Homemade Ravioli with Tofu Ricotta

Oh how I've longed to eat ravioli but only had the choice of paying $18 at one of my favorite vegan restaurants called Fatty's Cafe. I heard of people using wonton wrappers to make ravioli but all the one's I've found contained egg, so that was not an option. I knew another choice was to make my own pasta noodles but one of my aunts freaked me out earlier this year, telling me that one of the hardest things to make was pasta noodles. So because of this I never attempted to make it, in fear that it would be a disaster.

Well last week I was reading a post from one of my favorite bloggers over at The Witchy Kitchen and I saw that she made ravioli. Something sparked in me after reading her post and I knew I just had to concur this fear I had with pasta noodle making.

Let me just say that it is not hard at all! If you can make a pie crust, you can do this! Why did it take me so long to finally make ravioli..I was missing out this whole time. You can play around with this recipe and add different fillings or even change the sauce to an Alfredo. The possibilities are endless! I really do hope you guys all try this recipe. There's just so much satisfaction knowing that you made it yourself : ]

P.S. I hope everyone has a fun and safe Halloween tomorrow. If you own a black cat, I urge you to keep him indoors for the night. I've heard that people like to kidnap black cats on Halloween, so please make sure your kitty is safe.

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Makes about 24 raviolis, Serves 4

Ingredients

* 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for dusting

* 1 1/2 cups semolina flour

* 3/4 cup of water

* 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

* 3 to 4 cups of your favorite marinara sauce

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients together, either in a bread making or a large bowl. If doing by hand, knead the dough for about 8 minutes, adding more flour if sticky or more water if the dough won't hold together well.

2. Once you have kneaded it into a smooth ball, cover with plastic wrap in a slightly greased bowl and let rest for 30 minutes.

Start preparing your filling while you wait ( See Below )

3. Once your dough has rested, divide it in half or in quarters, for easier rolling and begin to roll each piece on a well floured surface. Continue rolling until it is about 1/8 inch thick.

Once all the dough is rolled out, its time to start assembling them. You can go about this several different ways.

The first way would be to lay out one sheet of pasta and place about 1/2 tsp of filling, two inches apart. Then place another sheet of pasta on top and press down around the outside edges of the dough, to seal. Cut out each ravioli using a ravioli cutter or a pastry wheel.

The second way would be to cheat and use a ravioli maker (I use this one).You basically do the same as above but using one of these helps to get each ravioli to the exact same size.

4. Place one piece of dough and fill each ravioli with ricotta.

5. Place the top layer over the bottom layer.

6. Press and seal the outside edges of the dough, using your fingers. Roll across the top dough to cut out.

Make sure to keep each ravioli separate from the others because if they touch they will stick like crazy.

7. Once done, place in a pot of boiling water and cook until al dente, 7-10 minutes. Remove and drain well.

To Serve - Place in a large bowl and add the marinara sauce. Divide the raviolis among four plates.

Tofu Ricotta Cheese

Makes 3 cups

Ingredients

* 7 ounces water, packed firm tofu, drained ( about half of a carton )

* 1/4 cup yellow miso

* 2/3 cup water

* 1/4 cup tahini

* 1/8 cup extra-virgin olive oil

* 2 large cloves garlic

* 1 tsp dried basil

* 1 tsp dried oregano

Directions

1. Blend all the ingredients in a food processor until smooth. The cheese will keep for 2 days, covered and refrigerated.