Back home, and eating Ravioli!

I am finally back in MTL, with my extremely messy, crowded apartment. My friend's wedding was quite lovely, and a wonderful picture of myself and her brother, a good friend of mine from Highschool, (we were in the band together!) was taken and I think looks great! Oui oui?

I have that sort of post-visit malaise where everything is annoying me, so it was really lucky that the ravioli I made last night turned out. (I meant to post it yesterday, but I sat down to read for a bit at around 8, and then woke up this morning at 7, so that didn't happen!)

There was limited food in my kitchen upon my return (Matthew tends to just sort of snack and get takeout while I'm away, as he's not big on cooking) But I still had the buckwheat flour from the carrot cake I made, and a quick trip to the grocery store yielded a few veggies and a bag of daiya, so I whipped together this yummy (even though not the most aesthetically pleasing) dish. I was inspired to make the ravioli after reading this blog entry, but my recipe is pretty different, as I made it with what I had in my kitchen.

It's quite labour intensive! Keep this in mind, because you'll need quite a bit of time to get everything prepared!

Buckwheat Sundried Tomato Cheese Ravioli in Homemade Sauce
Ingredients:
Pasta:
3/4 cup buckwheat flour (plus more for dusting!)
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tbsp ground flax mixed in 3 tbsp room temperature water
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
Dash Salt
Water (for texture)

Filling:
1/2 cup mushrooms
1 cup baby spinach
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup Daiya Mozarella style shreds
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
Salt and Pepper

Sauce:
4 medium sized tomatoes, cut into 4 pieces each
1 can tomato paste
1 tbsp olive oil
Water (about 1/4-1/2 cup, for desired consistancy)

Directions:
First, make the pasta. In a bowl, mix the buckwheat flour, cornstarch, xanthan gum, and spices, stirring with a whisk to sift together.
Add the flax mixture and olive oil, mixing with a spoon to combine.
Add in a bit of water, about a tablespoon at a time, until the mixture is well combined and slightly sticky.
Dust a surface (I used a plastic cutting board) with some buckwheat flour, and turn out the dough onto it, kneading it until slightly elastic with hands also dusted with flour.
When it is ready, divide into small portions, and flatten slightly, dusting each side with more flour. Roll is through your pasta machine. (Alternatively, you can use a rolling pin, but it probably won't get as thin, but it'll still work! Worry pas!)
Using a round cookie cutter, cut out as many circles a you can from the dough! Set them aside for now.

Next, we need to make the filling.
In a frying pan, sautee the mushrooms in the olive oil. When they change color and start to shrink (about 5 minutes or so of sauteeing) add in the spinach, and cook until wilted, about 1 minute.
Put that, as well as the sundried tomato, into a food processor and blend until smooth.
Pour into a bowl, and add in the Daiya and spices. Stir well to combine.

Lay out a ravioli circle, and top with about a tsp of filling. (you need to leave a bit of space around the edges for sealing!)
Top the circle with another circle, and using the tines of a fork, press around the edges to seal. (You may have to add a bit of water between the layers if they aren't sticking!)
Do this for all of your circles. (You can also put less filling onto one, and fold it in half if you so desire!)
You will have filling leftover, but worry pas! We are going to use it in the sauce!

Bring a pot of water to boil, and cook the ravioli for about 5-10 minutes.
While those are cooking, make your sauce.
Place the tomatoes in your food processor (no need to even clean it between steps!) and blend the tomatoes smooth.
Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, and olive oil to a saucepot, and slowly add in water to the desired consistency.
Bring to a boil, and turn to low.
Add in the remaining filling mixture, and stir until the cheese shreds are mostly melted.

Drain your ravioli, top with sauce, and enjoy!

If you have sauce leftover, don't worry! You can freeze it, or use it on other pasta!