Ravioli Of Smashed Fava Beans Mint And Ricotta Recipes

RAVIOLI STUFFED WITH FAVA BEANS, RICOTTA, AND MINT WITH BROWN-BUTTER SAUCE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil; add beans. Cook until tender, 6 to 7 minutes. Transfer to an ice-water bath; let cool 1 minute. Drain; squeeze beans from skins. Transfer 2 cups of the beans to a food processor. Add cheeses, mint, lemon juice, and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Process until smooth. Refrigerate filling at least 1 hour (up to 2 days).
• Divide dough into 4 pieces. Dust 1 piece of dough with flour (cover remaining pieces with plastic wrap). Set the rollers of a pasta maker to the widest setting; roll dough through. Fold dough into thirds; pass through again, narrow side first. Repeat until smooth, 3 or 4 more times. Run dough through progressively narrower settings, using additional flour as needed, until very thin (at least 5 inches wide). Cut sheet crosswise into manageable pieces.
• Dust 2 rimmed baking sheets with cornmeal; set aside. Place 1 piece of pasta sheet on a lightly floured work surface (keep unused pieces covered). Space heaping tablespoons of filling 3 inches apart on lower half of sheet.
• Using a wet pastry brush, moisten pasta around each mound of filling. Fold top half of sheet over filling to meet edge; press around mounds to eliminate air and to seal.
• Cut pasta into 2 1/2- to 3-inch squares using a pizza wheel. Brush away excess flour. Place ravioli on cornmeal-dusted baking sheets. Roll out remaining pasta dough, and repeat. (If serving that day, cover ravioli with plastic wrap, and refrigerate on baking sheets until ready to use. If making ahead, freeze on baking sheets until firm, about 1 hour, and then transfer to an airtight container; freeze until ready to use, up to 1 month.)
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil; add salt. Add half the ravioli; gently stir once. Cook at a gentle boil until ravioli are just tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a colander using a slotted spoon; drain. Cover to keep warm. Repeat with remaining ravioli.
• Meanwhile, melt 4 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Reduce heat to low; cook butter until lightly browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Add half the ravioli to skillet; toss to coat. Using a slotted spoon, transfer ravioli to a platter; cover to keep warm. Repeat with remaining ravioli.
• Cook remaining 4 tablespoons butter until lightly browned as above. Add reserved cup beans; cook over low heat until warm, about 20 seconds. Transfer ravioli to serving plates. Spoon beans and butter over ravioli. Sprinkle with cheese; season with salt and pepper.

RICOTTA AND VANILLA RAVIOLI WITH ORANGE MINT DIPPING SAUCE

Steps:

• Dipping Sauce;
• *Can be found at specialty Asian markets.
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• For the ravioli:
• In a small bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, sugar, vanilla extract, mint leaves, and orange zest. Scrape in the seeds from the vanilla bean and mix well. Using a pastry brush, brush the edges of the potsticker wrappers with the beaten egg. Spoon 1 teaspoon of the ricotta mixture into the center of the potsticker wrappers. Fold the dough over the filling to create a half-moon shape. Pinch the edges of the dough to seal.
• In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, pour enough oil to fill the pan about a third of the way. Heat over medium heat until a deep-frying thermometer inserted in the oil reaches 375 degrees F. (If you don't have a thermometer a cube of bread will brown in about 3 minutes.) In batches, fry the ravioli for 30 seconds on each side until golden. Drain on paper towels.
• For the dipping sauce:
• In a small saucepan, combine the orange juice and sugar over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the syrup to cool for 20 minutes. Stir in the chopped mint.
• Arrange the ravioli on a platter. Pour the dipping sauce into a small dipping bowl and serve alongside the ravioli.

FRESH RICOTTA AND FAVA BEAN BRUSCHETTA

Steps:

• Cook fava beans or lima beans in medium saucepan of boiling salted water until just tender, about 1 1/2 minutes for fava beans or about 4 minutes for lima beans. Drain. Rinse under cold water; drain well. Peel fava beans if using; set aside. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Arrange bread pieces on baking sheet; toast in oven until light golden, about 12 minutes. Rub 1 side of each bread piece with cut side of 1 garlic half, pressing firmly to release juices into bread. Top each bread piece with 1 heaping tablespoon ricotta cheese, then fava beans, dividing equally. Place 2 bread pieces on each of 8 plates. Drizzle lightly with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Garnish with sliced basil and serve.