Handmade Herb & Garlic Ravioli, Jumbo Garlic Prawns & Bruschetta

Handmade from The Heart

I’m going to make a bold statement here… NO packaged or frozen pasta tastes better than homemade… there just ISN’T! And, although handmade ravioli is quite the task… each bite is WORTH IT! I should preface this by saying I did not grow up making pasta and this is not a traditional Italian recipe. I try things and experiment with them until I love them and then I share them with all of you :)

Handmade Herb & Garlic Ravioli with Jumbo Prawns

I am not including prep time or cook time for this recipe because it really depends on how long it takes you to make the ravioli...and it gets easier and quicker each time you do it!

Servings: 4-6

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour + more for flouring the surface (I used unbleached flour this time, but I prefer to use 00 flour)
• 4 eggs
• Olive Oil
• 2 packages of Boursin Cheese , alternatively you can make your cheese filling by mixing a soft cheese like goat cheese with herbs and garlic
• Arugula* (or braised spinach) This isn't necessary but it's a nice colour and texture element
• Salt & Pepper
• Butter
• Parmesan Cheese
• Sage
• Garlic
• Jumbo Prawns

Ingredients:

1. In a bowl, add the flour and then make a well and crack the eggs inside the well, drizzle with olive oil in the centre of the well
2. Using a spoon slowly mix from the center out, gradually combining more flour each time
3. Use your hands to mix into a round-ish shape
4. Place on a floured surface and knead until the shape becomes a little more stretchy and moldable
5. Flour the rollers of your pasta maker and run the dough through on the lowest setting
6. Keep folding the dough over itself and running through until you get one nice long piece
7. Keep increasing the knob to a higher number each time and run through until the second to last or last notch (mine was a number 7)
8. You can cut your dough in half if needed and set aside
9. Make your by mashing cheese with a fork, and then add olive oil, salt, and pepper & chopped arugula
10. Lay the pasta out on a floured surface and add dollops of your filling
11. You can use your ravioli cutter (or in my case, cookie cutter) to decide how large to make the filling and how far apart to space the filling
12. Wet your finger and wipe around the outside of the filling to dampen the pasta for sealing
13. Top with the other side of the dough and press around the outside of the filling to seal
14. Use a cookie cutter to cut out ravioli shapes
15. Heavily salt a pot of water and boil
16. Melt butter and garlic in a saucepan and when melted add the prawns
17. Flip prawns when one side is done and cook the other side
18. Add butter to another saucepan and one piece of sage (ensure the butter does not burn by stirring constantly)
19. Once the sage has begun to fry, add the remainder of the sage
20. Add ravioli to the boiling water until they are tender (about 3 minutes)
21. Remove ravioli from the boiling water with a slotted spoon and add to the pan
22. Plate ravioli and pour remaining sage butter on top, season with salt and pepper, and top with a jumbo prawn.

Brushetta

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Ingredients

• 1 french baguette
• 4 tomatoes, diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 shallot, minced
• Basil, chopped
• Balsamic vinegar
• Olive oil
• Salt & pepper

Instructions

1. Slice baguette into crostinis and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet
2. Drizzle with olive oil and salt and broil until toasted
3. In a bowl, mix tomatoes, shallot, basil, and garlic until well mixed
4. Top bruschetta mix on crostinis, season with salt and pepper, and drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar