Sunday, October 11, 2009
Food, Health + Fitness, Recipes, Atlanta

Olly olly cancer-free

Figo’s antioxidant-rich pasta

Photos/courtesy of Figo

I created this dish to celebrate October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and broccoli, spinach, kale, acai and walnuts are incredibly high in antioxidants, which help fight breast cancer. All of these vegetables are packed with plenty of vitamins. Contributing to an overall healthy and well-balanced diet, the walnuts have heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, and they’re a cholesterol-lowering food, along with spinach and broccoli.

Throughout the month of October, all eight Atlanta-area Figo Pasta locations will feature this special ravioli for $10. Figo Pasta will donate a portion of the proceeds from each sale of this special ravioli to the American Cancer Society to help fund breast cancer research and find a cure. SP
Sandro Romagnoli is the founder of Figo Pasta. www.figopasta.com.

BROCCOLI, SPINACH, ACAI AND KALE RAVIOLI WITH HONEY WALNUT AND ALL SPICE COMPOUND BUTTER

SERVES 4

INGREDIENTS:

Filling:

• 1 bunch of kale leaves with stems removed
• 1 head of broccoli (florets only)
• 1 pound of baby spinach
• 1 medium-sized yellow onion, sliced
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 tablespoon of kosher salt or 1 teaspoon of table salt
• ¼ cup of whole milk shredded mozzarella cheese
• ¼ cup of cream cheese
• ¼ cup of grated parmesan cheese
• ¼ cup of whole milk ricotta cheese
• 1/8 cup of extra virgin olive oil

Pasta:

• 3 cups of unbleached white flour
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup of acai powder
• Honey, Walnut and All Spice Compound Butter:
• ½ pound of salted butter, softened and cut into ½ inch cubes
• ¼ cup of honey
• ¼ cup of chopped walnuts
• 1 tablespoon of all spice powder

INSTRUCTIONS:

Filling:
Chop the broccoli florets into small pieces. Remove the skin from garlic and yellow onions. Slice onion into ¼-inch thick slices. In a large sauté pan, heat oil at medium-high heat until it is slightly smoking. Add all of the vegetables and cook at medium heat for about 10 to 12 minutes or until they start to wilt. Remove pan from heat, and place vegetables in a pasta strainer so the excess water drains. Once the vegetables are cooled enough, press slightly with your hands so the water drains well. Chop vegetables into very small pieces and place in bowl. Add the remaining filling ingredients and mix well. Refrigerate until the raviolis are made.

Ravioli:
Sift flour and salt together. Place flour mixture on a board, making a well in the center of the flour. Drop eggs into the flour well and using your hand or a fork, break the yolks and beat eggs slightly. Combine the eggs and flour together, gradually adding enough warm water to make a stiff dough. Knead dough well until smooth. Cover the dough and let rest for 15 minutes. Cut dough in half and roll each half of the dough out on a floured board into a very thin sheet (about 1⁄16 to 1⁄8 inch thick), or roll dough out in a pasta machine to the same thickness. To fill the ravioli, drop 1 to 1 ½ teaspoonfuls of filing about 1 ½ inches apart along the dough. When the sheet of dough is fully dotted with the mixture, cover the filling with the other sheet of dough. Using your fingers, gently press dough between each dab of filling to seal it. Cut ravioli into squares with a sharp knife. Allow ravioli to dry for 1 hour before cooking. To cook the ravioli, drop it into 6 to 8 quarts of boiling salted water and cook 10 to 15 minutes, or until dough is tender. Remove cooked ravioli with a skimmer or large slotted spoon, and strain well.

Butter Compound:
Mix all ingredients together and whip until butter starts to turn light in color and become fluffy.

Compiling the dish:
Place cooked raviolis in sauté pan and add ¼ cup of compound butter and heat on low until the butter has melted slightly. Toss ravioli well and top with 1 tablespoon of grated parmesan.