Anniversary Ravioli's: Sun-dried Tomato, Smoked Paprika and Parmesan

Sun-dried Tomato, Smoked Paprika  and Parmesan Ravioli's (4 ppl)

Last year, my hubbie and I started a new Anniversary dinner tradition...we spend the afternoon making homemade ravioli's together since we can never find eggless ravioli's in grocery stores or restaurants. This year we celebrated our 4th Anniversary! We usually laugh a lot, learn a lot and definitely appreciate our meal much more than if we had just gone out. So this year, we tried a new filling in addition to our usual Spinach and Mushroom ravioli's....Sun Dried Tomato, Smoked Paprika & Parmesan. They were absolutely de-LISH! The smoked paprika with the crushed fennel seed, gave the ravioli's a deep, rich and hearty flavor. I have to say, Joe has really become a master at rolling out the pasta dough, which is a pretty dough to work with. He did an awesome job![gallery columns="5"]We definitely decided that the thinner you can get the dough the better the ravioli's taste when you're done...so keep rolling, even when you think you're done :).

INGREDIENTS

PASTA DOUGH

• 3 cups semolina flour
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup warm water
• 2 egg replacer eggs (whipped really good)
• 1 teaspoon salt

FILLING

• 2 cups ricotta
• 1 cup basil
• 3/4 cup Parmesan, freshly grated
• 1/2 cup, finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes (marinated or the rehydrated kind)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 3/4 teaspoon crushed fennel seed
• 1/8 teaspoon hing (or 1 clove grated garlic)

DIRECTIONS

To make pasta dough:

1. Sift flour and salt together.
2. Place flour mixture on a board, making a well in the center of the flour.
3. Drop egg replacer eggs into the flour well, using your hand or a fork, and beat slightly.
4. Combine the egg replacer eggs and flour together, gradually adding enough warm water to make a stiff dough.
5. Knead dough well, until smooth; cover the dough and let it rest for 15- 20 minutes.

To make filling:

1. Combine all stuffing ingredients and mix well together. Let sit until dough is ready.

To make the raviolis:

1. Divide dough in 1 1/2 inch balls. Roll each ball of dough out on a floured board, into a very thin sheet (about 1/16 to 1/8 inch thick). Cut rolled out dough in half with knife.
2. Fill the ravioli by dropping about 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoonfuls onto one side of the rolled out sheet half. Leave about 1/2 in border all the way around the ravioli's and then dab your fingers in a little bit of water and gently wet the edges of the dough. Then fold over the other side of the dough and gently press all the edges firmly together. Once pressed, place ravioli on flat surface, and press the entire edge of the ravioli with a fork to create a pretty design around the edge and to help seal it properly.
3. Allow the ravioli to dry for 1/2 hour to one hour before cooking.

To COOK the raviolis:

1. Fill a 10 quart pot full of water and bring to boil with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon oil.
2. Once boiling, add about 15-18 ravioli's to the pot and cook for 3-5 minutes.
3. Gently take ravioli's out of pot and place on dish. Serve with melted butter, your favorite marinara and a sprinkle of fresh parmesan.

ENJOY!

VEGAN NOTES

• You can substitute the butter with Earth Balance, the ricotta with tofu and the Parmesan with Rice Parm.

GLUTEN FREE NOTES

• Sorry! But I haven't had the best of luck making this with rice flour yet. When I figure it out, I'll definitely post something about it!

YOGIC COOKING NOTES

• Instead of butter, you can use ghee (clarified butter) to melt on top. Ghee is a great rejuvenator and is tridoshic. Unlike other oils and butters, it does  not increase cholesterol and it promotes healing of wounds, ulcers and colitis.
• Add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon red chili flakes to add a little heat and help with digesting the cheeses.
• To reduce the amount of pitta in this dish, serve ravioli's in a squash based sauce rather than tomato.