wild Javelina

With spring threatening to bring summer on- I’ve shifted much attention to my garden and being outside. It’s been lovely really and I have zero complaints. However…today found me with the rare case of boredom which quickly turned into the bug of trying something new in the kitchen. It was the first Sunday in a while with no agenda whatsoever. After a quick bike ride to meet Heather for coffee at The Root and some time with the guitar as well as several listens through Talons’ unstoppable songs for babes record… I had decided to attempt homemade ravioli for the first time. 

As indulgent as this dinner was, everything is vegan. I found inspiration and direction from a few sources, but also took a few freedoms here and there. This was a somewhat time consuming dinner to make, but it was both relaxing and rewarding at the end of it all. If you’ve got an afternoon or evening to dedicate to such endeavors I’m sure you’ll be as pleased as I was.

Lets start with the pasta. I used Peter Berley’s recipe from The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen for chickpea flour pasta. It turned out really lovely and had a very similar texture and flavor to egg noodles. As I’m unsure of the social ramifications of re-posting a recipe from someone else’s published book, I’ll simply link to another blog that did so.

I’ve got a manual pasta machine that honestly has gotten very little use thus far- however, this recipe made me want to get it out a bit more often. If you’re short a pasta machine- a rolling pin and some counter space will work just as well!

So, with pasta complete and rolled out into thin sheets- I cut them into rounds with a wide mouthed juice glass- at best guess probably about 3 inch circles, dusted in a bit of flour and set on a plate until I was ready to fill.

Both sauce and filling were inspired and modified from Tal Ronnen’s the conscious cook. Again, letting others do the dirty work. I highly recommend this book- it’s full of brilliant recipes and gorgeously put together. If you’re not currently adding to your cooking library and are unable to find his recipes on the internet, I’d suggest finding any white béchamel sauce, and adding a bit of garlic, saffron and white wine - you can find plenty of vegan béchamel recipes with a quick search. Although- I’d suggest one with a cashew cream or silken tofu base for best results.

As far as modifications… To the sauce, I simply added 2 cloves of garlic and thats it- It came out incredible! 

For the filling, I was out of cashews to make more cashew cream and really love artichokes and kalamata’s together…So I sort of winged it:

1 T olive oil
1/4 of a sweet onion-diced
2 cloves garlic-smashed
1/2 T. basil
1/4c nutritional yeast
1/4c chardonnay 
1 jar water packed artichoke hearts- diced
15-20 kalamata olives - diced
1/2 package vegan cream cheese
1/4 cup soy milk

Sautéed the onion, garlic and diced artichoke hearts in the olive oil for about 10 minutes until the onion and garlic had softened- added the chardonnay and cooked that down until it was mostly absorbed. added in the nutritional yeast, basil, cream cheese and soy milk and removed from the heat… kept stirring as the cheese melted and then added the olives- salt and pepper to taste.

At this point- you’re ready to make the ravioli. After 2-3 you will be able to sort of gauge out how much will fit into your pasta and things will sort of get relaxing as you assemble the rest of them. I ended up 22 pieces and it maybe took 15 minutes to put them all together. When you’re all done you’ll boil them for a about 4-5 minutes in salted water. Top with the sauce and a bit of fresh basil and red pepper flakes, and since there is probably some whine wine left- have at it.

A gorgeous bookend to a relaxing weekend!