Portraits of Baby and Boots.
Beet Ravioli
Last month we went to the City Market downtown and picked up groceries to make this colourful twist on regular ravioli. We worked with what the farmer's market could offer (so we went with golden beets) but with red beets the outcome will be much more dramatic. The process of making ravioli at home is a long one but is so much fun and the results are extremely rewarding. Check out this recipe!
2 large beets
2½ tsp olive oil
2 eggs
3¼ cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tbsp chopped mint
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
Parmesan cheese for serving
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wrap the beets in tinfoil and place on baking sheet. Roast about 1 hour or until the beets are tender. Remove beets from oven and allow them to cool a bit before handling.
Remove the skins, place in a food processor and puree the beets until smooth. Add eggs to the food processor and pulse until combined. Add flour and salt and process until dough comes together. Transfer the dough to a well-floured surface and knead until smooth about 7 to 10 minutes (add in more flour if the dough is sticky). Cover and let rest for 2 hours.
Before dough is done resting make the filling by combining chopped parsley, mint, ricotta, goat cheese, and salt and pepper in a mixing bowl. Set aside.
Before dough is done resting, cut into 4 pieces. Roll out each piece to form a thin layer (about ⅛”) of dough. Place tablespoon of filling onto one sheet of the dough about ½” from the edge. Continue to place spoonfuls of filling along the dough about 1” from each other. Place one of the other pieces of rolled out dough on top of the piece with the filling on it. Pinch the dough around the filling to form the ravioli. Use a sharp knife to cut out the ravioli into individual squares. Pinch the edges of each ravioli with the edge of a fork. Set aside each ravioli in a single layer on a baking sheet dusted with flour until ready to cook.
Add ravioli to a pot of boiling water. Stir until the water returns to a boil. When the ravioli float on their own, about 5-7 minutes, they are finished. Serve on individual plates drizzled with brown butter sauce and shaved Parmesan cheese.
Vicenza 2008
It's been almost ten years since I visited Vicenza with my cousins. We stayed at this cozy apartment and my favourite thing was having downtime on the balcony and hearing people cooking and listening to music in the surrounding apartments.