Raw beetroot ravioli recipe

Ravioli is an Italian classic for a reason – it tastes delicious! But if you’re trying to avoid pasta for health reasons, then why not try this vegetable-based take on the traditional dish instead? You can make it without using flour or eggs, and without even cooking it. Umm, how? You might ask. Well, the key ingredient (as the eagle-eyed among you may have spotted in the title) is beetroot – the purple vegetable that’s gaining more and more superfood status by the day, which also happens to make a great substitute for pasta if you need it. Just some of the proven benefits of eating beetroot includes: being able to lower blood pressure, increase blood flow and boost athletic performance.

You will need a mandolin to make this recipe work well, if you can’t find one, then use cooked beetroot instead.

Ingredients (serves 2 as a starter)

4 beetroots
150g goat’s cheese
25g cooked quinoa
20g ground almonds
1 large handful of rocket washed and trimmed
½ cup of petit pois cooked
Zest of 1 lemon
5g parmesan, grated finely
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

For the fresh pesto (optional):

200g raw almonds
2 large handfuls basil
50g raw aged parmesan,
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
5tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic
½ a mild chilli
1tsp black peppercorns

Method

For the pesto: 

Blend the almonds in a food processor.

Grate the garlic or crush it, so it’s super fine.

Grate the chillI.

Grind the pepper. Be sure to really grind fine.

Add the garlic, chilli, olive oil, basil leaves and lemon to the nuts. Blitz it in a food processor for four minutes.

Meanwhile grate the parmesan.

Add the parmesan. If it’s looking lumpy or dry, (i.e. rolling around the blender in a ball), drizzle in more olive oil until the consistency is very smooth. Once the parmesan has been added, try not to blend for more than five more minutes while you season to taste, as the heat of the food processor can begin to melt the parmesan).

This lasts for one week in a tightly-sealed container in the fridge.

For the beetroot ravioli: 

In a bowl combine the goats cheese, the cooked quinoa, the lemon zest and a few drops of olive oil, a little salt and pepper and the ground almonds. Mix until all the ingredients form a paste.

Set the mandolin on its finest setting. Peel the beetroot and wash, then slice it on the mandolin as finely as you can. The beetroot slices may be in complete rounds, with one end thinner than the other, that’s OK, as two thin ends can be joined to create a larger, more flexible circle of beetroot.

Lay one round of beetroot down, drop two teaspoons of the goat’s cheese mixture into the centre, lay the second round of beetroot over the goat’s cheese ball and press into a ravioli shape.

Repeat till you have six raviolis, then top with the peas and rocket, parmesan, olive oil and a couple of spoons of pesto.

Recipe courtesy of Karma Cans