Beet & Goat Cheese Ravioli

 It's not very often that I get a hankering to make homemade pasta. Don't get me wrong, I could eat pasta every day of the week and twice on Sunday (I don't, of course...but I could). It is easily my favorite type of food, and nothing compares to pasta that is painstakingly made from scratch. Not even the most expensive, high-quality, imported dried pasta comes remotely close. The texture and flavor of fresh pasta is simply out of this world, but it's such a commitment. Make the dough, roll it out, shape it, cook it...ain't nobody got time for that! It truly is a labor of love. So the shortcut variety almost always wins out, but when I woke up one cloudy morning with a rare clear agenda I thought to myself, today is a perfect day to make some pasta.

But not just any pasta. Ravioli. And not just any ravioli. Beet and Goat Cheese Ravioli! The filling is light, fluffy and tangy; a wonderful contrast to the dense, chewy pasta that envelops it. And I'm crazy about the intense fuchsia hue- who cuts into a ravioli and expects to see that?! I marvel at the fact that a color so bright can be found in nature, so that last thing I wanted to do was to disguise it with a heavy, opaque sauce. To keep it simple I made a quick sauce from a bit of starchy pasta water, fresh chives and butter. Less is more!

serves 2

Ingredients

Fresh pasta dough

1 large beet

1/4 cup goat cheese

2 tbsp grated parmesan, plus more for garnish

1 egg, lightly beaten

3 tbsp unsalted butter

1 tbsp fresh chives, minced

salt & freshly ground pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wrap beet tightly in aluminum foil (drizzle with olive oil first if desired) and roast for approximately 45 minutes. Allow to cool completely and then coarsely chop.

2. Add beet, goat cheese, 2 tbsp parmesan, egg and a pinch of salt and pepper to a food processor and pulse until smooth. Transfer mixture to refrigerator to chill while rolling out the pasta dough.

3. Roll out two sections of dough into thin sheets using a pasta machine. Test the thickness of the sheets by placing your hand behind it (if you can make out the shadow of your hand behind the pasta it is ready to be filled).

4. Place rounded teaspoons of the chilled filling onto one pasta sheet about 3 inches apart. Cover with the second sheet of pasta, pressing lightly on the filling to remove any air bubbles. Cut ravioli using a round cookie cutter and press around the edges using the tines of a fork to seal.

5. Add raviolis to salted boiling water and boil for 2-3 minutes until pasta is cooked. The raviolis will begin to float to the surface when the pasta is done cooking. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to serving plates.
6. Add 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking liquid to a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add chives and cook until water begins to evaporate. Gradually add butter 1 cube at a time, allowing each cube to melt before adding the next.
7. Spoon butter sauce over ravioli and season with salt and pepper to taste. Top with grated parmesan if desired.