Hiya! This is Debyi from http://www.healthyvegankitchen.com I am so excited to be your host for the September 2009 Daring Cooks challenge. It took almost a month to decide which recipe that I wanted to do. I wanted to choose something that could be easily adapted for our GF’ers and other Alternative Cooks, as well as still being tasty for everyone else. So, I finally decided on Indian Dosas from the refresh cookbook by Ruth Tal. I had a lot of fun with this challenge, it brought back some great memories, I hope you enjoy it. 

My hubby and I had the wonderful pleasure of visiting one of the Fresh Restaurants (www.freshrestaurants.ca) in Toronto, Canada during a business trip. We ate 3 out of our 5 meals there, it was that good. If you ever get a chance to visit, I highly recommend it, they have 3 locations in Toronto. If not, their cookbooks are amazing, everything we have tried has been great.

Requirements: Must be free of animal products, this will be a challenge for you “regular” cooks out there, but its worth it. So that means, no cows milk, butter, meat, poultry, fish, chicken/beef broth, etc. This dish is also 99% oil free, using only what you need to keep the dosas from sticking (I used a quick spritz of cooking spray on the first dosa only), which isn’t too bad with a nonstick pan. You can use a different filling/sauce if you like, but it must be free of animal products. I was just looking at the new Fresh newsletter, and one of the new menu items is Avocado Dosas with a filling of avocados, grape tomatoes, cilantro & hemp seeds with a mango tamarind or cilantro coconut chutney. Might be an interesting way to go too.

Here is my adaptation of their recipe:

Indian Dosas

This recipe comes in 3 parts, the dosas, the filling and the sauce. It does take awhile to make, but the filling and sauce can be made ahead and frozen if need be. You can serve them as a main course with rice and veggies, or as an appetizer. This does take a little planning ahead, so make sure you read the recipe through before starting (I forgot & didn’t start making the rice until everything was ready, oops).

Serves 4

Equipment needed:

large bowl

whisk

griddle or skillet

ladle (or large spoon)

spatula

vegetable peeler &/or knife

large saucepan

food processor or bean masher

Dosa Pancakes

1 cup (120gm/8oz) spelt flour (or all-purpose, gluten free flour)

½ tsp (2½ gm) salt

½ tsp (2½ gm) baking powder

½ tsp (2½ gm) curry powder

½ cup (125ml/4oz) almond milk (or soy, or rice, etc.)

¾ cup (175ml/6oz) water

cooking spray, if needed

Dosa Filling

1 batch Curried Garbanzo Filling (see below), heated

Dosa Toppings

1 batch Coconut Curry Sauce (see below), heated

¼ cup (125gm) grated coconut

¼ cucumber, sliced

Dosa Pancakes

1. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, slowly adding the almond milk and water, whisking until smooth.

2. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Spray your pan with a thin layer of cooking spray, if needed.

3. Ladle 2 tablespoons of batter into the center of your pan in a circular motion until it is a thin, round pancake. When bubbles appear on the surface and it no longer looks wet, flip it over and cook for a few seconds. Remove from heat and repeat with remaining batter. Makes 8 pancakes.

Curried Garbanzo Filling

This filling works great as a rice bowl topping or as a wrap too, so don’t be afraid to make a full batch.

5 cloves garlic

1 onion, peeled and finely diced

1 carrot, peeled and finely diced

1 green pepper, finely diced (red, yellow or orange are fine too)

2 medium hot banana chilies, minced

2 TBSP (16gm) cumin, ground

1 TBSP (8gm) oregano

1 TBSP (8gm) sea salt (coarse)

1 TBSP (8gm) turmeric

4 cups (850gm/30oz) cooked or canned chick peas (about 2 cans)

½ cup (125gm/4oz) tomato paste

1. Heat a large saucepan over medium to low heat. Add the garlic, veggies, and spices, cooking until soft, stirring occasionally.

2. Mash the chickpeas by hand, or in a food processor. Add the chickpeas and tomato paste to the saucepan, stirring until heated through.

Coconut Curry Sauce

This makes a great sauce to just pour over rice as well. This does freeze well, but the texture will be a little different. The flavor is still the same though.

1 onion, peeled and chopped

2 cloves garlic

½ (2½ gm) tsp cumin, ground

¾ (3¾ gm) tsp sea salt (coarse)

3 TBSP (30gm) curry powder

3 TBSP (30gm) spelt flour (or all-purpose GF flour)

3 cups (750ml/24oz) vegetable broth

2 cups (500ml/24oz) coconut milk

3 large tomatoes, diced

1. Heat a saucepan over medium heat, add the onion and garlic, cooking for 5 minutes, or until soft.

2. Add the spices, cooking for 1 minutes more. Add the flour and cook for 1 additional minute.

3. Gradually stir in the vegetable broth to prevent lumps. Once the flour has been incorporated, add the coconut milk and tomatoes, stirring occasionally.

4. Let it simmer for half an hour.

Happy eating!

I served this with a side of coconut tempeh from refresh as well.  Very yummy!

 

Our host this month is Olga from Las Cosas de Olga & Olga’s Recipes. She has chosen a delicious Spanish recipe, Rice with mushrooms, cuttlefish & artichokes by José Andrés, one of the most important Spanish Chefs at the moment. Olga tells us that Jose Andres trained under well-known Ferran Adria at his 3 Michelin star restaurant El Bulli. He lives now in Washington DC & he owns several restaurants in Washington DC area (El Jaleo, Zaytinya, Oyamel…). The recipe is from his US TV show Made in Spain.

I only made half of the recipe, since just the 2 of us would be eating it (we still had leftovers). I didn’t have to make too many adjustments to the recipe. You can find the original recipe, as well as everyone elses creations here: www.thedaringkitchen.com

Here is what I did:

Rice with mushrooms, white beans and artichokes
Cooking time: 45 minutes Serves: 2
Equipment: 1 Chopping Board, 1 knife, 1 medium saucepan, 1 Saucepan

1 can of Artichokes, quartered

6 cremini Mushrooms, cut into 4ths

1 Bay leaf (optional but highly recommended)

½ glass of white wine

½ can great northern beans, drained & rinsed

“Sofregit” (see recipe below)

1 cups Short grain rice (Spanish types Calasparra or Montsant are preferred, but you can choose any other short grain. This kind of rice absorbs flavor very well) – about ½ cup per person

3 cups Vegetable Broth (use 1 ½ cup of liquid per ½ cup of rice)

Saffron threads (you can substitute it for turmeric or yellow coloring powder)

Allioli (adapted from Veganomicon) - optional

1. Add 1 tablespoon of vegetable broth in a saucepan, add a bay leaf, artichokes and the mushrooms. Sauté until we get a golden color in the artichokes.

2. Put a touch of white wine so all the solids in the bottom get mixed in, giving it more flavor.

3. Add ½ cup of sofregit & mix to make sure everything gets impregnated with it.

4. Add the liquid and bring it to boil.

5. Add the rice. Let boil for about 5 minutes in high heat.

6. Add the saffron thread to enrich the dish with its flavor and color. Stir a little bit so the rice & the other ingredients get the entire flavor. If you’re using turmeric or yellow coloring, use only ¼ tsp.

7. Turn to low heat and boil for another 8 minutes (or until rice is a little softer than “al dente”)

8. Remove the pan from heat, stir in the beans and let stand a couple of minutes.

Sofregit (a well cooked & fragrant sauce made of olive oil, tomatoes, garlic & onions, & may at times different vegetables such as peppers or mushrooms)

Cooking time: aprox. 1 hour

2 big red ripe tomatoes, chopped

1 small onions, chopped

½ green bell pepper, chopped (optional)

3 garlic cloves, chopped

½ cup of cremini mushrooms, chopped (optional)

1 Bay leaf

Salt

Touch of ground cumin

Touch of dried oregano

1. Put all the ingredients together in a frying pan and sauté slowly until all vegetables are soft.

2. Taste and salt if necessary.

The Allioli was an optional ingredient. I did add it, although I don’t think it really added that much to the dish. Olga gave us the option of making a traditional one or a new modern recipe. It is served together with the rice, giving it a very nice taste. I did like the added garlic flavor that it gave.

Allioli (adapted from Veganomicon) Prep time: 5 minutes

½ can great northern beans, drained & rinsed

1 TBSP lemon juice

1/8 tsp salt

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

3 cloves garlic

2 TBSP water

2 tsp ground flax seeds

1. Add all of the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.

Olga’s Tips:
(1) In Spain, rice is not stired as often as it is when cooking Italian risotto. You must stir it once or twice maximum. This tip is valid for all Spanish rice dishes like paella, arròs negre, arròs a banda…
(2) When cooking the alternative style you can change the cuttlefish or squid for diced potato.
(3) If you can’t find cuttlefish or squid, you can try to substitute them for chicken or vegetables at your choice.
(4) Sofregit can be done in advance. You can keep it in the fridge or even freeze it.
(5) For more information on how to clean & remove the heart of artichokes, please watch this video
(6) To watch how Jose Andres cooks this dish click here.
(8) To tone down the taste when you do it by hand in a mortar, then add an egg yolk. If you want to tone it down in the alternative way use milk or soy milk. Anyway, the best alternative way is the original oil & garlic alone.
(9) Allioli must be consumed during the preparation day and preserved in the fridge before using it.
Verdict: This was simple to make & very tasty. Hubby also really liked it. I did take a couple of shortcuts by using canned artichokes, but this month has been busy, so I didn’t want to add any more to it. I didn’t actually think I was going to get to this. I actually made this with just a few hours to spare. Make sure you check out what everyone else did.

This month the challenge was all about chickpeas. Our host this month was Lori from www.lipsmackinggoodness.blogspot.com. She chose Chickpea Fries and/or Falafel. She also reminds us that “beans have such benefits. They help reduce cholesterol, cost relatively little, offer more fiber in your diet & are environmentally friendly. By that I mean, people don’t realize that there is quite a cost in eating beef for instance. They are pretty heavy animals that have to be cargoed around to graze or be moved before & after slaughter. So for this reason it is quite expensive & detrimental to the environment.” She also challenged us to make pita bread to go along with our falafel, since I have made pita bread before, I decided not to do it, just to save time. If we made the fries, she wanted us to come up with a sauce to dip them in, which I forgot about & didn’t used a sauce at all. We also had the choice not to make the sauce or the pitas & make both the falafel & the chickpea fries, I went with that option. Don’t forget to check out everyone else’s wonderful creations: http://recipestorival.blogspot.com/

 

Here are the recipes:
CHICKPEA FRIES by Mark Bittman, How To Cook Everything; John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
neutral oil, like grapeseed, corn, for greasing and frying
1 cup chickpea flour, sifted
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 2 TBSP water with 1 tsp ground flax seeds
Finely grated Parmesan cheese for garnish nutritional yeast

1. Grease a baking sheet or pizza pan with a rim & set aside. I used parchment paper. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a medium pot. Gradually add the chickpea flour with a large pinch of salt & pepper, whisking constantly to prevent lumps from forming. Reduce to a gentle bubble, stir int he olive oil & cook for just a minute.
2. Scoop the chickpea mixture onto the prepared pan & spread into an even layer. Let cool for a few minutes & then cover loosely with parchment or plastic. Refrigerate until chilled through, about 30 minutes (but up to a day, covered tightly, after it’s completely cool).
3. Put 1/8 to ¼” oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Meanwhile, cut the chickpea flour mixture into 3 x ½” cutter. I just cut by hand, then baked on 375 for 15 minutes. Gently put batches of the fries into the hot oil, rotating them gently for even cooking & browning on all sides, about 3 to 4 minutes.
4. Drain the fries on paper towels & immediately sprinkle with salt, lots of pepper & a good dusting of Parmesan if you like. Serve hot or at room temperature with lemon wedges.

Falafel: Chickpea Patties Recipe by Madelain Farah, Lebanese Cuisine, Four Walls Eight Windows, 2001
*  1 pound dried chickpeas
* 1 small onion, coarsely chopped
* 2 cloves garlic, crushed
* 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon ground coriander
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1/4 teaspoon red chile flakes, optional
* Salt and pepper, as needed
* 1/2 cup vegetable oil I baked mine

Sandwiches:
* 6 to 8 pitas, tops sliced open and lightly toasted
* Shredded lettuce, as needed
* Tomato wedges, as needed
* Sliced red onion, as needed
* Sliced cucumbers, as needed
* Tahini Sauce, recipe follows

1. Make the Falafel: Soak the chickpeas in cold water in the refrigerator overnight.
2. Drain the chickpeas & place them with the onion in the bowl of a food processor. Add the rest of the ingredients, except the oil. Mix well. Process the mixture a second time. Form the mixture into walnut-sized balls & deep-fry or pan-fry in hot oil.
3. Make the Sandwiches: Stuff the pitas with lettuce & nestle the falafel patties inside. Top with the rest of the ingredients & drizzle with the tahini sauce. Serve immediately.

Tahini Sauce: I cut the recipe in half
1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup tahini
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup lemon juice

1. Mash the garlic and salt together. Add the tahini, mixing well. The sauce will thicken. Gradually add the water, blending thoroughly. Then add the lemon juice. Blend well.

Note: This can be a thin or thick sauce, depending upon the use and preference. Simply adjust with lemon juice and water. This can be used with vegetables or in combination with other recipes.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

TIPS from Lori: In regards to falafel, I have made it many times & it has always fallen apart on me. I usually end up putting an egg in it as a binder. This time I am not, come what may, because I know others have had success without egg. I will say if you do not want to go the deep fry route, you can place little mounds in a muffin tin & do it up in the oven at about 375F. But the oil really does something magical to them. Again, your choice. Don’t you just love all the choices this month?

You are not required to do Tahini Sauce, it is just a suggestion. Also the chickpea flour can be found at Indian Markets (called Besan there) & Italian Markets & Health Food Stores.

The fries were good & I usually love falafel, but this was not my favorite recipe. Hubby does not like falafel & this did not convert him. I actually liked the falafel better crumbled over a large salad. M-I-L really liked the fries!  I do love all things chickpeas & both of these were good, just not great.

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE’s blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef.
We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

Wendy is at wmpesblog (Arizona) and Dharm is at Dad - Baker and Chef (Malaysia). They both are passionate about baking for our families. 

 

For the Love of Chocolate Daring Bakers’ February 2009 ChallengeChocolate has many associations – godliness, health-giving, mood altering, & addicting. Bless the ancient Mayans & Aztecs for developing the cocoa bean into the delicious luxurious chocolate drink that the Spanish explorers brought back to Spain. How the Spanish kept chocolate a secret for 100 years is a mystery that perhaps can only be explained by the lack of the internet!
It is no wonder that February, the month for honoring love on St. Valentine’s Day, is best represented first by the heart & then by chocolate or better yet a chocolate heart. The potency & power of chocolate can only be rivaled by vanilla, & then they make a wonderful combination!

February’s challenge is a Flourless Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Valentino, inspired by Malaysia’s “most flamboyant food ambassador”, Chef Wan. Recipe comes from Sweet Treats by Chef Wan What we Want You to Do:
-Use the following recipe
-Serve with - The original recipe calls for the cake to be served with whipping cream. BUT we decided to make this more of a challenge & ask you to make your own Ice Cream. You can choose any flavour you want & any recipe. But we are giving you a little freedom here & will allow whipped cream as a topping as well or of course non-dairy whip. Be as creative as you want with your topping. Any fruit puree or sauce would be lovely with this cake.
- Use your favorite chocolate – the finished cake will taste exactly like the chocolate you use. Be creative with your chocolate, if you like a sweeter cake use milk chocolate or a combination of the semisweet & milk chocolate. If you like bittersweet chocolate use that & add sweetness by mixing the semi sweet with bittersweet. If you are daring, try white chocolate.
- A higher cocoa percentage increases the bitterness of the chocolate.
-Equipment - it is optional to use a heart shaped pan. For a real Valentino, bake it in a heart shaped pan or cut it out into a heart shape. An 8” spring form pan works with great results as do smaller pans or ramekins.
-An instant read thermometer highly recommended.Note on recipe - the recipe consists of 3 simple ingredients & how you interpret them is part of the challenge. The simplicity of this recipe gives credit to the ingredients much in the same way of French baguette.
-This recipe comes together very quickly with a hand mixer.
-This is a very decadent cake that will sink a little as it cools but will still hold its shape.
-Very dense & fudgy cake that tastes divine.
-The top forms a light crust kind of like a brownieChocolate Valentino
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
16 ounces (1 pound) (454 grams) of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
½ cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons (146 grams total) of unsalted butter
5 large eggs, separated

1. Put chocolate & butter in a heatproof bowl & set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) & melt, stirring often.
2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan & line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.
3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites & put into 2 medium/large bowls.
4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).
5. With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.
6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.
7. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture & follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter. {link of folding demonstration}
8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan ¾ of the way full, & bake at 375F/190C.
9. Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60F.
Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie & a cake tester will appear wet.
10. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.I used Hannah Kaminsky’s Vegan Flourless Chocolate cake recipe with a couple of changes. Her is her link: http://bittersweetblog.wordpress.com/2008/12/30/a-matter-of-luck/

Lucky Chocolate Cake Adapted from Epicurious

2 Cups Cooked Black-Eyed Peas I used 1 15-oz can black beans
1 12-Ounce Package Extra-Firm Silken Tofu
3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
1 1/2 Cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1/4 Cup Natural Cocoa Powder
1 Teaspoon Instant Coffee Powder omitted
3/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda
Pinch Salt

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and lightly grease a 9×5 loaf pan.

Toss both the black-eyed peas and the tofu into your food processor or blender, and let it run until the mixture is completely smooth. Give it a good long time to work, since it would be rather unpleasant to find any whole beans in your cake. Add in the sugar and coffee powder, and pulse to combine.

Separately, melt the chocolate and stir well until smooth before adding into the food processor, and then let it run for a minute until fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides to make sure you aren’t missing anything, and give it another minute to process. Finally, add the cocoa, coffee powder, baking powder, soda, and salt, and pulse to combine.

Spread the mixture into your prepared pan, leveling off the top with your spatula as best you can. Bake for 60 - 70 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean. I know that’s a bit vague, but it will still be ever so slightly wet since it’s such a moist cake- Just make sure it doesn’t look like it’s covered in raw batter. Let it cool completely in the pan before serving.

This came together quickly and easily & tastes GREAT!!! Thank you so much to Hannah sharing the recipe. Don’t worry, you can’t even taste the beans and they give you healthy fiber and nutrients.

I debated on what kind of ice cream I wanted to make. One DB’er made a ginger ice cream, another made an Earl Grey & Honey. But in the end I decided on making a Vanilla & Red Hots, & boy am I glad I did. It tastes sooooo good! I started with this base, and just added ¼ cup of red hots. Oh, & thank you to Vegan Ice Cream Paradise for the recipe: http://veganicecream.blogspot.com/2006/10/two-vanillas.html

Fancy Pants Vanilla

2 c. soy creamer (or any non-dairy milk)
2 c. soy milk (or any non-dairy milk)
1 vanilla bean
¾ c. sugar
2 T. arrowroot

Mix ¼ cup of soy milk with the 2 tablespoons of arrowroot and set aside.

Mix the soy creamer and soy milk together in a saucepan. Slit the vanilla bean lengthwise, and scrape the seeds into the milk. Drop the bean shell into the milk too. Bring to a slight boil, then lower the temperature and simmer very gently for about 30 minutes.

Remove the vanilla bean shell. Stir in the sugar, and bring to a boil again. When the mixture has just started to boil, take off the heat and stir in the arrowroot slurry. This should immediately cause the liquid to thicken (not a lot, but a noticeable amount; it will be thicker when it cools).

Set the ice cream mixture aside to cool. Freeze according to your ice cream maker’s instructions.

  Soy creamer, milk, & vanilla cooking

  freezing

Okay, so I made the ice cream and put it into my ice cream maker and an hour later, it still hadn’t set up. Mine usually only take 20 – 40 minutes. I was making this at night, and was getting tired, so I didn’t want to wait any longer. I think the problem was that I didn’t have enough ice. Well, I put the mixture into a container & into the freezer it went. I ended up staying up for another 2 hours, stirring the mixture every 20 – 30 minutes & hoping for the best. It actually set up nicely, so you really don’t need a fancy machine to make ice cream (but it usually is faster).

This is a totally make again recipe (the cake & ice cream!), as well as being somewhat healthy.

 

Chickpea Ravioli with Basil Pesto and Hazelnuts

adapted from Lidia Bastianich’s recipe in April 2008 Cooking Light Magazine

Preparation Time: 1 ½ hours Cook Time: 10 minutes Yield: 42 ravioli

 

This one is a little long, but pretty easy to put together. It does take about 1 ½ to 2 hours (2 hrs for the first time you make it), but it tastes great. I halved the recipe, next time though, I would make a full recipe and freeze the extra for a quick weeknight dinner. I veganized this recipe and replaced some of the fat. I put some of my comments in green for what I did to the recipe this time around.

Pasta:

1 1/3 cups plus 10 TBSP whole wheat pastry flour

2/3 cup chickpea flour

½ tsp salt

5 TBSP water

1 tsp ground flax seeds mixed with 1 TBSP water

1 TBSP Ener-G egg replacer mixed with ¼ cup warm water

Filling:

2 cups canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed

2 TBSP fresh chives, chopped (okay, I didn’t have any, so I left it out)

2 TBSP soy cream cheese (I used tofutti)

¼ tsp lemon juice

¼ tsp salt

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1 small garlic clove

6 quarts water

1 TBSP kosher salt

Pesto:

2 cups packed basil leaves (I got to pick these fresh from m-i-l’s plant)

2/3 cup vegetable broth

¼ cup nutritional yeast

½ tsp kosher salt

½ tsp crushed red pepper

1 garlic clove, crushed

2 TBSP miso

1 TBSP hazelnuts

Garnish:

3 TBSP hazelnuts, toasted and chopped

1. To make the pasta: Combine the flours and salt in a food processor, pulsing to combine, about 10 pulses. Combine the water, flax meal mixture and egg replacer mixture in a small bowl or spouted measuring cup. Stream the water mixture into the food processor while it is running, just until it forms a dough. (I had to add about 1 TBSP more water to mine)

2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and knead 6 times. Shape into a disk, dust with flour, cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes. This rest time is important so that the dough is elastic enough to roll out.

3. While the dough is resting, make your filling: Combine the chickpeas, chives (if using) soy cream cheese, lemon juice, salt, nutmeg, and garlic in the food processor and process until smooth.

4. Since the dough is still resting, make the pesto: Combine the basil, vegetable broth, nutritional yeast, salt, crushed red pepper, and crushed clove of garlic and process until smooth in a food processor. While the food processor is running, add the miso and 1 tablespoon hazelnuts, process until combined.

5. Rolling out the pasta: Divide the dough into 14 equal portions (when halving the recipe, make sure you have an even number of portions, I had 6) Work with one portion at a time and keep the rest covered so it doesn’t dry out. Press the dough out flat, then roll into an 18” X 3” rectangle. You will need to keep some flour on hand so the dough doesn’t stick. Make sure you turn the dough over a couple of times as you roll it out. When they are at the desired length, lay them flat and keep them covered. Repeat with the remaining sections until they are all rolled out.

 

1. Filling and cutting the pasta: Place one sheet of dough in front of you and spoon about 1 ½ teaspoons of filling onto the dough every inch and a half, making sure you leave an inch on both ends of the dough, you should get 6 mounds of filling. Moisten the edges and in between the filling portions with water. Lay a second sheet of dough over the top and press down on the edges and between each portion of filling to seal. Press down gently on the filling to flatten it a little. Cut the sheet of pasta (you should have 6) with a sharp knife and trim the edges. Keep the ravioli covered to prevent drying. Repeat with the remaining dough.

    

1. As you are filling and shaping the ravioli, put a dutch oven on the stove to heat. Fill it with the 6 quarts of water and the tablespoon of salt. Add 6 ravioli to the boiling water at a time. Let them cook for 1 ½ to 2 minutes (2 minutes if your dough is a little thicker) Using a spider or slotted spoon, remove the ravioli and place on a tray, making sure they don’t overlap or they will stick togther. Cover them to keep them warm. Repeat until all of your ravioli are cooked.

2. To eat: Spoon some pesto over your ravioli and sprinkle with the chopped hazelnuts. Serve with a side salad.

This is a high fiber meal. The fat is a little high because of the nuts, but you can leave those out if you are watching your fat intake. You can also cut back on the salt in each component if you are watching your sodium.

 

I thought I rolled my ravioli out pretty thin, but they were still pretty thick when I put them in to cook. Boy do I wish I had a pasta machine, or attachment for my Kitchenaid. That’s okay though, its a good workout for your arms.

 

Verdict: Yummy! Hubby liked them too. Definitely a make again.