Weeds to Remedies: Wild Herb Ravioli!

Posted by on April 23, 2014 in Garden, Herbal Medicine

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

1 1/2 ounces chickweed or garlic mustard, stems removed (2 cups)

1 ounce nettle or henbit tops, including flowers, young dandelion greens or spinach, stems removed (1 1/2 cups)

1 ounce wild garlic greens or chives, cut into 1/2- to 1-inch lengths (3/4 cup), plus more for garnish

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

2 ounces ricotta cheese (1/4 cup)

2 ounces freshly grated Parmesan (1/2 cup), plus more for sprinkling

2-3 cloves of fresh garlic finely chopped

18 egg-roll wrappers (about 8 inches square)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1. Melt 1 tablespoon butter or coconut oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add chickweed, deadnettle, and wild garlic greens and cook until bright green and softened, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Season with a pinch each of sea salt and pepper. Transfer to a medium bowl and fold in ricotta and Parmesan with a rubber spatula. Let cool.

2. Place 9 wrappers or homemade pasta (gluten-free recipe below) on a work surface. On each wrapper, mound 4 separate teaspoonfuls of filling in a grid 2 inches from edges. Dip a finger in water and trace a circle around each mound of filling. Place remaining 9 wrappers on top; press to seal. Cut out 36 ravioli with a 2-inch ring cutter.

3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; add oil. Cook ravioli until al dente, 5 to 8 minutes. Drain well. Serve topped with remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter and a sprinkling of Parmesan and garlic greens.

OR make your own ravioli (included below is a gluten-free recipe!)

Reference is from

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Fresh-Gluten-Free-Pasta-362249

Ingredients

2/3 cup (70g/2.5oz) corn flour

1/2 cup (70g/2.5oz) quinoa flour

1/2 cup (60g/2.125oz) potato starch

2 teaspoons xanthan gum

1 teaspoon guar gum

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

2 large eggs

4 egg yolks from large eggs

preparation

Combining the Flours

Sift the corn flour, quinoa flour, and potato starch into a large bowl. Add the xanthan gum, guar gum, and salt and stir. Sift the entire mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer.

Forming the Pasta Dough

Put the eggs and egg yolks into the bowl of dry ingredients. Run the stand mixer on medium speed with a paddle attachment until the dough feels fully formed, about 3 minutes. The final dough should feel firm yet still pliable, a little like playdough.

Making the Pasta

If you are using a pasta machine, cut the ball of dough into quarters and roll out each piece of dough to about a 1/2-inch thickness. We like to roll out each piece between 2 pieces of parchment paper. Lightly flour both sides of the dough with a bit more potato starch. Run the dough through the machine, increasing the setting each time, until the dough is paper-thin and long. If the pasta sheet starts to break, it is thin enough.

If you are making the dough by hand, we suggest you cut the ball of dough into 8 pieces, and then cut each of those pieces in half, so they are about the size of golf balls. Roll out each piece of dough as thin as you possibly can.

For ravioli, cut the rolled-out pasta into 2-inch-square pieces. Dollop the filling in the middle of a square of pasta. Brush the edges of the pasta with an egg wash. Place another pasta square on top and press down, crimping the edges. (Having a ravioli cutter on hand helps with this process.) 

variations:

You have some wiggle room with different flours here. Tapioca flour works as a replacement for the potato starch, as does cornstarch. You might try sorghum or brown rice if you cannot eat corn. However, be sure to substitute by weight instead of volume.

References/Photo Credit

www.colinclarkphoto.com