"Mexican" Ravioli

I finished this recipe a week and a half ago, but time has been getting the better of me, it seems! I'm currently in the process of packing up my things and preparing for my final year of college. Figuring out moving situations as well as my audition/monologue for fall mainstage auditions (if you don't know, I'm a BFA Musical Theatre major) have been a little hectic. Happily, everything is piecing itself together. I'm going to miss NYC, but I'll be back next summer for good, so I can't complain too much. I will definitely miss living with Ethan, but that, too, will fix itself in due time.

Anyway, this was a recipe that I came up with when I was lying in bed one morning. Apparently there are other recipes like this, but I hadn't realized it at the time, so I'm going to stick to pretending that I'm special. ;) The only help I had for this recipe was a ravioli dough recipe I found online. Otherwise, I just kind of made things up as I went along...the only way I know how!

I followed this dough recipe (http://tim.rocketry.org/cooking/ravioli_pasta/) and replaced the semolina and all-purpose flours with whole wheat…healthier, but mostly because I didn’t have the other types of flour on hand. I kept my ravioli a little thicker/a little larger than instructed, and definitely much less pretty. I’ve only made ravioli a few times and it always seems that my impatience gets the better of me. If you are a pro at making ravioli, please take pictures. I'm always jealous.

Peek-a-Boo! Photo Copyright 2011 Katie Peters

“Mexican” Ravioli

Ingredients:

-Pasta dough 

-1/2 lb. ground beef

-1/3 c. finely diced onion

-1/2 tsp. each: black pepper, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder

-1 large jalapeño, finely diced (keep the seeds in for extra spice)

-1/2 can fat-free refried beans

-less than a cup of finely shredded extra sharp cheddar

-Green bell pepper, sliced, for garnish

-Any tomato-based pasta sauce you desire—I used canned tomatoes, olive oil, and fresh basil as the base of my sauce

1.       Follow the directions for the ravioli dough. Wait about half an hour before worrying about the rest of the ravioli ingredients.

2.       While dough is refrigerating, cook ground beef in a large pan. Don’t worry about adding oil; the beef should have enough when it cooks. I used 80/20 from Trader Joe’s, but if you are using even leaner beef, feel free to add a little olive oil.

3.       When beef is half-cooked, add onion, spices, and jalapeño. Stir well and cook completely.

4.       Add refried beans and mix. Turn off the heat and place pan on a trivet or oven mitt near your “ravioli workspace”.

Photo Copyright 2011 Katie Peters

5.       At this point it should be about an hour since you made the ravioli dough. Remove from the refrigerator and follow the instructions for rolling it out.

6.       Fill each ravioli square with the meat mixture. Top with a pinch of shredded cheese. Use a little bit of water and wet the edges of the dough. Fold over the other half of the dough and pinch closed. For additional security (and a nice touch), take a fork and use the prongs to press down on the dough edges.

Photo Copyright 2011 Katie Peters

7.       Place ravioli on plate with plastic wrap in between layers of pasta so they don’t stick to each other. Refrigerate or freeze until ready to prepare.

8.       Boil water in a large pot. Place ravioli into water, 5-10 at a time, depending on the size of your pasta. Pasta will take about 8 or 9 minutes if you make it thick and beefy like mine. If you have thin, beautiful ravioli, it will be between 4 and 8 minutes.

9.       In another large pot, heat up the tomato sauce. Add the ravioli as they finish cooking. Mix. When everything is complete, plate your ravioli and garnish with sliced green bell peppers.

Delicious! Photo Copyright 2011 Katie Peters

 Happy Eating!