Whole Grain Peach & Rosemary Ravioli with Parmesan

I’ve been dreading the end of peach season because they’ve been SO good this year. In fact, I haven’t developed nearly as many peach recipes as I planned to because I can’t stop eating inhaling the ones I get. Anyhow, one lucky peach made it out of the fruit bowl (and past my mouth) to get broiled with honey and turned into the most glorious sweet and savory ravioli filling. Some rosemary from my balcony garden and a big dollop of ricotta completed the filling and a simple drizzle of olive oil and some freshly grated parmesan were all I needed to be in a summery-sweet-and-savory-pasta-filled heaven. In case you missed it, you can click here and here to read about the product that spurred my recent obsession with ravioli.

I generally try to stick to whole grains, but I wasn’t sure how they’d do in pasta dough. Ravioli dough needs to be especially stretchy; much to my delight, whole wheat flour worked just fine. For more details and photos of the ravioli making process, see how to make ravioli from scratch. This makes 18-24 ravioli, enough for 2-3 people.

Ingredients:

2 cups (+/- 8 oz) whole wheat flour

2 large eggs

1 Tbsp olive oil

water

1 medium peach

1 Tbsp honey

1/3 c ricotta cheese

1 Tbsp+ fresh rosemary, finely chopped

salt + pepper

1-2 Tbsp olive oil or melted butter

1/8 c grated parmesan (or to taste)

Special equipment:

regular rolling pin

ravioli rolling pin, ravioli stamp, ravioli tray, some other ravioli-making contraption, or a fork

zig-zag pasta cutter or regular pizza cutter

oven/broiler safe baking dish

Make the dough:

Start with 2 c (about 8 oz) whole wheat flour in a bowl or in a mound on your counter. (For the record, I think it’s way more fun to do it on the counter like they always do in cooking shows.) Form a well in the middle of the flour by making wide and shallow indentation. Add 2 eggs, 1 T olive oil, and 1 T water in well. Using a fork, gently whisk wet ingredients in a circular motion, gradually incorporating flour. Be careful not to break the “walls” of the well so the wet ingredients don’t spill out! Once about half of the flour is incorporated, the wet part is thick enough not to spill out. Continue mixing with your hands until most of flour is combined into the dough. Add more water as necessary. If using a bowl, turn dough out onto a floured surface.

Using the heels of your hands, knead dough by folding and pressing. Put your body weight into it! If dough is too dry, sprinkle on more water a little at a time. Knead for at least 5-10 minutes until dough stretches more than it breaks. Dough should be a little sticky.

After kneading, form the dough into a ball and place it on a floured surface. Lightly coat the top of the dough with olive oil and cover with plastic wrap. Let dough rest for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Make the filling:

Preheat oven to broil (if you don’t have a broiler setting, put it on the highest temperature possible).

Rinse peach, gently rubbing to remove fuzz, and dry thoroughly. Optional: remove peel (I leave it on).

Dice peach and place in oven/broiler safe dish. Drizzle peaches with 1 Tbsp honey.

Broil until tips of peaches begin to brown, anywhere from 3-7 minutes, depending on your oven.

Using a potato masher or fork, smash peaches until no large chunks remain. For stubborn or less ripe peaches, a quick pulse or two in a food processor should work. Set aside to cool.

When peaches are cool enough to touch, combine them with 1/3 c well drained ricotta cheese, 1 Tbsp or more finely chopped rosemary, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper.

Make the ravioli:

After the pasta dough rests, cut into 2 even pieces. Flour a clean surface and roll each piece of dough into very thin, similarly sized sheets.  You should be able to see through the dough.

To form the ravioli, follow the instructions with whatever tool you’re using, or use the following outlines:

Ravioli rolling pin: Evenly spread the ricotta mixture over one sheet of pasta dough, leaving at least a 2 inch buffer area around the edges. Place the second sheet of dough on top. Roll ravioli rolling pin over dough and filling, applying firm but even pressure. Using a pasta or pizza cutter, cut individual ravioli apart.

Ravioli tray: Lay one sheet of pasta dough over the ravioli tray. Using your thumb, gently press the dough down into each indention. Spoon ricotta filling into each spot. Roll pin over tray to seal and cut ravioli.

Fork or ravioli stamp: Using a pizza or pasta cutter, cut evenly-sized squares (about 2″ x 2″ or the dimensions of your stamp) of pasta dough. Spoon a small amount of ricotta filling onto a square of dough. Cover with another square and press with stamp to seal edges, or use the tines of a fork to seal edges. Alternatively, you can place ricotta filling in the center of a square piece of dough, fold it over into a triangle and seal the edges with a stamp or fork.

If not cooking right away, see notes for instructions on storing ravioli.

Cook the ravioli:

Bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat. Once boiling, generously salt water and bring back to rapid boil.

Add ravioli to water and cook 3-5 minutes or until pasta rises to top of water. Cook in batches if necessary to avoid crowding.

Immediately coat cooked ravioli in olive oil or butter.

Top with freshly grated parmesan or another nutty cheese to serve.

Notes:

You can substitute fresh rosemary with dried. I like to run a knife over dried rosemary or crush it with a mortar and pestle, otherwise it can be a little prickly (for lack of a better word).

Instead of broiling the peaches, you can try grilling them. Cut them in half, remove the pit, and brush lightly with oil before grilling. This imparts a smokey flavor to them.

If you aren’t going to cook your ravioli right away, you can store for a day or so in an airtight container in the refrigerator. I recommend using semolina flour, corn meal, or sheets of parchment paper to keep the ravioli from sticking together.

If you plan to cook the pasta more than a day after making it or want to save a portion for later, you can freeze them (before cooking). Lay the ravioli in a single layer on a baking sheet. Freeze for at least an hour, then move to an airtight, freezer-safe container.

If you have trouble with your pasta falling apart while cooking, you may need to brush the edges of your pasta dough with water or egg wash to help seal them. After you bring water to a boil, reduce heat to medium and add pasta. Cook until the pasta floats to the top.

Making ravioli from scratch isn’t something you should expect to perfect on your first try. It took me several tries to get the dough thickness and cooking time to my liking.

Source: http://kitchen1204.com/summer/whole-grain-peach-rosemary-ravioli-parmesan/