Vegan Ricotta Beet Ravioli

Happy almost valentines day!!! As a lover of all holidays, Valentines Day is no exception. As I get older, its become less about being in a relationship and more about celebrating the love for my friends and family.

I believe one of my love languages is FOOD! more specifically carbs in the form of pasta and bread. I love pasta and as I recently discovered it’s very easy to make. To me, nothing says “I love you” quite like cooking for someone or having someone cook for you.

For this recipe, I chose to make raviolis in the shape of hearts but it works for any shape you want. If you’re not a fan of beets or simply don’t have beets at your disposal, swap the beet juice for water.

Ingredients

For the dough:

• 1 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour or if available “00” flour

• 1 cup of semolina flour

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 cup unsweetened pure beet juice (this can be swapped for warm water)

• 2 tbs olive oil

For the Walnut Ricotta Cheese:

• 1 1/2 cup walnuts

• juice of 1 lemon (3 tbs)

• 1 garlic clove

• 2 tbs nutritional yeast

• 1 cup water

• 1/2 tsp onion powder

• salt + pepper to taste

Directions

How-to Walnut Ricotta Cheese:

1. Place all ingredients into a blender or food processor, blend until creamy. Adjust ingredients to taste. Tip: For super creamy cheese, soak walnuts for 15 minutes in hot water

For the dough:

1. In a large bowl, mix in the flour, semolina, and salt. Make a well in the middle of the flour and add the beet juice and olive oil. Mix wet and dry ingredients together to achieve a stiff dough.

2. Move the mixture to a flat surface (sprinkle some flour on the surface to keep the dough from sticking) and gently knead for about 3-5 minutes to form a compact dough ball

3. Wrap the dough ball in a reusable plastic bag or bread bag. Chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

4. Cut the dough ball in 2 equal parts. Thinly roll out the dough balls on a lightly floured flat surface. Tip: the thickness of the pasta dough should be about 1/8″ about the thickness of pie dough

5. Trim the edge of each dough to create two rectangles. Set one of the rectangles aside.

Filling the Ravioli:

1. Dot 1 to 1 1/2 tsp of filling about 1 1/2 inches apart all along the dough.

2. When the sheet of dough is fully dotted with filling mixture, cover filling with the other sheet of dough

3. Using your fingers, gently press the dough between each dab of filling to seal it. Cut ravioli into squares.

Cooking the Ravioli:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil, add the ravioli in batches and cook for about 10-15 minutes.

2. Once cooked mix in your favorite sauce.