For Valentine's Day - Beet Pasta Ravioli with Goat Cheese, Hazelnuts, Chives
February 6, 2012 
If you're like us and avoid restaurants on Valentine's Day, this is the dish for you. This is killer. The beautiful deep magenta color of the pasta just reminded me of Valentine's Day. The filling of goat cheese, Parmigiano cheese and chives is so luscious and creamy. And I thought some toasted chopped hazelnuts on top would add the perfect texture. The filling is a breeze to make and the pasta dough is just plain fun.
We've been concentrating on homemade pastas this winter and you should add this to your cooking arsenal - making flavored pasta doughs is easy. If you have a food processor or mixer, it's really easy. For this pasta, beets are simply roasted in the oven and then allowed to cool. Pureeing them in the food processor along with the eggs and flour is the easiest way to make this dough. My favorite way to make pasta dough is to add some semolina flour to the all purpose flour - it gives the dough a little bit firmer texture and bite, which I like. If all you have is all purpose flour, you can make the dough with just that.
Beet Pasta Ravioli with Goat Cheese, Hazelnuts, Chives
for a printable recipe, click here
makes about 50 ravioli
If you don't need 50 ravioli, this recipe is easily halved, but I suggest you make the full batch and freeze half for later.
Special equipment that helps: You will need a ravioli mold for this recipe. Of course, you can assemble these without a mold - it just makes it a lot easier. Also, a small pastry brush, a spider and a fluted plastry wheel are all helpful.
Ingredients:
for the filling:
- 11 ounces plain goat cheese
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
- 1 tablespoon chopped chives
- 1 egg
- salt and pepper to taste
for the pasta dough:
- 3 small beets, scrubbed
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1-1/2 cups all purpose flour (plus more for dusting)
- 1/2 cup semolina flour
for the sauce:
- 2 tablespoons chopped hazelnuts
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup butter (real butter)
- 2 tablespoons chopped chives
Instructions:
Mix all the ingredients for the filling in a bowl and refrigerate.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a small baking pan with foil. Trim the stems and tip off the beets and place on the foil. Drizzle with just a little olive oil and some salt and pepper and roast for 45 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Leave the oven on and place the hazelnuts for the sauce on a foil lined baking sheet and toast for just 4 or 5 minutes, just until they are fragrant. Set aside.
After the beets have cooled, take a small paring knife and peel off the skins. Quarter the beets and place in a food processor. Add the eggs and flours. Pulse until a ball of dough forms. Add a little more flour, a tablespoon at a time, until a dough forms that is not dry, but still a little bit sticky. Take the dough out, knead a little on the counter and place on a sheet of floured plastic wrap and wrap. Let rest on the counter for at least 20 minutes. Take your cheese filling out of the fridge and let the chill come off a little.
Cut the dough in half and run it through the widest setting on your pasta rollers. Fold in half and run it through again. If it is sticking to the rollers, flour it a little. You don't want the pasta too dry but you don't wait it to stick to the rollers. Adjust the rollers to the second setting and run the pasta through. Keep running the pasta through, without folding, until you have run it through the #5 setting. Don't go past the #5 setting for ravioli - the dough will be too thin and may break during cooking. And don't let your pasta sheets dry, like you do when you make fettuccine or spaghetti - you want them a bit sticky. Use them right away.
Lay a pasta sheet out on the counter and place the ravioli mold next to it. Cut the pasta sheet a little bit longer than the ravioli mold. You should have 3 - 4 cut sheets from this strip. Flour the ravioli mold a little. Lay one sheet on top of the mold and gently make indentations into the wells of the mold. Fill a quart size plastic bag (or a pastry bag with tip) with the filling. Cut a corner off the plastic bag and pipe the filling into the indentations. Just pipe about a heaping teaspoon of the filling in each well. With a small pastry brush (or even just your finger), brush a little water onto the dough around the filling so it will be moist and act like a glue. Lay a second sheet of pasta on top. Run a rolling pin over the top and invert the mold. The ravioli will not be separated completely, so use the fluted pastry wheel to cut them. Place on a floured baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
Bring a large pot of well salted water to a boil. Place a large skillet on your stove. Warm the olive oil and butter for the sauce in the skillet. Using the spider, lower half of the ravioli into the water and boil gently, not vigorously, for about 4 minutes. Lift them out with the spider and place them into the skillet. Gently toss with the butter and oil and keep warm. Add half of the chives and hazelnuts and toss. Repeat with the remaining ravioli and toss with the butter and oil. Transfer to a pasta bowl and sprinkle the remaining chopped chives and hazelnuts on top and serve.
Reader Comments (75)
Thank you for this timely post! I had saved Martha Stewarts recipe and have 2 beets on my list..to try and make this week..I will see how it differs from yours..But I am inspired!
Beautiful, as always!!
A word to the wise for anyone who wants to make these: don't try to take a shortcut and use canned beets! Your pasta will turn out a repulsive flesh color instead of a lovely magenta (don't ask me how I know *cough cough* last Valentine's day *cough cough*).
I won't be able to pull it for V-day, I don't think, but I just wrote a blog last month about my projects for this year, and beet pasta is one of them... You might remember I wrote you asking for advice to keep the color of the beet in the dough after cooking, so I'll use your exact method in my next attempt
gorgeous ravioli!
They really look beautiful...and I like the pairing with goat cheese, hazelnuts and chives.
The recipe looks wonderful and your photos are fabulous - thanks!
I just love this. The ravioli turned out so beautifully colored. Perfect for V-Day. I really also enjoy seeing the ravioli mold. I may 'hint' around for this as my V day treat instead of chocolates.
Gorgeous I love beets with goat cheese so I should love this one. I am anxious to try some kind of version of this.
Wow, these raviolis look really really yummy and beautiful! I have never tried making my own pasta but it is on my wish list =)
Love your blog!!
I've never seen red ravioli. They look awesome.
I'm not a big cheese fan - an idea on an alternate filling? The dough looks fabulous!
Great idea and presentation. I'm going to have to try this.
Love you blog.
Quick question I want to make these for my mom's bday and I would make them in the morning and bring them over to cook, but how do I keep them from drying out as you say? How woud you suggest the best way to store/transport. Thanks!!! LOVE UR BLOG!
From The Italian Dish:
Dina: No problem. Make these in the morning, place them on a sheet pan and lightly cover with plastic wrap and stick in the fridge until you are ready to make them. Have fun!
The ravioli look exquisite.I can't wait to prepare them.
When you prepare your next red velvet cake, use beet juice as the food coloring extract.
um wow. that looks incredible! For those without a food processor, what would you recommend? An idea I had for those new to making pasta is perhaps filled cannelloni? What a gorgeous idea, I'm def going to try one day. I inherited a hand-cranked pasta machine, but haven't ventured out much.
Nom nom nom!!!
These look amazing and I can't wait to try them! Will the pasta stain white counters/appliances? I know that beets have a tendency to stain, but not sure about beet pasta.
This is on my list of things I've been wanting to make for a long time. Yours looks positively beautiful and wow, what a treat for Valentine's Day.
From The Italian Dish:
Kristie: Yes! The beets will stain. I have black counters and that isn't a problem, but I would be careful with white counters. It would probably come right off with a little cleaner, but I would lay a piece of wax paper down just in case.
What a wonderful dish to make for Valentine's day and your photography is gorgeous.
This beautiful ravioli has been dancing in my head since I read your post on Monday morning. Beets and goat cheese... divine. Graciously vegetarian. The color and presentation... so very lovely. I am by nature one to tinker, but I wouldn't change a letter of this recipe. Bravo!
I couldn't wait for Valentine's Day and made the ravioli tonight. My husband loved them.
I ran into a problem, though. My food processor (just a few months old and very good) choked on the dough and in the end I had to get the dough out and finish by hand while it was still super-sticky. At that point I despaired, but it all worked out (though the clean-up was atrocious).
I ended up using a lot more flour than you did — maybe my beets were bigger than yours or had more water content?
Regardless, the ravioli were awesome and I had leftover pasta strips so I cut some tagliolini that I'm drying overnight. I froze the extra ravioli, but I figure that tagliolini can simply be dried and stored in airtight containers. What would you do?
Thanks for the great recipe. :)
From The Italian Dish;
Francesca: You did the right thing - just add more flour until you get the right consistency of dough. There are many variables between the eggs and the beets to know the exact quantities. As for storing the tagliolini, it depends on how long you want to store it. if it's just overnight, I would refrigerate it. The problem with letting pasta dry out completely, is it gets brittle. So if you store it after it has dried, be careful that it doesn't break. You can also freeze the pasta.
What an inspiring and lovely recipe for Valentine's Day. I make homemade ravioli with my Italian in-laws every Christmas, and each year I suggest adding a little "oomph" to the dough with spinach or ground vegetables, but to no avail. I'll be sharing this and hoping I can inspire a little creativity in the kitchen next holiday! :) Thanks for sharing, Elaine.
I made these Friday for a family dinner. We all loved them and I had fun making a mess in the kitchen. The only thing I will differently is to puree the beets first then add the eggs and flour. I love a recipe that tastes great and gives me an excuse to buy something new for my kitchen. New ravioli mold now it place with the pasta machine!
where can I get ravioli boxes to freeze batches of these yummy pillows of cheese.
I made these tonight for Valentine's Day...maybe not the best idea to make homemade ravioli for the first time for a special dinner :)
My son gave me the pasta attachment for my Kitchen-Aid Mixer for my January birthday, so I thought this was the perfect opportunity to make some pasta! I've only hand-made it in the past.
I found that it was extremely sticky and I had to add a LOT of flour. I also didn't know what speed to send it through the pasta roller, but I used the second setting. I ended up with ragged pasta sheets, so I only went through the second setting. BUT- the raviolis were tender, a little thick, but absolutely delicious! They looks so beautiful and my husband was impressed...both with the delicious, romantic dinner, and the incredible mess of flour and dishes all over the kitchen. Oh well, it was a good learning experience! The goat cheese mix was fantastic! We both love the tang of goat cheese!
I'm going to write about my experience, but I will link to your recipe. I'm sure my problems were 'operator error' not the wonderful recipe! Thanks!
i LOVED these raviolis, and I´ve just watched your video "how to make fresh pasta at home". I haven´t been brave enough to make that in my kitchen, because I have somebody who makes fresh pasta for me. Now I´m thinking about trying and the spinach pasta with cheese is my favourite, ravioli speaking of course.
Love from the north of Spain
Marialuisa
Oh wow! this looks fantastic! I must make these over spring break :)
This looks so great I love beets and the cheese and beets sound devine. I love to visit your blog it is wonderful. Thank you so much for your posts...enjoy the day with love Janice @spoonwither.blogspot.com
Oh. My. God!!!! This ravioli is the best i have ever tasted! It was truly amazing. Thankyou so much for posting. Can u give me a tip for retaining the colour... mine ended up a slightly insipid pink. Regardless i will be making this dish for a long time to come!
We made these & YES..we needed to add more flour than what was called for. I suppose my beets were to big. Other than that, it was delicious! My girlfriend & laughed pretty much the whole time making then (& my husband was a little leery of the ingredients) We were all delighted with the outcome. Thank you for the recipe!
Question? My ex-husband's family was from Northern Italy. During that marriage I experienced and learned how to cook many amazing dishes from that region. Cadorin, I believe, Alps region. They made a ravioli that had a beet and grating ricotta cheese filling, served with brown butter. It is amazing! Do you have any idea how to make this special dish?
Hope to hear back from you!
By the way, I'm from MI!
Kathy
From The Italian Dish:
Kathy - sorry! I have not heard of that recipe.
This was pretty much a disaster...the dough was incredibly sticky and actually came out the bottom of the food processor into the center peg. My husband cleaned the ENTIRE time I was making it (atrocious sticky, gluey red mess). I too had to pull it out of the processor a sticky mess and kneaded flour into it for at least 20 minutes. Even when it approached a normal consistency, the pasta maker was harder to clean than normal. We cook A LOT and we cook pretty difficult, involved dishes. We've also made pasta by hand often. This recipe was a mess. The final result was a beautiful color with a good taste (though the goat cheese overpowered the pasta we labored so hard for - skip the cheese, just add some garlic), but it wasn't worth it in the end. We also used pistachios instead of hazelnuts, which was delicious. We might try a different recipe at some point, but definitely not in the food processor.
From The Italian Dish:
Amy: Ouch! So sorry you had troubles. When you made the dough, you needed to keep adding flour in the food processor until the dough gathers up into a ball and is not so sticky. When it does that, you can take it out and knead it on the counter and keep adding a little flour until the consistency is right. You never want to use sticky dough in your pasta rollers. Always add enough flour until the texture of the dough is right - I teach this in my pasta classes all the time. Hope you will try again!
Thank you so much for this wonderful posting! I have to admit I have always disliked beets - they taste like dirt! - but I had recieved some beets in a produce crate and I didn't want them to go to waste so I made your beet pasta and froze the dough until I had time to make them. I own no pasta rollers or ravioli molds so I rolled and stuffed them by hand. It was so good all I could do was roll my eyes up at the ceiling in delightful abandonment at the finished product. I had left-over filling and threw that into some homemade alfredo and it added another wonderful flavor to that dish as well. I have followed your blog for awhile now and you are hands down one of my favorites! Thanks again!
I made these wonderful ravioli for Valentines's Day and they were fabulous. They froze well and we finished them off a couple weeks later.
How is the recipe "easily halved" when 1 egg is needed for the filling. How do you halve one egg?
From The Italian Dish:
nycwildflower: The way to halve egg ingredients is to beat the egg and then just add half of that beaten egg.
Hi, so glad to have found your blog and I definitely want to try this recipe.
Quick question and if you could please email me with the reply instead of on here do you ever only just use semolina or do you always mix the two
I've made homemade pasta several times and I've only used semolina flour mixes never combined regular with semolina. :D
hope to hear from you soon
CIAO! I am an italian blogger and I was looking for something pink to cook for a new post.
I found you. Your story is so sweet and is lovely to found a piece of Italy in you.
I will be a new follower of yours.
I made these last night, even though it's not Valentine's Day. But there are so many beets in the markets now, I just had to. Delicious, except I found that when I cooked them, they turned an odd pink colour, resembling human organs. Not very appetizing. Is there any way to keep the bright hues of the dough?
I just made these for my mom's birthday. It took five hours or so, from beginning to end. I don't have a pasta maker so I rolled the dough with a roller by hand and used a ravioli mold once the pasta sheets were rolled out. So, the finished product: this was heavenly!!!! The flavor is amazing. Every hour of work on this was sooooo worth it. It's my new favorite recipe and I will be making a huge batch to store in little ziploc bags in my freezer. It can be valentines day any day lol. Thanks for the recipe and all the pictures. This recipe was such a breeze to follow. Looooove it!!!!
I made the ravioli, It looks really nice but I had some trouble with the cooking. When they boil the ravioli absorbs a lot of water. But I think I'm going to use other 'all purpose flour" next time. Thanks for the receipe. Grtz Geert from Belgium
Dear Snippets of Thyme...I purchased my ravioli mold at Marshall's Home Goods for 14.99:) No need to spend a fortune, just keep an eye out for a good bargain:) I can't wait to try these this weekend!
I made this tonight. My dough was terribly sticky and I ended up using far more flour than the recipe called for. But, wow, was the end result delicious. I used Cypress Grove Chèvre and it was amazing.
does it pair well with sausage? between beef or chicken which meat would be best?
From The Italian Dish:
Patricia: You can pair it with any meat you like. Don't fret about that too much. It will be great with either one.
The ravioli look amazing. So excited to make this weekend. Having some vegetarian friends over for dinner. Any suggestions for a side that will pair well? Thanks!