Chocolate Ravioli
No, your eyes do not deceive you, I am actually putting cocoa into pasta.
Why? Well, the cocoa powder is going to give the pasta a deep, dark color plus a wonderfully bitter-sweet flavor that allows the pasta to pair well with both sweet and savory dishes.
I will be opting for sweet and filling my dark pasta with sweet mascarpone filling and serving it with a raspberry sauce that will provide some tartness to lift the whole thing right up!
Most of all, it will lend for a perfect dessert for date night, Valentine’s Day, or any occasion where you want your loved ones to feel extra-special.
Chocolate Ravioli
Serves 4
2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/3 cup of cocoa powder
3 eggs, divided
1/3-1/2 cup of water
16 ounces of mascarpone cheese at room temperature
1/4 cup of ricotta cheese
4 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 cup of fresh raspberries, plus more for garnish
2 teaspoons of lemon juice
Fresh mint leaves, for garnish
Crushed hazelnuts, for garnish
Start by making the chocolate ravioli dough.
In a food processor, dump in the flour, cocoa powder, 2 eggs, and 1/3 cup of water. Pulse a few times until the mixture combines into a shaggy dough, adding more water if the dough seems too dry.
Dump the dough onto a floured work surface, then knead for about 5 minutes, or until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. Cover the dough with plastic wrap, shape it into a disc, then let the dough relax for at least 20 minutes.
While the dough rests, make the cheese filling.
In a bowl, combine the mascarpone, ricotta, remaining egg, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and vanilla until combined and smooth. Because mascarpone is so thick, you might need to really get in there and beat that mixture to get it smooth.
The filling should have a thick sour cream-like consistency, but if it seems to runny then chill it for about 30 minutes and it should get firmer.
Set aside while you make the raspberry sauce.
In a food processor, (after cleaning it from making the pasta dough) combine the raspberries, 1/2 cup of sugar, and lemon until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer, then set aside.
(So, I didn’t actually have any raspberries at the time of doing this, so I used some strawberries instead. Same process, different fruit.)
Use a pasta machine or pasta roller attachment for your stand mixer to roll the dough into long, thin sheets, a process I talk about in full detail in my article on making fresh pasta.
https://the-s-word.net/pastaandpizza/how-to-make-perfect-fresh-pasta
With the cocoa in the dough, you might not get the semi-transparent look you get with normal pasta dough, but just know that thinner is better.
Cut any long sheets in half, then lay one pasta sheet in front of you, then spoon teaspoons of the mascarpone filling onto the dough, leaving a half-inch gap between each blob of filling.
Use your finger to brush some water around the filling, then lay another pasta sheet on top and use your fingers to press out as much air as possible.
Use a small floured cookie cutter to cut out rounds of ravioli (Or use a knife or ravioli cutter to cut it into squares). Chill the ravioli to firm them up a little, or until you are ready to cook them.
You can also freeze the ravioli at this point and cook them a day or two later.
Bring a wide pot to a gentle simmer (bubbles appearing around the edges of the pot) with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar.
Carefully lower the ravioli into the water and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until they all float to the top of the water.
To plate, spoon some of the raspberry sauce onto the bottom of each plate, then top with 4 ravioli, fresh raspberries, mint leaves, and crushed hazelnuts, then enjoy!
If you never thought that pasta could possibly be for dessert, then this is your proof. Rich, chocolaty ravioli bursting with the creamy cheese filling and that raspberry sauce underneath.
