Ravioli Rolling Pin + Vegan Ricotta = Great Meal

Several years ago one of my most energetic graduate students showed a strong interest in food and cooking, so we often talked about it and shared stories and ideas — along with occasionally discussing the program: engineering management. When he honed in on pasta and homemade ravioli, we shared YouTube videos and techniques, including Laura Schenone’s work.

Fast forward a few years. Mike designed a much-improved ravioli rolling pin, made some prototypes, ran a successful Kickstarter campaign and then founded a company to make and sell these. I received an early version as a supporter and then bought the final version at Williams-Sonoma recently.

ready for table

Now that I’ve found a vegan ricotta cheese from almond milk (Kite Hill, at Whole Foods Markets), I’m finally able to make great ravioli again. With Barbara as lead chef, here’s tonight’s version of a meal made with Cavolo Nero and Almond Milk Ricotta in a Roasted Red Pepper Sauce with Roasted Portobello Mushrooms.

strip greens away from stems of our CSA-grown Lacinato Kale (Cavolo Nero)
boil greens in salted water until just tender
drain, dry, and finely chop greens in food processor
add a full container of Kite Hill Ricotta to processor bowl
add several glugs of olive oil, salt and pepper, then purée very smooth
oven roast and peel 3 organic red peppers
while oven is on, roast a large Portobello mushroom cap, drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper; cool, slice and set aside.
sauté shallots, 1/2 a small red onion, and olive oil until tender; add roasted red peppers, chopped; add a little white wine and cook it down; then purée in processor and set aside
make pasta dough with 2 cups of flour and two eggs (or not, if strictly vegan) plus just enough water to form the dough; cover and let sit at least an hour or up to two days to make at a later date.
roll out the dough very thin in two equal size pieces; one will be the bottom with the filling; the other will be the top, to be married together by the rolling pin
spread the filling on the bottom half, cover with the top sheet, roll them together to seal, and cut between the resulting pillows with a ravioli cutter to separate
boil in salter water until done
heat pepper sauce, adding a little pasta water, then drain ravioli and mix in the sauce
place ravili in serving dish, garnish with Portobello slices, and enjoy
P.S. It’s much clearer with photos, below.