Monday, November 12, 2012

ravioli tutorial and garlicky-kale ravioli recipe

Homemade vegan ravioli with a garlicky kale filling
I'm not big on culinary gadgets. I don't like clutter and strive to only buy things I will actually use. Both how often I may use something is another story. As I was redoing my kitchen, I rediscovered a few cooking gadgets that I needed to get reacquainted with and put on the dinner rotation. Victim #1: my ravioli tray

Making ravioli is simple once you've done it once or twice. And it's fun, too, giving you plenty of room to improvise fillings and play with various pasta flours  [yes Virginia, you can make gluten-free ravioli]. Just in case you are suffering from Ravioli-phobia – an intense, irrational fear of making ravioli – I thought I'd help cure you with immersion therapy via a tutorial.  Don't worry. Since I can be a somewhat lazy [read: hungry!] cook, I make my pasta sacreligiously in the food processor.You'll find recipes for both the pasta and garlicky kale filling below the tutorial.

This is my ravioli maker. It came with a tiny rolling pin that helps you fuse together the 2 sheets of pasta. This is just one style: there are many others

First, whiz together the flour and salt in food processor. With processor running, drizzle in olive oil, then add water 1 T at a time until a dough ball forms. Let dough ball spin about 15 times.

Lightly flour your surface [I like to use a silpat mat]. Roll out your dough. Not too thin – about 1/8-inch thick. Remember, it needs to stand up to boiling.

Make sure the dough is slightly larger than your ravioli tray [If you're using a stamp you have nothing to worry about].

Trim any excess dough with kitchen scissors.

Fill each cavity with about 1 tsp of filling. If you overfill, your ravioli will burst. Overfilling is the biggest mistake that novices make, so err on the side of restraint.


 Add the second layer of pasta and seal either with a rolling pin or your fingers.


Trim the excess pasta from the edges. If you pressed hard enough with your rolling pin, it should just peel away.

Flip your ravioli tray and voilĂ ! This is the trickiest part. You may have to "help" persuade the ravioli to leave the pan by prodding them with a butter knife.

 Use a pastry cutter to separate the ravioli.

Place ravioli on a cookie sheet until you're ready to cook them. You can also freeze the ravioli on a cookie sheet and then transfer them to an airtight bag. [If freezing, use ravioli within 1 month.]



If you're not cooking the ravioli right away or are not freezing them, cover with tea towel and refrigerate until you're ready to roll.

Homemade pasta cooks quickly – in about 3-5 minutes.
Boil the ravioli in plenty of salted water. They will float when they are cooked, about 3-5 minutes. Drain well and top with your favorite sauce. I drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil, plenty of fresh ground pepper, and a dollop of garlic-chive vegan cream cheese [Lookey, lookey! Coupons here.] But you could also use marinara sauce, pesto, or your favorite cream sauce. The sky's the limit.

Vegan Ravioli Dough

  • 2 cups flour [ I used part doppio zero (superfine Italian flour) and part semolina,  but you can use any kind you like]
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3 T olive oil
  • Water, as needed. Up to about 1 cup
Makes enough for about 30-40 large ravioli, depending on your tray size

Whiz flour and salt in food processor to combine. With processor running, drizzle in olive oil, then drizzle in water 1 T at a time until a dough ball forms. The amount of water you need will depend on humidity, weather, climate, etc.

When the dough ball forms, let it spin around about 15 times. Then gather it all up and roll according to my tutorial above.

Garlicky-Kale Filling

  • 2 T olive oil
  • Up to 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste
  • 8 garlic cloves, minced
  • About 8 cups kale, trimmed and finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
  • Salt, to taste

Makes enough to fill 30-40 large ravioli, plus a little leftover for the chef to snack on [Cook's reward!]

In a large saute pan, heat oil and red pepper flakes over medium. Add garlic and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low, add kale and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in nutritional yeast. Adjust seasonings, Enjoy as is, or use to stuff ravioli.

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12 comments:

Matt said...

This may convince me to try again read: convince me to convince James to do it (he loves doing the fiddly stufF). It looks great.

Over here, everyone says "oh just use wonton wrappers" - worst. idea. ever. After spending ages individually filling wonton wrappers and trying to make them look like ravioli, what came out of the pot I can only describe as reminding me of boiled goldfish/a certain part of a man's anatomy. Was horrible. had to throw the lot out.

urban vegan said...

I don't know about in Oz, but here lin the US ots of wonton wrappers are made with egg (and food coloring, ew). I live near Chinatown so I have access to egg-free wontons. But really, it takes 5 minutes to make the dough--much quicker than running out to the market.

KitteeBee said...

yummmmmmmmy!

Joey said...

I am one of those ravioli phobes! I've never made my own pasta, but I do love any kind of stuffed, er, stuff. Especially in a cream sauce.

I didn't know these little trays existed - what a massively clever idea.

mamapasta said...

I have exactly the same ravioli maker.....and you gave me an idea....I will make those ravioli in advance and freeze them for Christmas with the family ....
( I make my dough with hard wheat ( durum) )...

Anonymous said...

Any flour suggestions for a gluten free version?

urban vegan said...

Other GF bloggers had a bunch of good posts on this (I'm not GF). Plus apparently, there are mixes that seem to work well. Hope these links help!

http://betterbatter.org/vegan-pasta-dough

Chickpea flour here, but I would definitely add some olive oil:
http://backtoherroots.com/2011/09/27/chickpea-and-flaxseed-homemade-pasta-vegan-gluten-free/

This guy uses a mix and it looks pretty good!
http://blog.julesglutenfree.com/2011/08/jules-easy-homemade-pasta/

This girl uses an elaborate mix of flours, plus xantham gum (Not sure if I'd like that in pasta??)
http://vivagypsyrocks.blogspot.com/2012/07/homemade-vegan-gluten-free-pasta.html

Andrea said...

Looks like you've done this more than a couple of times! Your ravioli look so perfectly plump and toothsome. I used to make ravioli with my hand crank pasta machine, cutting them apart with a pastry wheel. Haven't made any in years, though. I love the sound of the kale filling — may have to "enjoy as is."

Cheryl said...

I have never considered making ravioli until now. Thank you for this wonderful post and to Vegucated for posting the link on FB.

Anonymous said...

Absolutely love this. First time I made it in wonton skins until I realized it had egg in it...I'm vegan. Second time I used a vegan egg roll wrapper. Tonight, in the oven as we speak, is that wonderful garlicky kale filling with ground seitan rolled in bean curd sheet. I just can't get enough of this. Thanks. :)

michelle said...

I agree, wontons wrappers are horrible! I have seen a lot posts recommending them too though and have no idea why. These were SO much better.

Anonymous said...

Have you ever frozen the ravioli? Is so, does it hold up?