Cheese Ravioli with toasted hazelnuts, sun-dried tomatoes, and arugula

My mother came came from Chicago for a nice weekend visit at the beginning of March. On Saturday night she treated us to a very fancy dinner at Fearrington House Restaurant. All of us have been interested in trying it for quite some time, and it was great to finally go. It was definitely an experience!

Sunday night was Oscar night, so we planned a dinner at home using our new pasta maker. This time we made a whole wheat ravioli with cheese filling tossed with toasted hazelnuts, sun-dried tomatoes, and arugula. I think this is my favorite of the home-made pasta dishes we've made! The hazelnuts and sun-dried tomatoes are a great combination that I didn't expect. We based our prep on this recipe for the ravioli itself and this recipe for everything else.

Ravioli with Sun-dried Tomatoes, Arugula, and Hazelnuts
2 (8 oz. each) packages Monterey Gourmet Foods Roasted Chicken & Mozzarella Ravioli
   We subbed the freshly made cheese ravioli
2/3 cup thinly sliced sun-dried tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts, lightly toasted
1 cup (packed) arugula leaves
1/4 tsp kosher salt (to taste)
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Parmesan cheese for garnish (optional)

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the ravioli and cook according package instructions. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water. Drain the ravioli.
While the ravioli is cooking, stir together the sun-dried tomatoes, hazelnuts, arugula, salt and pepper in a large serving bowl. Drizzle in olive oil and gently toss to combine.
Add the ravioli to the sun-dried tomato mixture and toss gently to combine. You may want to use your hands to avoid ripping the ravioli.
Serve and garnish with Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Three-cheese Ravioli
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
2 eggs, beaten
2 Tablespoons fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon of salt, divided
1 recipe pasta dough

In a bowl, combine ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses, eggs, thyme, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, mix well. Set aside. Fill a stock pot with water and bring to a boil on the stove.
Meanwhile, working with a small portion of dough at a time (such as one-quarter of the dough recipe), roll pasta dough into a thin sheet, about 5 to 6 inches wide, according to your pasta maker's instructions. Lay a piece of dough lengthwise on a floured work surface. Place teaspoon-sized dollops of dough about 2 inches apart in the center of the bottom half of the dough. Use your finger to moisten the area around each dollop of filling, then fold the top half of the dough over the filling to meet the other edge. Press down around each dollop of filling, making sure to press out any air bubbles.
With a sharp knife, a pasta cutter or a small pizza cutter, cut each ravioli apart by making a cut halfway between each portion of filling, as well as trimming the bottom edge of the pasta. Place ravioli on a parchment-lined sheet pan and repeat with the remaining pasta dough and filling. At this point, pasta can be refrigerated, covered with plastic wrap, for up to a day.
To cook pasta, add 1 tablespoon salt to a stockpot of boiling water. Drop ravioli into boiling water. Cook in boiling water for 3 to 4 minutes (pasta will float to the surface).
This Recipe for Three-Cheese Ravioli makes 4 to 5 portions of pasta.


We used our fine china for an extra fancy dinner!

1 comment:

  1. What a beautiful table! Looks great. Know the food was good too!

    ReplyDelete