Sasha's Kitchen: Swiss Chard Ravioli with Mascarpone & Ramps in Rose Sauce

Ah, my latest and greatest ravioli creation!  I just love coming up with new recipes for homemade ravioli that use seasonal ingredients.  This one was also a great success.  I wanted to incorporate swiss chard into the dough of the ravioli, rather than using spinach to make the ravioli green.  For the filling - I went all out into spring using ramps, mascarpone cheese and some lemon zest.  As usual, this made about six dozen ravioli so there were plenty for freezing for upcoming meals.  I served the ravioli with a bit of rose vodka sauce, which was the perfect match.

Sasha's Swiss Chard Ravioli with Mascarpone & Ramps
Ravioli dough
6 oz swiss chard leaves
3 1/2 cups of flour
5 large eggs

Filling
1 bunch of ramps, diced
1 500 gram container of mascarpone cheese
zest of one lemon

Rose Vodka Sauce
3 shallots, diced
3 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 cup vodka
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 24 oz can whole tomatoes, pureed
2 tsp thyme leaves

Prepare the ravioli dough in a stand mixer.  First, blanch the swiss chard leaves in boiling water.  Then squeeze every last drop of moisture from the leaves.  Blend the leaves with the eggs in the basin of your mixer.  Add the flour all at once and mix until you can form four balls of dough with your hands.  Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and allow to rest for about 30-45 minutes before rolling out into sheets to form the ravioli.  Mix the ingredients together for the filling.  Once pressed in a ravioli press, allow the ravioli to dry for an hour before freezing it in bags, or cooking it in boiling water.

To make the sauce, saute the shallots until soft and saute the garlic for an additional two minutes.  Add the vodka and allow the alcohol to burn off, which takes about two minutes on high.  Add the cream and tomatoes, and stir to form a sauce.  Season with salt, pepper and fresh thyme leaves and allow the sauce to thicken.

Sasha's Kitchen: Swiss Chard Ravioli with Mascarpone & Ramps in Rose Sauce

Sasha's Kitchen: Penne Alla Vodka With Arugula

Penne alla vodka is one of my favorite pasta dishes.  It is not so healthy, I'll admit (thanks to the heavy cream, which is unavoidable).  But, it is much lighter tasting than a traditional Italian pasta sauce, so it is always an enjoyable treat.  I like to make my penne vodka with shallots and arugula, so both are incorporated into this recipe.  One of the keys in this recipe is making sure to boil away the alcohol in the vodka, so the sauce picks up a bit of the flavor.  This is an old favorite recipe of mine that I always make basically the same way.  My husband, Brad, is also a big fan of this classic dish.  It's really hard to mess this one up - the instructions are very simple and the result is always rewarding.  It's perfect for a weekday night after work, since it doesn't take a long time to prepare.  Also, there are always ample leftovers, which make for a nice lunch the next day.


Sasha's Penne Alla Vodka
2 shallots, diced
3 cloves garlic, diced
2 T olive oil
1/2 cup vodka
1 3/4 cups heavy cream
1 3/4 cups plain tomato sauce
1-2 large handfulls of baby arugula
freshly grated parmesan cheese (to taste)
pepper to taste

First, saute the shallots and garlic in olive oil until lightly browned in a medium sized pot.  Then add the vodka over medium heat, and allow the alcohol to burn off (this process only takes about 1-2 minutes).  Then add the heavy cream, tomato sauce and a bit of pepper and simmer until the sauce has the right consistency.  Just before the sauce is done, add 1-2 handfuls of arugula, which adds a bit of bitterness to balance the flavors.  Then, toss with the pasta and serve topped with parmesan cheese.

Pasta With Vodka Sauce

Sasha's Kitchen: Penne Alla Vodka With Arugula