Beet Ravioli with a Garlic-Butter Walnut Sauce
 
 
I've had this "Sexy Beet Ravioli" bookmarked since last April and I figured it was high time to give it a try. After 3 hours and 15 minutes in the kitchen, the meal was ready (this included making a salad). Good thing it was worth it! This dish definitely ranks in the top ten meals I've made and despite the long prep time, I'd make these again for sure. You have to like beets. Even though I've eaten them plenty of times, I've never roasted them before, but piece of cake! The original recipe said it yielded 12-15 raviolis. It was hard to gauge what size raviolis that made, so I decided to double everything. I would have been fine to just double the filling and the sauce, but not the dough. Luckily, the dough is outstanding and I now have a batch in the freezer for another pasta meal. With the doubled filling, I got about forty-eight 1-1/2" square raviolis. Don't be freaked out by the prep work. You can certainly make up the dough and filling ahead of time and store until ready to assemble the raviolis. Regardless, freshly made pasta is just going to take more time, but in the end, it's worth it! (Perfect for a Valentine's Day dinner!)
Author:
Ingredients
  • Dough: (not doubled)
  • 2 C semolina flour
  • 1 C whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 C warmed almond milk
  • 2 Tbs olive oil
  • Filling: (Doubled)
  • 2 beets
  • 2 C raw cashews, soaked for 1 hour in water
  • ½ C water
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp nutritional yeast
  • Garlic Walnut Butter sauce: (Doubled)
  • 8 Tbs vegan margarine
  • 8 cloves of garlic, crushed (You could roast the garlic while roasting the beets . . .)
  • 1 C walnuts, chopped
Directions
  1. To roast the beets, preheat oven to 425. Scrub the beets clean, remove the greens, and wrap in foil. Roast for one hour. You can also be soaking the cashews during this time. To prepare the dough, whisk together the flours and salt. Create a well in the middle and slowly pour in the warmed almond milk and olive oil.
  2. Blend well with a spoon, or your hands and then transfer to a clean surface. Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes, or until the dough forms a smooth, un-sticky ball. Wrap with plastic wrap and set aside until ready to use. Refrigerate if not using right away.
  3. To make the filling, drain the cashews and add them to a food processor. Chop up the roasted beets and along with the other filling ingredients, add them to the food processor
  4. Process until smooth. You'll end up with a very hot pink filling!
  5. I used my pasta maker to roll out the dough, but you can also use a rolling pin. I also used my ravioli plate, which was the best thing to happen to raviolis . . . it's so easy to use and it ensures a closed edge, unlike using a fork.
  6. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the raviolis---about 8-12 at a time---and remove with a slotted spoon once they float to the top, in roughly 2-3 minutes. I transferred them to a large colander, but be sure you drizzle with a little oil as they will a stick to one another as they cool.
  7. The sauce is quite easy to make and you can just throw the ingredients into a small saucepan while you cook the raviolis. I didn't brown the garlic, I just threw it all in at once, let the butter melt, and stirred it every minute or so.
  8. Serve the raviolis with a drizzle of the sauce and thoroughly enjoy!
Recipe by Epicurean Vegan at http://epicureanvegan.com/2013/02/12/beet-ravioli-with-a-garlic-butter-walnut-sauce/