Beet and Spinach Goat Cheese Ricotta Ravioli is a 3 in 1 recipe. I couldn’t resist making these beauties after I saw Madeline Lu’s photo on Pinterest. I was totally inspired to create naturally dyed ravioli and just so happened to have spinach I needed to use up and beets I received from my Uncle’s garden. I didn’t make the butternut squash one, but will have to give it a shot. I thought it would be good to create a recipe with a base ravioli dough base and then you could dye your pasta from there. I used my basic Homemade Pasta recipe as the base and pureed boiled beets and fresh spinach for the dyes. I absolutely loved the spinach ravioli and it was amazing with the chanterelle mushroom sauce.
These homemade naturally dyed raviolis are filled with creamy goat cheese and ricotta then bathed in a chanterelle wine sauce. Absolute heaven. These little pillows of pasta are so festive and fun to make with your kids. You can choose between the three flavors or make them all, but keep in mind that this recipe is for one batch only so divide the dough evenly into threes before dying each one. For those that think the beet or spinach is a little extreme, you can omit the beet puree or spinach puree and make regular egg ravioli.
If you haven’t made homemade ravioli before it’s simpler than you think. But I do recommend a few tools to help you out. A pasta roller is necessary, unless you really want to roll it by hand in that case it’s one forearm and shoulder workout. I know from experience. A simple hand stamp ravioli cutter will do just fine. I’ve used ravioli trays before, but it’s a lot of fussing.
This batch makes about 45 raviolis. For the beet puree I had 2 small beets and I boiled them for 20 minutes before draining, peeling and pureeing with a little water until smooth in my food processor. For the spinach I used fresh baby spinach, about 1 packed cup pureed with a little water until smooth in my food processor.
I always have good luck finding quality chanterelle mushrooms at Costco. The best part is they take very little prep, I trim the ends, use a paper towel to brush off excess dirt and saute away. Don’t be intimidated if you have huge mushrooms in your batch, chanterelle mushrooms shrink substantially when cooking. You can use cremini mushrooms if you can’t find chanterelles.
I love using goat cheese in these raviolis, there’s a tangy creamy factor going on and I use a herb and garlic goat cheese, if you can’t find flavored goat cheese, plain is fine. The earthiness of the mushroom sauce compliments the tangy goat cheese filling perfectly.
Wine Pairing Recommendation: Pinot Noir, light bodied, fruity with a hint of toastiness is the perfect pairing with the chantrelle mushroom sauce and the savory tangy goat cheese filling in the raviolis.
Beet and Spinach Goat Cheese Ricotta Ravioli
When making ravioli I like using a hand stamp, but use what you're comfortable with. If it's your first time make sure to have a pasta roller to make the process easier and faster. This recipe is for 1 type of the dyed ravioli. You may omit purees to make regular egg ravioli dough. But if you'd like to make all 3, you can either triple the recipe to accommodate or divide the dough recipe into 3 and follow the instructions below. I suggest making all 3, but it may seem a little labor intensive for some.
Ingredients
- 3 cups Flour, extra for dusting
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 3 whole Eggs
- 1/4 cup Beet Puree, about 2 small beets, boiled for 20 minutes, peeled and blended until smooth with a little water
- 1/4 cup Spinach Puree, about 1 cup packed fresh baby spinach blended until smooth with a little bit of water
- 4 ounces Garlic and Herb Goat Cheese
- 8 ounces Ricotta
- 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, shredded
- 1 whole Egg
- 1 tablespoons Parsley, chopped
- 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 package {8 ounces} Chanterelle Mushrooms, cleaned and trimmed
- Kosher Salt and Ground Black Pepper, for seasoning
- 2 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup Dry White Wine
- 4 tablespoons Butter, cubed
- 2 tablespoons Parsley, chopped
- Fresh Thyme Leaves, for garnish {optional}
Directions
- Step 1 To prepare beet puree, boil for 20 minutes, drain. Allow to cool slightly and it’s easy to peel the skin off. Blend in your food processor or blender until smooth, use a little bit of water to help it blend smoother. For the spinach in a clean blender or food processor, blend 1 packed cup until smooth, using a little water to help blend. Set the two purees aside
- Step 2 If making all three flavored raviolis, you’ll want to divide the dough, so use 1 cup and 1 egg per batch. Using your stand mixer blend beet puree, 1 egg and a pinch of kosher salt, slowly begin incorporating flour until wet mixture forms. Gradually increase the speed to medium-low and knead until smooth. Add more flour as needed to keep dough from sticking to the side of the bowl. Knead dough for about 10 minutes. Wrap dough with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 30 minutes before rolling out. Repeat process with spinach puree and regular egg dough.
- Step 3 While dough rests, mix together goat cheese, ricotta, parmesan cheese and parsley in a bowl. Season with a pinch of kosher salt. Set aside until ready for filling.
- Step 4 Once the dough is ready use your pasta roller to roll out dough. Dust your roller with flour and start on the biggest 0 setting and run the dough through your rolling and continue to adjust the thinner setting until setting 6. Lightly flour the pasta sheet and drop teaspoon size filling evenly spaced on half the sheet of dough, leaving the other half to fold over the top. Use your finger to lightly press the dough around the filling to seal. Use your ravioli stamp and cut out ravioli. Gently press edges to ensure it’s sealed. Place ravioli on a sheet pan dusted with flour to dry. Reuse the scraps by folding onto it self and running through the pasta roller again. Repeat the ravioli making process until all the dough is used up. Set ravioli aside to dry slightly while you make your chanterelle sauce.
- Step 5 In a large pan heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add the chanterelle mushrooms to the pan and saute for 5 minutes until chanterelles begin to shrink and brown. Season with a pinch of kosher salt and black pepper. Add the minced garlic and saute with the mushrooms until fragrant, about 1 minute. Deglaze the pan with the white wine. Simmer sauce for 3 minutes until wine is reduced by half. Add cubed butter to the pan and stir to melt. Turn heat off and add chopped parsley.
- Step 6 Bring a large pot of water to a boil, heavily salt the water. Add the ravioli, cook in batches for 5 minutes per batch until ravioli is cooked. Remove ravioli from the pasta water with a spider or fine mesh sieve and place directly into the sauce. The excess water on the ravioli adds to the sauce. Repeat until all the ravioli is cooked. Toss the ravioli in the sauce to coat. Serve ravioli garnished with fresh thyme leaves and plenty of parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
Savor and Enjoy!
