Cauliflower Ravioli

We had just returned from vacation, and the garden was doing very well. The cauliflower was ready, and I figured we had to start harvesting some before it went to flower. I had recalled in reading a book that vegetables were a main ingredient of ravioli in Italy (the book had referred to chard or kale being used), so I thought that the cauliflower might work.

Below is the recipe for the filling and a basic pasta recipe. We enjoyed these ravioli with a simple brown butter-sage-pine nut sauce. Remember, in ravioli, especially home made ravioli, the filling, not the sauce, should be the star.

Filling:
1 head cauliflower, flowerets and stems separated and roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, rough chop
1 large leek, rough chop
1 Tablespoon fresh thyme
1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, rough chop
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2 Tablespoons olive oil

Heat olive oil in a large pat and add all the veggies and the thyme. Pan roast over medium heat, turning only a few times to allow some of the cauliflower to caramelize. Near the end of the cooking, when the cauliflower is tender, add the parsley and cook for a few more minutes.

Add the cauliflower mixture to a food processor and let cool. Once cool, add Parmigiano-Reggiano and blend until almost smooth, but leaving fine pieces of cauliflower in the mix.


Pasta (this makes enough pasta for one person):
3/4 cup flour (I like to use 1/4 cup semolina and 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour)
1 large egg
Water

Make a well in the middle of the flour and add the egg and mix with a fork until the flour starts to incorporate. Knead together for a few minutes and add water if necessary to make the dough wet but not sticky. Let rest for 5 minutes then knead for 5-10 minutes until smooth, and then wrap in plastic and let rest for 1 hour.

Roll out in a pasta machine. For fettucini, use setting 4 or 5, for ravioli, 6 or 7 (I prefer 6).

For the ravioli, I tripled the recipe above for the pasta, and had leftover (which I made into fettucini that I froze). Roll the pasta into sheets and cut into rounds about 4" across. Fill one round with about a teaspoon of filling, and fold over for "Mezzaluna" or put filling in the middle and put another round on top. Be sure to get the air out from around the filling, and to dab some water around the edges to seal. This made about 30 ravioli, with 7 or 8 being a healthy serving.