Sweet Ravioli With Chocolate Nut Filling Recipes

CHOCOLATE-HAZELNUT RAVIOLI

Steps:

• Line a baking sheet with plastic wrap. Place 1 wonton wrapper on the work surface. Brush the edges of the wrapper lightly with egg. Spoon 1 tablespoon of chocolate-hazelnut spread into the center of the wrapper. Fold the wrapper diagonally in half over the filling and press the edges of the wrapper to seal. Place the ravioli on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining wonton wrappers, egg, and chocolate-hazelnut spread.
• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Add enough oil to a heavy large frying pan to reach a depth of 2 inches. Heat the oil over medium heat to 350 degrees F.
• Working in batches, carefully add the ravioli to the hot oil and cook until they are golden brown, about 45 seconds per side. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the ravioli to a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Then, transfer the cooked ravioli to another baking sheet and keep them warm in the oven while frying the remaining ravioli. (The fried ravioli can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cool them completely, then cover and refrigerate. Before serving, place them on a baking sheet and rewarm in a preheated 375 degrees F oven just until they are heated through, about 7 minutes.)
• Spray the top side of the mint leaves very lightly with nonstick spray. Working with 1 leaf at a time, dredge the coated side of the leaves in sugar to coat lightly.
• Arrange 2 fried ravioli on each plate. Dust the ravioli with powdered sugar. Garnish with the sugared mint leaves and serve.

RAVIOLI DOLCI (SWEET RAVIOLI)

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg, then stir in the vanilla and almond extracts and lemon zest. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until a smooth dough forms. Divide dough into halves. Roll each portion out between two sheets of waxed paper into a 12 inch square. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
• Remove one piece of the dough from the refrigerator, remove the top layer of waxed paper, and cut into 1 1/2 inch squares. Place about 1/4 teaspoon of the cherry preserves into the center of the first sheet of squares. Set aside. Remove the remaining piece of dough from the refrigerator, remove top layer of waxed paper, and cut into 1 1/2 inch squares also. Poke holes for venting in these squares using a fork. Place each vented square over one of the filled squares, and gently seal the edges by pressing with the tines of a fork. Place cookies 2 inches apart onto prepared cookie sheets.
• Bake for 9 to 11 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly browned. Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheets before removing to wire racks to cool completely. Dust cookies with confectioners' sugar while they are still warm.

SWEET RAVIOLI WITH CHOCOLATE-NUT FILLING

Steps:

• You will need a pasta machine and a couple of days to make this recipe. 1. TO MAKE THE FILLING: The day before making the ravioi, put the chickpeas, almonds, dried fruit, and chocolate in a food processor and pulse until processed into a sticky paste. Transfer to a medium bowl and stir in the preserves, honey, and rum. Cover and refrigerate overnight. 2. TO MAKE THE DOUGH: Put the flour in a food processor. Mix the olive oil, wine, and water in a glass measuring cup. With the machine running, add the liquid through the feed tube and process just until the dough forms a ball on top of the blade. If the dough is too wet or too dry, it will not form a ball. Feel the dough, and if it is sticky and wet, add additional flour, 2 tablespoons at a time, processing after each addition, until the dough forms a ball. If it seems too dry, follow the same procedure, adding additional water, 1 tablespoon at a time. To make the dough by hand, place the flour in a large bowl. Stir in the liquids to make a stiff dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead just until smooth, about 5 minutes. Do not overknead the dough. Gather up the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and let stand at room temperature for 2 hours. 3. Place a kitchen towel on a baking sheet and dust with flour set aside. Divide the dough into quarters. Attach a hand-cranked pasta machine to a work surface. Working with 1 portion of dough at a time and keeping the remaining dough covered, fold the dough into thirds and dust with flour on both sides. Pass the dough through the widest setting of the pasta machine (setting No.1 on most machines). Continue folding and rolling until the dough comes together, usually after 5 or 6 passes. Pass it through a few more times without folding, dusting with flour as needed. Adjust the rollers to the second setting, fold the dough into thirds again, flour both sides, and pass it through the rollers. Continue folding and rolling for 4 or 5 more passes. Adjust the rollers to the third setting, and repeat the folding and rolling for 4 or 5 passes. By now the dough will be transformed into a thin sheet of pasta. Adjust the rollers to the fourth setting. Dust the dough with flour. Without folding, pass the dough through the pasta machine 3 or 4 times. Adjust the rollers to the fifth setting (on most machines, this will be the next-to-last setting). Flour and pass the pasta through the rollers. The dough should be about 1/16 inch thick. 4. Place the long strip of dough on a work surface. On the bottom half of the dough, about 1/2 inch from the bottom edge, place scant teaspoons of the filling about 1 1/2 inches apart. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush a border of water around each spoonful of filling. Fold the pasta strip over to cover the filling. Using your fingers, press all around each mound of filling to seal the two layers of pasta together. Using a fluted pastry wheel, cut out 1 1/2-inch-square ravioli. Place the ravioli on the kitchen towel and set aside. 5. Line a baking sheet with paper towels. In a deep Dutch oven, melt vegetable shortening over high heat to a depth of 2 to 3 inches and heat it to 350°F. In batches of about 10, deep-fry the ravioli until golden, about 2 minutes. Using a wire-mesh skimmer, transfer to the paper towels to drain. Let cool completely. (The ravioli can be prepared up to 2 days ahead and stored in an airtight container, with the layers separated with paper towels and waxed paper.) Just before serving, dust the ravioli with the confectioners' sugar.

ITALIAN SPECIAL SWEET FRIED RAVIOLI COOKIES

Steps:

• Melt semisweet chocolate and unsweetened chocolate in the top of a double boiler or in a bowl in the microwave. Stir until smooth. Set aside to cool. Heat the 2 cups shortening in a large, heavy skillet or deep fryer.
• In a small bowl, stir together the pureed garbanzo beans, sugar, and cinnamon. Stir in the dates and nuts. Blend with the cooled chocolate. Chill while you make the dough.
• In a medium bowl, beat the eggs until fluffy. Stir in the 1/4 cup melted shortening. Sift together the flour, sugar, and salt, and fold into the egg mixture. Add extra flour if necessary to make the dough easy to handle.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into 3 inch circles using a cookie cutter or a large drinking glass. Place 1 teaspoon of the chocolate filling mixture onto the center of each cookie, fold over into a half circle, and pinch to seal.
• Fry cookies in 1 1/2 inches of hot oil, turning once. Cookies should be light brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Refrigerate when cool. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar before serving.