Monday, August 9, 2010

Pumpkin and Spinach Ravioli with tomato sauce

So yesterday I got in the mood to spend hours slaving over hand made pasta (ie: I was procrastinating hardcore). This is another dish that seems to dominate the vegetarian option(s) on restaurant menus. However for some reason it's generally served with a thick heavy cream sauce PLUS truckloads of cheese grated on top and I could never finish the whole thing without feeling as big as a house.

Pumpkin and Spinach Ravioli
Serves 5

For the pasta:
I used Bryanna Clark Grogans homemade pasta recipe. I made one batch. (I couldn't find the actual recipe - printed it yonks ago)

For the stuffing:
About 1/4 medium sized organic pumpkin
1 packet frozen spinach (125g)

Defrost spinach. Steam pumpkin. Squeeze some of the water out of the spinach (I used this as the water in the pasta) and drain pumpkin. Mash together and set aside.

For the sauce:
About 1kg fresh tomatoes
Whole garlic, chopped
Chilli
Mixed herbs to taste
Splash of red wine

I've started to make my own 'tin' tomatoes to save on packaging. I also know it's just tomatoes - no salt, sugar, acid anything. Just tomatoes. I chop them all up and simmer them down for an hour or so, let cool, and freeze.

Just fry the garlic and chilli then mix everything else in. Leave it to simmer for a good while - at least half an hour but longer is better.
My mum got me a pasta roller and ravioli mold (mould?) for christmas last year so it made it reallllllyy easy to make. That's why they're all exactly the same size, etc. I just made up each batch of ravioli and put them on a floured baking tray to go into the freezer. They keep for a few months in an airtight container, but they never actually last that long in my house. It's a really great meal to have on hand for when there's no time to make dinner. They take minutes to cook, and I've usually got tomato sauce in the freezer too. If not it's not hard to make. They are also good to feed omnivorous friends and family.

I think 12 ravioli is adequate for one person. Mine measure 1.5 inches across.
This is the best ravioli I've made so far :) We think it's because I took my sweet time making them (I had no one coming for dinner, no time limits or anything. If you make them for company, maybe make it the day before or something.) Though my kitchen bench is tiny and I had barely enough room to move, it's still a quite relaxing experience making them. You can fly off with the fairies if you feel like it :)

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