Beet Riccota Ravioli
Something about eating beets brings me back to my roots. Growing up we never ate beets- my mother assumed I would hate anything that was not fried or covered in gobs of sugar. However, now I love the deep purple hue they leave on my cutting board and the earthy flavor they bring to any dish. Therefore, when I began looking for a new take on ravioli, I was stoked to find one made with beets, foregoing the normal starchy pasta. The beets add that hearty flavor that meat usually gives to good ravioli, but is difficult in the Jewish culture due to kosher law.
A successful beet dish starts with good quality beets. I prefer the ones from Sprouts since they are from local farmers. I always attempt to find a bunch that is just the right size of medium. Beets that are too large tend to be difficult to cut into and have a longer cooking time. Beets on the small size tend to yield small amounts of produce. Also, by taking notice of the scent you can find the perfect ripeness. I always search for that delicious earthy smell that is slightly sweet.
The recipe that I originally found suggested using a mandolin to cut the beets into even, small slices; however, since the only mandolin I know of is related to a banjo, I relied on my handy knife to do the job. The recipe called for using a round cookie cutter to ensure that all pieces were the same size, but I am all about quick and easy versus appearance so I skipped that specific step.
I love the amount of fresh herbs that this recipe calls for, specifically the fresh dill. Something about the scent of dill takes me back to my great-grandmother’s kitchen. I can still remember the smell wafting through the small space as she canned homemade pickles each summer. The dill gets mixed into the ricotta cheese, with fresh grated lemon zest, making a delicious tangy mixture to fill the ravioli with.
When shopping for ricotta cheese, it is important to remember that not all ricotta is created equally. It is worth spending the extra dough to get quality. I personally like the organic, GMO free ricotta as it makes me feel that I am rocking living a bit healthier. It has a deeply, rich, velvety texture that accepts all the other flavors well.
Once everything is prepared and ready, I chose to blanch the beets separately before filling them with the rich delicious filling. I found that attempting to fill them first led to the ravioli falling apart and leaving bits and pieces of the ricotta in my saucepan.
After the blanching process is complete, so begins the tedious task of drying the beets. If they are not dried properly, then you will have soggy ravioli and the filling will not be able to attach to the beets.
My favorite part of this recipe is the lack of waste. Every part of the beet was used. I hate throwing away perfectly good vegetables, so when I noticed that the bed of the dish was made of beet leaves my inner, “clean plate” child rejoiced. Once the dish was assembled, I sprinkled extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, and walnuts on top of it, finishing the dish off with a brilliant citrus flavor.
Before making this dish, I had never considered mixing citrus flavors with the earthy ones of beets. However, I am not sure I will ever make another dish that I don’t mix the two flavors together again.
Prep time: 30 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Total time: 45 mins
Serves: 4
It’s ravioli, made out of beets! Beet Ricotta Ravioli. You fancy.
INGREDIENTS
- 3 medium beets, washed well and peeled, with their greens
- ¼ cup good quality ricotta cheese (drained if very wet)
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 tablespoon’s fresh dill
- Kosher salt
- Fresh cracked black pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ¼- cup walnuts, chopped
- ¼- cup cilantro leaves, chopped
INSTRUCTIONS
- Using a knife, or a mandoline if you know what that is and have one around, slice beets as thin as possible. Then, using a 1½ or 2-inch cookie cutter, cut slices into even sized circles.
- In a small bowl, mix together ricotta, lemon zest, dill and salt and pepper to taste. At this point, you can assemble two raw beets with a dab of ricotta mixture in between. Or, blanch the beet ravioli. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil and lower to a simmer. Place a small dab of ricotta mixture between two beet slices and seal, using a little water if necessary.
- Blanch a few beet ravioli at a time for a few seconds just to cook, removing onto paper towels with a slotted spoon. Repeat with the remaining ravioli. If your beets are not sticking together well, you can blanch the beet slices separately and assemble with ricotta after.
- Serve the beet ravioli over the beet greens. Drizzle with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Garnish with walnuts and cilantro and serve immediately.