.

Finding good-quality organic products can be challenging, which is why I have partnered with Part&Parcel to create this recipe. Almost every ingredient needed for this gorgeous dish is available on their website, conveniently highlighted in bolded text. This makes it easy for you to do your shopping and recreate this delicious recipe. You can enjoy $20 off your first order (for orders over $99) from Part&Parcel by using the code splendid20 at check-out.

MAKES: 2 serves COOKTIME: 1.5hrs

InGREDIENTS

// For the Ravioli Dough:

• 2 medium-size organic beetroots

• 1 teaspoon Mount Zero olive oil

• 2 medium-size organic eggs

• 1 organic egg yolk

• 2 ½ cups Kialla Pure Foods whole ground plain flour, plus more for kneading

• 1 teaspoon Olssons Sea Salt Flakes, plus an extra pinch

// For the Ravioli Filling:

• 1 cup organic ricotta cheese

• 1 teaspoon Honest To Goodness pinenuts, crushed

• 1 cup organic spinach, chopped finely

• ¼ cup organic parmesan cheese, grated

• Olssons Sea Salt Flakes and Chefs Choice organic pepper to taste

// For the Brown Butter Sage Sauce:

• ¼ cup organic unsalted butter

• 2 tablespoons organic sage leaves, chopped into small pieces

• Olssons Sea Salt Flakes to taste

• 2 tablespoons toasted Honest To Goodness pinenuts

Instructions

// Preparing the Beetroots:

1. Preheat the oven to 250°C. Cut the top and bottom tips off of the beetroots. Season the beetroots with a pinch of salt and olive oil. 

2. Wrap the beetroot tightly in foil. Place on a baking sheet and bake for one hour, until tender. 

3. Remove from the oven, and open the tin foil slightly to allow the beetroots to cool. Let the beetroots cool until they're still warm but cool enough to handle.

4. Rub beetroots with a paper towel to remove the skin.

5. Chop beetroots into small pieces and add them to a food processor or blender. Blend the beetroots until a smooth puree forms.

6. Measure out ½ cup of beetroot puree and use this to make the dough. Set any extra puree aside. 

// Making the Ravioli Dough:

1. To the ½ cup of beetroot puree in the mixer bowl, add eggs and egg yolk and mix until combined.

2. Add flour and salt, and process until the dough comes together and forms a ball. 

3. Remove the dough from the mixer and transfer it to a well-floured surface.

4. Knead dough, and add more flour (about 6 tablespoons) as necessary until the dough is smooth and not sticky.

5. Wrap dough in Queen B Beeswax Food Wraps, and let it rest for 1 to 2 hours at room temperature

// Preparing the Ravioli:

1. Cut the dough into four equal pieces. 

2. Use the pasta machine (I used the Kitchenaid pasta attachment) or by hand, with a rolling pin if you do not have a pasta machine; if you are doing it by hand, skip to step 5 and refer to note 3 at the bottom of the page.

3. Working with one piece at a time, flatten the dough slightly thinner than the pasta machine's widest setting (number 1). Dust the dough with flour and feed it through the machine. Fold lin half and repeat twice on the same setting to smooth the dough and increase its elasticity, adding more flour if the dough is still sticky.

4. Set the pasta machine to the next lowest setting and feed the dough through once. Repeat this step for all numbers until setting 6 is reached and you have a thin, long sheet of pasta dough.

5. Set the rolled-out pasta dough strips on a well-floured baking sheet (I used If You Care unbleached baking paper)

6. Repeat this process for all four pieces of dough. 

// Making the Filling:

1. In a medium-sized pan, allow the spinach to slightly wilt on low heat for a few minutes.

2. Then combine ricotta, spinach, pinenuts, parmesan, salt, and pepper.  MIx together with a wooden spoon.

3. Set aside in the fridge while the pasta dough is resting. 

// Filling the Ravioli:

1. Space half tablespoons of filling apart along the centre of 1 strip. The space between the fillings should be about fingers-width apart. Brush around the filling with an egg white wash. Top with the remaining strip, and gently press around the filling to seal, working from the centre out.

2. Using a heart cookie cutter, press it into the dough around the filling, trying to keep the filling in the centre of the heart. Transfer ravioli to a baking sheet (I used If You Care unbleached baking paper), and cover with a kitchen towel. 

// Shaping the Ravioli:

1. Using a heart cookie cutter, press it into the dough around the filling, trying to keep the filling in the centre of the heart.

2. Transfer ravioli to a baking paper sheet (I used If You Care unbleached baking paper), and cover with a tea towel. 

3. Set ravioli aside until you are ready for the next step (if you are not going to cook within the next couple of hours, you can put them in the fridge, covered for up to 24 hours)

// Cooking the Sauce and Ravioli:

1. Bring a large pot to a boil. When the water is close to boiling, make the sage-brown butter sauce. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat

2. At this point, add the chopped sage and pinenuts

3. . Cook until butter is dark golden brown and has a nutty aroma, about 4 minutes. Add salt to taste

4. While butter is browning and water has started to boil, add ravioli and cook until they all rise to the top of the surface of the water, and let them cook for a few extra seconds.

5. Using a slotted spoon, add the ravioli to the brown butter sauce

6. Gently toss the ravioli in the sauce. 

// The Last Step:

Plate the ravioli straight away and garnish with toasted pinenuts, salt flakes, and sage if desired.

Serving suggestion: Serve with a seasonal side salad; I opted for some stunning Heirloom tomatoes for the local farmer market, paired with some Undivided Food Co. balsamic vinegar and Mount Zero olive oil.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did, and have the most splendid Valentine’s Day!

-April x

// Notes:

1. It's not necessary to make the ravioli into heart shapes. You could make a more classic ravioli shape, like a circle or square, using a ravioli stamp or even just a cup :)

2. This recipe can be easily modified to accommodate more people (for four, double all the ingredients)

3. If rolling dough by hand, roll it out to about 10–15 mm thick on a floured surface.

4. You can buy pre cooked beetroots if you do not have alot of extra time to cook them yourself.

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side note: all photos contained in this post are my own; if you wish to use them, please include a link to this post :)