Rainbow Ravioli - Pride @ Home
It is impastable not to love this dish! Naturally dyed pasta filled with a truffle lemon ricotta, this tastes as amazing as it looks. The only special equipment you will need is a Pasta Machine, and a Ravioli Stamp - both of which can be found on Amazon.
INGREDIENTS
PASTA- (Recipe per color of pasta, yields 18 ravioli pieces)
3/4 cup flour
1 egg
1 TBSP olive oil
1 TSP salt
1 TBSP naturally blended coloring (per below)
COLORS-
Red: Beets
Orange: Harissa
Yellow: Turmeric
Green: Parsley
Blue: Pea Flower
Purple: Purple Beets
FILLING-
1 cup ricotta cheese (drained)
1/2 cup grated pecorino romano
1/4 cup fresh minced parsley
1 egg
1 lemon, grated rind
1 TBSP white truffle oil
1 TBSP crushed red pepper
1 TBSP dried oregano
1 TBSP dried rosemary
1 TBSP fresh ground pepper
1 TSP sea salt
MIX THE DOUGH
Mix each color separately. Begin by blending together the color ingredient (for example, beets for red) along with an egg and 1 TBSP olive oil. On a clean surface, place 3/4 cup of flour with a well in the middle. Pour your colored mixture into the well and begin to knead the dough. Add water by the teaspoon if the dough is too dry, or add flour by the tablespoon if it is too moist. Continue to knead for 6-8 minutes until the dough is elastic but does not stick to your hands. Roll into a ball, and let rest for at least 30 minutes. Continue the process until all colors are prepared.
MIX THE FILLING
Combine all filling ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir together. Place in a freezer for 30 minutes to harden.
FORM THE PASTA
This is the fun part! After the dough has rested for 30 minutes, flatten the ball with a rolling pin or your hands, and run through the pasta machine on the thickest setting. Take the long and thick piece of flattened dough, and fold in half again. Run through the machine 1-3 more times, alternating the setting by level each time so you end up with a long piece. If it starts getting too long, cut in half and keep them separate. Once you have your long, flat base piece, dust both sides with flour and run again through the pasta machine on the fettuccine setting. Set your noodles to the side as you continue to rotate through all the colors.
RAINBOW RAVIOLI
Prepare one more long flat piece for your ravioli base, using just flour, egg, salt and oil (no coloring necessary). Run it through the machine as you did the others, and cut into two pieces that are approximately the length of the noodles you made. Start placing the noodles on top of your new pasta piece, starting with red and rotating through the colors of the rainbow. Gently press each piece into the dough to prevent from slipping. Once your piece(s) are colored, you will now run this through the pasta machine once more on a medium thickness setting.
Once you have your long rainbow piece(s), lay them out on the flat surface. Spoon approx. 1.5 TBSP of the frozen ricotta filling (x2 per strip - pictured below). Cut a strip of the rainbow pasta wide enough to cover the ricotta filling, cover it (rainbow side up) and press down with the ravioli stamp to cut the square shape!
Once all f your raviolis have been cut and prepared, carefully place in a pot of boiling water. Reduce to a simmer and allow the raviolis to cook (approx. 7 minutes) until they float to the top. TIP: Drop a few drops of olive oil in your water to prevent the raviolis from sticking together.
