Beet Greens Ravioli

beet greens ravioli

Created by Chef Chris Hartman
Fence & Post
(Cochrane)

Ingredients

Dough
Kosher salt
250g fresh spinach
250g eggs, beaten (extra-large eggs weigh about 60 g each without their shell)
454g “00” flour

 

Filling
100g Beet greens, washed
40g Garlic, finely minced
50g Shallots, finely minced
100g Goat cheese
100g Shredded mozza
50g Parmesan
2 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil

 

Directions – Dough

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Season the water with salt. When the salt dissolves, working in batches to avoid overcrowding, add the spinach. Boil just until the stems soften, 30 to 40 seconds. Using a spider, remove the spinach and spread it on a tray. Let cool for about 20 minutes. Return the water to a boil before adding the next batch. When all the spinach is cooked and cool enough to handle, wrap it in a clean, dry dish towel and squeeze out all the excess water. The spinach must be very dry.

  2. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the spinach and eggs. Process on high speed until smooth and bright green, about 2 minutes.

  3. Make the pasta dough: Sift the flour onto your work surface and make an 8-inch diameter well in the center. You should be able to see the work surface in the middle and the well’s walls should be high enough to contain the spinach mixture.

  4. Pour the spinach mixture into the well. Working from the interior edge of the well, use a fork to incorporate a bit of the flour with the mixture. Continue incorporating a bit of flour at a time until the interior edge of the well becomes thin and the dough is thick and has the consistency of pancake batter. Clean off any flour mixture stuck to the fork and add it to the dough.

  5. Using a bench scraper, scrape any flour from the work surface into the dough. Working in a clockwise motion, cut the dough together as though you are making biscuits: scrape, fold, and cut. Continue working the dough until a shaggy mass forms, 2 to 3 minutes. Parts of the mass will be rather wet, while other parts will be floury. Scrape any dough from the bench scraper into the mass.

  6. Knead the pasta dough: With both hands, pull the far end of the dough toward you quickly and energetically, fold it over itself, then push it away from you using the heels of your palms. Rotate the dough a quarter turn and repeat the kneading until the dough is a compact mass, 3 to 5 minutes. The dough will be slightly tacky. Transfer the dough to a clean part of your work surface.

  7. Using the bench scraper, scrape any dry bits of dough from your work surface and discard.

  8. Wash, but do not dry, your hands and continue kneading the dough as before until it is relatively smooth with a cellulite-like texture, an indication of gluten formation, 3 to 5 minutes more.

  9. Wrap the dough tightly, seam-side up, in plastic wrap, smoothing out any air pockets. Set aside to rest at room temperature for 15 minutes.

  10. Shape the pasta dough: Unwrap the dough. Halve it with a sharp knife, cutting in a sawing motion. On a lightly floured surface, knead one piece of dough energetically with both hands, anchoring the dough with your non-dominant hand as you pull the far end of the dough toward you, then press down, through, and away with your dominant hand. Turn the dough counterclockwise using your non-dominant hand, moving it in 1 to 2-inch increments as you knead, like the hours on a clock.

  11. If the dough feels too dry, spray it and your hands with water, a little at a time, until it has lost its dryness. If you are closing the round ball and find the folded end (back door) is not sealing, spray that with a touch of water to help it along. Continue kneading until the dough is soft and smooth all the way around, 3 to 5 minutes. Repeat with the second piece of dough.

  12. The dough will keep, refrigerated and tightly wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to 2 days. Do not freeze. Before rolling, set the wrapped dough on the counter and let it come to room temperature, about 30 minutes. This is a must for refrigerated egg doughs.

 

Directions – Filling & Assembly

  1. Sweat out garlic and shallots over low heat until translucent. Add in beet greens and cook until the leaves are wilted and there is not extra water left, let cool completely.
  2. Fold in cheeses and check seasoning.
  3. Pasta: Roll out pasta until it is the thickness of 7 stacked post-it notes.

  4. Cut out rounds that are 3” in diameter, spoon some filling in the middle and place another round ontop. Pinch around the dough, making sure to squeeze the air out of the middle and to squish down the outside of the pasta from a double thickness to a single thickness.

 

Final Dish

  1. Cook the ravioli in a pot of salted water, once 90% cooked transfer to pan with a knob of butter in it. Add a bit of pasta water and finish cooking in the pan until the ravioli gets coated in the butter.

  2. Serve, top with a bit more beet greens and parmesan.