These Chocolate Ravioli with Ricotta-Beet Filling are beautiful, delicious, and healthy. Perfect for the Valentine's Day dinner or any other lazy weekend. Serve with brown butter sage sauce or just with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese | Imagelicious
In a large bowl whisk the flour and cocoa powder together until fully combined.
Make a well in the centre of the mixture and add the egg.
Break the egg and start mixing in the flour with the fork just around the egg, then slowly get more and more flour into the egg until all the flour and egg are incorporated.
If the mixture is too dry and not forming into dough, add a bit of water, one tablespoon at a time.
Gather the dough into a bowl, wrap in plastic and leave on the counter for an hour. After an hour the dough will become pliable,
Make the filling
In a small bowl combine the fine grated beet with ricotta, cheese and a big pinch of salt and pepper.
Make the ravioli
Using a pasta rolling machine, roll HALF the dough according to the instructions into a long thin sheet.
Place 10 dollops of filling along the sheet of pasta dough just off the centre.
Brush the dough lightly with water along the edges and between the filling.
Now fold the dough lengthwise over the filling and press in between to make parcels.
Slice the dough into 10 square ravioli and press the edges with a fork to seal properly.
Alternatively you could use two sheets of dough and a cookie cutter to cut the ravioli or if you have a special ravioli form, then use that.
NOTE: The second half of the dough can be used to make spaghetti.
Boil the ravioli in boiling salted water for about 3-4 minutes or until they start to float.
Make the sage butter sauce
While the ravioli are boiling, in a large pan melt the butter and add the sage leaves.
Drain the cooked ravioli very well and add to the pan of melted butter for a minute or two.
Serve with more grated cheese, salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Notes
For less intense chocolate flavoured pasta reduce the amount of cocoa powder and increase the amount of flour. For example, you could use 3/4 cup + 1/8 cup of flour and 1/8 cup of cocoa powder.One egg for the pasta dough was not enough for me, so I added about 2 tablespoons of water, but it all depends on the humidity in your house and the ingredients.My husband said there was too much beet taste in the filling. You could use half a beet or even less just for the colour. Or, alternatively, no beets at all. Just use ricotta, cheese, and a small egg to bind it together.You don't have to use sage in the melted butter either. Sage flavour is pretty strong, so not everyone likes it. I find that it actually pairs quite well with the beets, but you could just use some melted butter or your favourite light cream sauce for the pasta.Use the rest of the pasta dough to make spaghetti or tagliatelle and serve with either cream or butter sauce.