Homemade Vegan(ish) Ravioli

Over the last week I have turned in two projects, taken a competency, taken an exam, and given a presentation. So of course, on Tuesday afternoon, I decided to undertake homemade ravioli.  I do not own a pasta roller, or even a conventional rolling pin.  Therefore, what seemed to be a rather simple pasta recipe turned into two hours of fighting dough, cutting out individual discs, and then re-rolling each before stuffing them (this is after baking the squash and making the filling ~1 hour).  I must remind you: this was three hours that I was not working on any of the aforementioned school-related tasks. Bliss.  The boyfriend came home about 2 hours into battle ravioli, looked into the kitchen, and decided to turn away.

Aside from my fight with the dough, the raviolis turned out beautifully, and most importantly delicious.  They can be made completely vegan by omitting the eggs from the dough and increasing the water until the consistency is correct, and leaving the mozzarella out of the filling.   I stuffed some with just the vegan filling, and some with a little cheese, and even the boyfriend couldn't really tell the difference.  

While this recipe seems simple, be ready to work those biceps.  If you want to forgo the pasta-making experience, use wonton wrappers.  

Vegan(ish) Ravioli

Filling

•          1 small block extra firm tofu
•          1 small acorn squash
•          2 cups fresh spinach
•          4-6 leaves fresh basil
•          5-6 cloves garlic
•          2 tablespoons onion, diced
•          2 tablespoons olive oil
•          1-2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (optional, yields a cheesy flavor)
•          Salt and black pepper
•          Grated mozzarella cheese (optional)

Pasta

•          3 cups all purpose flour
•          2 eggs—optional (can substitute more water for a vegan ravioli)
•          ¼ cup olive oil
•          ¼ cup plus 1-4 tablespoons water
•          ½ teaspoon salt

Filling

1.       Chop squash into 6-8 pieces, and roast at 400 degrees for about 25-30 minutes until soft, allow squash to cool until able to handle.

2.       Remove squash from tray, and roast garlic cloves 5-6 minutes to remove raw flavor

3.       Heat olive oil over medium low heat, add onion and spinach; sauté until spinach is limp and feathery

4.       Scoop squash into blender or food processor; add spinach mixture, garlic, basil, salt, and pepper and blend until smooth

5.       Crumble tofu very small to resemble ricotta cheese into a medium mixing bowl

6.       Add squash mixture from blender, nutritional yeast, and more salt and pepper to taste. 

Pasta

1.       Beat eggs with fork, add olive oil, water and salt.

2.       Add 1 cup of flour, and combine.

3.       Add rest of flour and beat with mixer.

4.       Continue to add 1 tablespoon of water at a time until you can combine into a stiff dough with fingers.

5.       Roll dough out to less than 1/8 inch thick and cut into discs with a drinking or wine glass

6.       I had a difficult time getting the dough thin enough (probably due to my use of a wine bottle as a rolling pin), so I ended up using a small wine glass to cut the circles while the dough was still thick, then rolling each one individually just before filling. 

Finishing

1.       Take a small scoop of filling and place in the center of your pasta (or wonton wrapper)

2.       Wet the edges, and fold over to close

3.       Use a fork to press along the edges

4.       Spoon into boiling water 8-10 minutes, or until about 1 minute after they rise to the surface

5.       Serve with your favorite marinara or other sauce

6.       Extras? Freeze them for later!