Recipe: Three cheese Christmas tree ravioli

Tis the season to whip up some fun holiday-themed recipes in the kitchen.  

Food blogger Landi Govender is rockin’ around a big bowl of this 'Three Cheese Christmas Tree Ravioli' recipe this festive season - and so should you. 

It has all the makings of the perfect Christmas lunch recipe - cheese and pasta.

The fact that the ravioli is shaped like a Christmas tree makes it even better! Landi took it one step further by cutting tiny stars out of pasta dough.

Thankfully, that part is optional, because it no doubt took a lot of time and a lot of patience. 

ALSO READ: Siba Mtongana shares yummy cream cheese ice-cream recipe

Landi said the final result was worth it. 

"These Christmas tree ravioli's turned out absolutely gorgeous and tasted amazing! I fried mine in brown butter and sage," she said. 

Here's what ingredients you will need to make this delicious recipe:

Ingredients

For the fresh spinach pasta
200g baby spinach, washed
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tbsp olive oil
400g 00 flour

For the filling
250g ricotta cheese
15g cake flour
2 tbsp fresh herbs, finely chopped
60g Parmesan cheese, grated
60g Pecorino Romano cheese, grated
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
Pinch of nutmeg

ALSO READ: How to make Jalebi ice-cream sandwiches

Method

For the fresh spinach pasta

To blanch the spinach, place the leaves into a pot of boiling water for one minute only. Remove leaves from boiling water and transfer to a bowl of ice water. Drain and squeeze any remaining water out with your hands.

Add the spinach, eggs, and olive oil to a blender, and blend till smooth.

Mound the flour onto a countertop or bowl. Make a well in the center and add the spinach mixture. Using a fork, mix everything together, gradually incorporating the flour as you go.

Knead by hand for about two minutes to form a smooth dough. Form the dough into a disk and wrap it tightly with cling wrap. Let the dough rest for at least 30 minutes at room temperature, or up to overnight in the fridge. (If the dough is refrigerated, it will need to come to room temperature before moving on to the next step.)

For the filling

In a medium bowl, combine all the filling ingredients. Cover and set aside at room temperature. 

To assemble the ravioli

Divide the dough into four equal pieces. Cling wrap the two pieces to prevent it from drying out while working with the remaining pieces. 

Roll the dough through a pasta machine on the largest setting once. Fold the dough in thirds like a letter (this helps it become a rectangular shape initially) before rolling it a second time on the largest setting.  

Adjust the pasta machine to the next increment and pass the dough through. Continue adjusting the setting and rolling the dough through the machine until you’ve used the smallest setting (repeat this with the 2nd piece of pasta dough).

Dust the work surface with flour to prevent sticking. Place the one pasta sheet over.

Starting on the left-hand side, portion one tablespoon of filling at 3cm intervals down the length of the pasta sheet until you’ve reached the end of the pasta sheet on the right side, you’ll be able to fit about 14 to 15 portions of filling on one pasta sheet. 

Brush a thin layer of cool tap water on the pasta sheet along the bottom edge and on either side of each of the scooped filling mounds. 

Place the 2nd sheet of pasta dough over, starting in the center of the pasta sheet and moving outward in both directions, press out any air pockets between the filling mounds and lightly seal the pasta to encase the filling.  

Use a fluted pastry wheel or knife to trim the bottom edge and ends of the pasta sheet; then slice between the filling mounds to create individual ravioli. Move the pieces to the prepared baking sheet, and cover them with plastic wrap.

Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.

To cook the pasta right away, bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add a portion of ravioli to the water, ensuring they can all cook without overlapping. Boil for six to eight minutes, flipping individual ravioli every couple of minutes. Drain the ravioli and serve immediately with pasta sauce. 

Visit The Tocka Blog for more delicious recipes. 

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Main image credit: The Tocka Blog with Landi Govender