Garden of Zen Ravioli
Pasta Dough:
2 1/3 cups flour (any kind)
1 teaspoon ground sage
1/2 teaspoon salt
vegan replacement for 2 eggs
2/3 cup water
1 teaspoon oil
Filling:
1/2 cup white kidney beans
1 link of Tofurky sausage
2 tablespoon herb and garlic Tofutti cream cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced
I call this the "garden of zen" ravioli because since I had my son 2 months ago it's odd I get time to my self. So when I make this I hand him over to my partner and hide away with my thoughts in the kitchen. It's very calming.
Anyways....
For the dough; mix the dry then after making a well in the bowl, add the wet. mix well. knead for about 5 minutes or until smooth and elastic. let sit for 10 minutes, or while you make the filling.
In a separate bowl pour beans and mash well with a potato masher. There really soft beans when they are from the can so you shouldn't have any clumps. Add crumbed sausage and mash again. Add the cream cheese and garlic and mix well. Set aside.
Sigh, I'm feeling pretty relaxed already.....OK Back to the dough!!
Separate the dough into 2 balls and roll out one piece on a clean floured surface. you want to get it real thin, like 1/16 of an inch... not that you're gonna measure. Cut the dough into strips then into little squares. I make them about an inch squared ( not that I measure).
Oh yeahhhhh.... here comes the really calming part. are you ready? HERE IT COMES.... I'M SO EXCITED!!!!
(there it is) --> on half the squares place a little bit of the filling and on the other half use your fingers to brush water over one side. The wet piece goes on top so stretch it a little bit and then press over filling piece on all sides. When that half of dough is done, do the other half.
Man wasn't that fantastic?! don't you feel revitalized?! I know I do.
When that's done place those little suckers in some boiling water that has a bit of salt and oil in it to keep them from sticking. boil for 7-9 minutes. if you freeze this... yes you can do that with this recipe... nice huh?.... add a couple more minutes for boiling.
I serve this with a sweet creamy poppy seed dressing or brushetta. mmmm....
Now... back to my baby and my son. You have so much more to give when you just spend a little bit of time a day in the garden of zen... and a better sense of humor.
SO HOW'D IT GO?
this was my garden of zen from studying for finals...and it really was relaxing!
i'd never made my own pasta before, and this was a nice introduction. i didn't use the tofurky sausage, just the beans and cream cheese and it came out really good. I made the first half of the dough the way the directions said, cutting squares and then smooshing them together. the second half i just left the dough all flattened out, put the blobs of filling spaced out evenly on one half, folded the dough over and cut between the blobs. i foud that this worked better, probably because i am physically unable to cut squares of dough evenly enough to match them together.