An old recipe

Hi all,

At one point last year, I’d started trying to keep a blog elsewhere. I’ll admit that my follow-through was not great, as the urge to blog gave way to the urge to nest. Not really anything worth carrying over from that one, save this recipe. It’s probably the best thing I’ve come up with all on my own. I’ll post it here, for posterity, even though it’s a spring recipe. I miss spring already.

Buckwheat and Goat Cheese Ravioli with Spring Veggies

I was trying to figure out what to do with the fresh peas and fava beans I found at the farmer’s market, and decided to make a buckwheat and goat cheese ravioli. We tried it last night, and to great success! D ate a second serving, even though he’s not a fan of peas.

Here, for those amongst you who may be curious, is what we did (yes, he helped!).

1 c. buckwheat flour (they have it at Henry’s in the bulk bins)
about 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 egg, beaten
olive oil
pinch salt
about 1/4 c. milk or water (I used milk)

goat cheese

butter
english peas (fresh is best)
fava beans (they’re only in season for a couple of weeks, i.e. right now)
or whatever vegetable. It would have been good with asparagus, too, I think.

Mix the buckwheat flour and half a cup of the all-purpose flour with a pinch of salt in a medium or large mixing bowl. Make a well in the middle of the flour and pour in the egg and milk. Drizzle some olive oil over (maybe a tablespoon-ish?) Mix until well combined (you’ll probably have to get your hands in on this), then knead on a floured work surface for about ten minutes, sprinkling with flour until the dough’s surface is no longer sticky. Let the dough set for about half an hour (I shelled the peas and fava beans while I was waiting).

Roll the dough out until it is as thin as you like (buckwheat flour makes a tough dough, so you have to really put some muscle into it), then cut out ravioli with a cookie round (2 1/2 to 3 inches in diameter). Put a couple of chunks of goat cheese (not too full!) on each round, then fold over and smash the edges with a fork to seal them. Let the ravioli set for a few minutes while you get a pot of water on to boil.

Drop in the ravioli and veggies (or wait a minute to add the veggies, if you like them crisp), and let cook until all of the ravioli float to the surface. Strain off the water, toss with butter and a little salt.

Mmmm.