Ravioli Victory
I’ve always been a little scared of pasta.
I don’t mind eating it, but the thought of making pasta from scratch always set me into a fury of anxiety. While watching the chefs on Iron Chef produce ribbons of fresh pasta, I was always a little envious. Homemade pasta was one of those things I just accepted that I’d never make fresh.
Until now.
When the second Foodbuzz challenge instructed us to make an ethnic dish that we’re intimidated by, I knew it would have to be pasta. Not just any pasta, but Fitnessista-fied whole grain pasta, with goat cheese and veggies.
I had a glass of vino to calm my nerves:
Made something that I knew would be delicious if the pasta was an epic failure:
(Chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting, topped with cacao nibs. All vegan, gluten-free, and foodgasmic)
and got the ravioli party started 😀
For the dough, I used *this recipe* – half whole wheat and half spelt flour.
The filling was a combo of creamy goat cheese, shredded goat gouda, parsley, sea salt, garlic and pepper
and a hefty sprinkle of blood, sweat and tears. I didn’t even think twice about skipping weights yesterday- ravioli-making is intense biznazz.
I filled, crimped and sealed… it took an hour to make 14!
For the pumpkin sauce, I used olive oil, garlic, pumpkin puree, fresh thyme, dried sage, pinch of Stevia, rice milk (I stay away from cow’s dairy and my cousin is allergic to nuts, so rice milk was the choice instead of the usual almond milk), sea salt, Earth Balance and pepper.
Served with roasted veggies and a simple green (unpictured) salad:
Was it delicious??
OMG, yes.
Will I ever make it again?
Never.
Making the little beasts was a pain. in. my.
Burrito bootay 😉
My nana always said “if you can read, you can cook.” If you follow the directions in the recipe, chances are that you’ll get the result you’re looking for.
And just in case you don’t…
there’s always cake 😀
____________________________________________________________________________________
Off to walk the puppers <3
Have a great day, guys!
xoxo,
Gina
This post was my second entry for Project Food Blog- voting starts on Monday if you like to do the voting thang 😉
62 Comments
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Wow homemade ravioli? I’m impressed!!! I tried making pasta from scratch before and you’re right, it was intense!!! Good luck on this challenge! You have my vote fosho!
thank you friend! i’m still dreaming about your brownies, btw 😉 xoxo
Awesome post! Those ravioli look fantastic, but I’m with you, they’re a pain in the butt! Years ago I got a ravioli mold maker thingy, and I made ravioli from scratch exactly one time. I do sometimes like to make sweet potato gnocchi from scratch, though.
And that cake looks ahhhmmmaaaazing.
this looks FABULOUS… I remember watching my mom make fresh pasta when I was little – rolling out on the counter and just cutting noodles with a knife!! 🙂 it was amazing… I still have never made fresh pasta… WAIT, I used to make it at a deli where I worked… but I’ve never made it at home, without industrial sized equipment…
😀
OMG!! you are officially my hero…homemade pasta!!! looks amazing!!! i wish I was their!!
Impressive! 🙂 The ravioli look amazing! I’ve never made homemade pasta. That cake looks lovely as well. Do you have a recipe for it?
Looks delish girl! Congrats on making it to round 2 of the foodbuzz challege!! I don’t blame you for never ever wanting to make homemade ravaoli again….what a time consuming process!
Homemade pasta is the best 🙂 Well done!
Girlfriend you are insane! In the best possible way! 🙂 Move to a new city, pack and unpack entire life’s contents into boxes, start new job, start new social circle…and decide like a week later…to make pasta. Not just pasta, but ravioli, from SCRATCH??!! Omg you are beyond impressive 🙂
Being GF and being dairy free, vegan, etc…I can appreciate all your hard work, from a far.
Congrats on making it to round 2 of course, but that was a “sure thing” 🙂 As will the next round no doubt me w/ recipes like this one.
But the cake…ahh, that’s where it’s at for me!
🙂
Yum. Homemade pasta is also something I don’t think I’ll ever make either. But it looks like you did a great job! 🙂
that looks soo goood and deeelisshhh!!!!
Hi Gina,
If in case you get food amnesia and forget that you said you’d never do this again, you could try to make the ravioli the way my grandfather used to make it. He rolled out the dough in one huge circle, filled one side with cheese, and flipped the rest of the dough down over it, like a huge doughy turnover. Then he took the edge of a yardstick and pressed it one length and width wise into the dough to form the pockets. Using the serrated pizza cutter to cut sealed the edges, and voila! Ravioli! Some were odd shaped to say the least, but Grandpa used to call those, “testers”. 🙂
You can do it! I have faith in your pasta-bilities. GROAN! On that note….
Peace!
fran
yummy! Can you post the cake recipe?
Great entry, lady!
OH my gosh! Ravioli without a pasta maker is a BEAST! The husband bought me a pasta maker attachment for the ol’ kitchen aid after I swore never to do make them again without a power tool…
Quick question – I don’t have a dehydrator… I DO have almond pulp from my first home made batch of almond milk! What do I with the pulp??? I hate to waste it and would like to make almond flour if possible!
put the pulp on a texflexx sheet and dehydrate- almond flour 🙂
you can use the almond flour to make raw cookies or crackers
This looks amazing!!! Question, was your cousin able to indulge in the chocolate peanut butter cake?? You said she was allergic to nuts!
she’s allergic to tree nuts- peanuts are ok 🙂
Those ravioli look heavenly! Goat cheese filled pasta with pumpkin sauce sounds SO delicious. The cake doesn’t look too bad either 😉
It all looks great, babe! I’m jealous of your delicious meal. Love you <3
Those look so yummy Gina! Good for you for trying something different!
Not sure if this is just a problem for me, but this didn’t come into my Google Reader… could be that my Reader is slow, but just wanted you to know!
Homemade ravioli has always been one of those things i’m afraid to make too. Glad to see you tackled it successfully, it looks delicious!
Good job! It looks good!
Quite impressive! It sounds and looks absolutely delish. And that cake…WOW.
Your ravioli looks incredible Gina! I agree that is it SUCH a pain to make. I find gnocchi to be easier, but still a pain. And that probably has something to do with the fact that I don’t love Italian food.
Nothing beats fresh pasta but you’re right, it is a pain!!! You did an awesome job!
Beautiful post and gorgeous ravioli! I know they’re a pain in the azz… the one and only time I’ve made them, I was sore, tired, and so sick of the darn little things that I didn’t want to eat them!
i love that “if you can read, you can cook” thats clever. hehe
so true, theres always cake. yum.
Holy moly, I’m so impressed by your ravioli! (he he, that rhymed) 😉 They are gorgeous with that pumpkin sauce, and I’m sure they tasted as good as they look!
I actually tasted my very first “fresh” ravioli a couple weeks ago at my friend’s rehearsal dinner. I can see why it’s worth making it fresh! Delicious!!
Sometimes recipes that take so much effort are worth it on “special” occasions– like homemade cinnamon rolls. They take FOREVER to make, but are SO worth it once a year. (I like them for Christmas!)
I know I agree about ravioli!!! I need a raviloi cutter like this : http://www.amazon.com/VillaWare-V5500-10-Square-Ravioli-Maker/dp/B00004SPDW Would definitely make making it more fun!
Making my own pasta has always intimidated me too – especially ravioli! But you make it look pretty easy, and so. dang. good. 😀
That cake looks so glorious. PB frosting was all you had to say.
Great job on the ravioli– I would love to make fresh pasta one day. I see them make it on Top Chef and other cooking shows and it looks intense. Way to go!
My mouth is seriously watering looking at that ravioli and cake! You are so talented. I’m sure your family is enjoying you staying with them! (Not only for the reason that you feed them well!) 🙂
I am SUPER impressed with your pasta making skills girl! You’re definitely getting a vote from me…they look absolutely phenomenal.
That’s one thing I’m thinking I still won’t tackle. That cake on the other hand… 😉
Impressive that looks so good! I have never attempted to make any type of pasta myself, but my brother made homemade goat cheese ravioli for the family and it turned out great!
Danggg girl, yous a beast in the kitchen! Your meals are always so creative and scrumptious looking! I don’t think I would ever attempt pasta, but that cake has me itching to run to the store for the ingredients! (:
Wow! I never realized how much work went into homemade ravioli. I will definitely appreciate it more now.
Your aunt is so lucky to have you staying over! The whole meal looks great and I bet that sauce divine. Great entry- can’t wait to vote for you.
LOL – I love your honesty!!! 😀
I feel the same way about certain foods. For example, I know how to make puff pastry from scratch. Do I ever do it? NO! I prefer to purchase my puff pastry products already made. Although, to be honest, now that I know how much fat there is in puff pastry I tend to avoid it as well.
Point is – some things are great as an experience. And that’s it.
Pain in the burrito bootay – LOL
Great job, girl 🙂 Count my vote 😀
I give you major props for attempting to make it–and
you did a super job. However, I agree that I would much
rather not make it homemade..you really need a whole
afternoon which is hard to find nowadays!
Some bloggers have been saying that the Round 2 entry can’t be Italian or French food. Is this still true?
i saw that AFTER i did my post… so if it’s true, oops, but it didn’t say that in the original challenge description. also, other cuisines are what i’m familiar with (indian, asian, greek, mexican)- italian isn’t as familiar to me
Awesome! I was confused when I saw all these other posts saying that Italian wasn’t an option but HEY! It looks like all the effort you put into making these ravioli’s is well worth a vote in my book 🙂
thanks!!
Great post, Gina! And why do you need to enter the Next Food Blog Star?! You already ARE a (food blog) star 😉
aww thank you <3
Shirt! Where did the shirt come from in the pix holding the pasta?! I’m in love with it.
hahah thank you! it’s lucky
I am SO impressed! I’m so impressed that you admitted you’d never make them again. heheheh
I am SO impressed you made ravioli from scratch! I’m also so impressed that you admitted you’d never make them again. heheheh
Oh god- You are right making homemade pasta is intimidating! I never realized that till now! I think we are all good with the store bought kind!
You did an amazing job- can’t wait to vote for you!
Damn Gina! Sorry, had to 😉 but your rav. look amazaballs!!
I’ve had this same fear of making my own pasta… That … and that it takes so long. I’ve made rav. using wonton skins and that’s still pretty time intensive. I once made it for 4 people and it took FOREVER! lol. I never make that dinner again. Tasty… yes! But I can’t take that much intense cooking labor… by the time I’m done, I don’t even want to eat it ;P
Well done!
I have always wanted to make fresh pasta too. I think I would need to down a whole bottle of vino before trying- haha.
I like your nana’s saying..I always tell my friends the same thing, but they disagree… everything looks to die for Gina!!
I’m with you, making pasta is a pain in the butt. I recently tried making gnocchi for the first time and though it was really yummy, the time and effort that went into it was nuts. My kitchen also looked like a flour truck had exploded into it. MESSY! I might do it again someday, but it’s going to be a while!
I especially like that you put your own twist on this dish. Ravioli and any gourd or squash is a match made in heaven. Can’t wait to see what you’ve got in store for challenge #3.
Lick My Spoon
Wow, never knew how hard it was to make ravioli! My PFB #2 was a disaster. A chocolate cake is definitely in order! Sending a vote your way!