Ravioli
This meal requires a little extra time to prepare, but the payoff is worth it. I usually save it for when I have the afternoon at home. The serving size on this meal is two because when my husband and I have it for dinner, we devour 16 ravioli each as soon as I can get them to the table. You could easily serve this for four if the meal included salad and another vegetable side dish.
1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
½ cup all-purpose white flour
1 to 2 tsp salt
¾ cup cool water
1 tsp olive oil
¼ of a large red onion, diced
1 cup of button mushrooms, diced
4 cloves of garlic, sliced
2 cups of baby spinach
5 large fresh basil leaves
3 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp soy flour
1 tsp tapioca powder
14 oz can crushed tomatoes
Dried parsley for garnish
Sift the flour and ½ teaspoon salt into a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the middle and pour in the water. Mix with a fork and then your hands until all the water is incorporated. If it is still dry, add more water 1 tablespoon at a time. The dough should not be sticky. Form a smooth ball, then cover and set aside to rest.
Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a medium skillet. Sauté the onion and mushroom until they begin to soften about three minutes. Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Add the spinach. Cook until the spinach is wilted, about three minutes more. Remove from burner to cool.
Move the dough to a floured cutting board and divide into four pieces. Flatten each piece into a rectangle shape slightly larger than your palm. Using a pasta roller follow the directions to create thin sheets. (I roll through once at level 7 and once at level 3.) If you don’t have a pasta roller, use a rolling pin. Lay each pasta sheet out on the cutting board and cut into squares about 2 ½ inches on each side. You should end up with about 64 pasta squares for 32 ravioli. Set-up a small dish of water near the cutting board.
In a food processor or blender, combine basil, nutritional yeast, cooled vegetables, soy flour, tapioca and ½ teaspoon salt. Blend until the vegetables are in small bits and the mixture seems evenly distributed. Taste the mixture and blend in more salt if needed.
Spoon about ¾ teaspoonful of mixture onto half of the pasta squares, leaving the edges exposed. Dipping your finger in your water dish, dab a tiny bit of water around the edges of the pasta. Put another pasta square on top and press together to form a seal. Repeat with all pasta squares.
Boil a large pot of salted water. Add 10 or 12 ravioli to the pot and stir to prevent sticking. When the water returns to a boil, cook for about 4 minutes. Remove the ravioli with a slotted spoon and place on a serving dish. Repeat to cook all ravioli. Pour crushed tomatoes over the ravioli and sprinkle parsley on top.