Serves 12 (about $1.50 per serving)
I developed this recipe when I wanted to serve pasta as every course. The almond and chocolate flavors are delicious.
Ravioli
• 2 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour 1⁄3 cup water, divided
• 1⁄3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder Almond Filling (below)
• 1⁄2 cup loosely packed fresh Raspberry Sauce (below) chocolate mint or peppermint 1 gallon water leaves, chopped 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 large eggs
• Chocolate mint sprigs, for garnish
1. Mix flour and cocoa well in food processor. Add chocolate mint and pulse processor a few times.
2. Add eggs and run until well-blended. Run machine while slowly adding 1⁄6 cup water. Add more water if needed (up to 1⁄3 cup).
3. Knead dough and cover with plastic wrap. Let rest for 30 minutes.
4. Mix Almond Filling and make Raspberry Sauce (recipes below).
5. Roll dough through a pasta machine. (My machine has a dial to make the rollers closer together. I start with #1—farthest apart—and thin out the dough by moving the rollers closer together with each pass. My machine goes to #7, but I stop at #6. The dough begins to tear on #7.)
6. Cut a length of dough and spoon a small amount of Almond Filling onto the dough, spacing the filling evenly across the dough. Cut another length of dough and gently place it on top. Use a ravioli cutter to seal and separate the individual ravioli.
7. Bring 1 gallon of water to boil in a large kettle. Add oil. When water reaches a rolling boil, quickly drop ravioli into the water, one at a time.
8. When they float up to the top of the water, they are done. Run under cold water. When cool, cover with plastic wrap. Drizzle with Raspberry Sauce and serve in a champagne glass or on a dessert plate.
Almond Filling
• 15 ounces ricotta cheese
• 1 large egg
• 12½ ounces almond filling (1 can)
• 7 ounces almond paste (1 tube)
1. Put all ingredients into a mixing bowl and blend together with a mixer or wire whisk.
Raspberry Sauce
• 2 packages (12 ounces each) frozen unsweetened raspberries, thawed
• 3⁄4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
1. Press raspberries through a fine wire-mesh strainer into a small bowl, discarding solids.
2. Stir together sugar and cornstarch in a 2-quart saucepan; gradually add raspberry juice, stirring to blend. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils.
3. Boil, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Remove from heat. Cool. Cover and chill.
More Serving Suggestions for Chocolate Dessert Ravioli:
• Drizzle the dish with hot fudge, then place pasta, vanilla custard, chocolate curls and pecans on top; add a sprig of chocolate mint or basil as a garnish.
• Pour raspberry sauce into serving dishes. Top with pasta, whipped cream, fresh berries, and add a sprig of mint or marjoram as a garnish.
• Use peppermint in the pasta instead of chocolate mint. Spoon a layer of fudge into the dish, then add the pasta and whipped cream. Garnish with crushed
peppermint candy.
• Drizzle chocolate sauce on the edge of the dish, then put in the pasta and sprinkle it with orange zest. Add a spoonful of vanilla custard with chopped candied orange rind mixed in, and a sprig of orange mint, lemon verbena or citrus-scented geranium as a garnish.
• Spoon lemon curd in the dish and top with pasta and whipped cream mixed with lemon curd; garnish with lemon zest and a sprig of lemon balm or lemon verbena.
Donna Frawley, owner of Frawley’s Fine Herbary (
www.frawleysfineherbary.com
), has written two cookbooks: The Herbal Breads Cookbook (Frawley’s Fine Herbary, 1994) and The Edible Flowers Book (Frawley’s Fine Herbary, 2004).
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Pasta Party: Make Homemade Pasta
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