Whole Wheat Pasta – Peas Ravioli

I was longing for a summer like this! When husband is not around, I switch off Air Conditioning and keep the windows open. Cold gentle breeze comes through the 9th floor bay windows, my linen curtains swing around and I take a bite of Peas Ravioli freshly made at home with whole wheat pasta. I close my eyes with pure bliss of the moment.

Unlike most of you, I have not been cooking since I my teenage days. My mother actually never let me step foot in her kitchen until I decided to come here. When I was taking GRE in 2009, my mother thought of teaching her daughter some basic cooking. So she decided to enroll me to a cooking class in Kolkata.

The lady was Gujarati (an western province of India) and she only taught Italian and Mexican Cuisine that time. So believe it or not, I started my culinary journey with Italian food. When I came back home, I prepared the recipes I learnt there.

While browsing through my notes from 2009 last week  I decided to make the ravioli I made 7 years back. Back then Ma helped a lot and this time I am on my own. Coincidentally BostonGlobe published a whole wheat pasta recipe last week and I wanted to make Whole Wheat Pasta for a while.

It would be fine if I stuck to that, but I am a mad scientist. I was not happy with the recipe so I google whole wheat pasta recipes. I found a bunch from internet but Naturally Ella’s  pasta recipe seemed more legit to me. Before I tell you about my findings, let me reiterate some basic Pasta Making rules. You can also check my last article.

Things to remember for Pasta:

Taste of homemade pasta is heavenly and even a hardcore box pasta hater (like me) can fall in love with pasta. But remember, quality ingredients are crucial for your pasta.

You need to knead. I remember Sophia Terra-Ziva’s advice, always knead your bread gently. I use either my husband’s muscles or stand mixer’s dough attachment for pasta dough. Good kneading is MUST.
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You can use a pasta machine (under $100) or stand mixer’s pasta attachment to make pasta. But in 2009 Ma rolled the dough, I stuffed with the filling, cut them with a sharp stainless steel glass, and sealed them with fork. This time I have used a ravioli stamp.

Recipe for Whole Wheat Pasta – Peas Ravioli

I have divided the recipe into 3 steps – preparing fresh pasta dough, stuffing and making the ravioli. For your convenience I have summed up all the ingredients end of the recipe.

Pasta Dough: 

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Whole Wheat Pasta #1 : Recipe from Chef Gordon

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup durum semolina flour (Bob’s Red Mill)

4 eggs

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon olive oil
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Whole Wheat Pasta #2 : Recipe from Naturally Ella

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

3 eggs

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon olive oil
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1. In a bowl, add sift the flour. Add eggs and olive oil. With hands mix it thoroughly. Knead it gently for about 10 minutes or until it turns into a elastic dough. If you poke your dough gently, it should retract back. If not, keep kneading. {You can also use Standmixer, 3-4 setting for 10 minutes)
2. Keep it aside in a clean bowl. Drizzle some olive oil and let it rest for 1 hour or more.

Peas stuffing: 

1 cups fresh peas

1/4 cup fresh ricotta cheese

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

salt and black pepper to taste

2 tablespoon fresh basil leaves, chopped

When the pasta dough is resting, prepare the peas filling. In a food processor, add peas, fresh ricotta cheese, nutmeg, salt, black pepper, fresh basil leaves and work it  until smooth. Transfer it to a bowl and chill it until you prepare the ravioli.

Ravioli

2 quart water,

salt

olive oil

2 tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon fresh thyme

1 tablespoon grated parmigiano reggiano cheese

1 teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped.

1. Divide the dough in 4 equal sizes. Roll them into a very thin sheet. Fill them with stuffing and roll it over. Cut them into shapes and seal the edges.
2. In a non-stick soup bot, bring 2 quart water to boil. Add salt and olive oil. Release the ravioli and boil it for 4-5 minutes. Strain it into a colander.
3. Meanwhile, in a non-stick sauce pan, over high heat, heat 2 tablespoon butter. Add some thyme leaves and heat it until the butter turns brown for about 2-3 minutes.
4. Transfer them into a plate. Drizzle some thyme brown butter sauce, fresh grated parmigiano reggiano cheese and chopped oregano.

Grocery List: 

• Whole wheat flour, Durum semolina flour (Bob’s Red Mill) Or Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
• Eggs
• Olive Oil
• Butter
• fresh peas (trader joe’s)
• ricotta cheese
• parmigiano reggiano cheese
• ground nutmeg
• salt
• black pepper
• fresh basil leaves
• fresh thyme
• fresh oregano