Sasha's Kitchen: Ricotta, Pomegranate & Honey Dessert Eggrolls

I made these delicious dessert eggrolls after making a similar recipe in my recent Chinese dumpling class.  They are really good as long as you learn how to roll the eggroll wrappers, which os actually quite easy.  The only problem is that the recipe makes a whole batch of them so they're really better for a dinner party when you have  large group to serve so the extras don't go to waste, since they don't hold up.  This is a fun take on a chinese eggroll and you can vary up the chocolate and fruit in the filling to make your own creation.

Sasha's Dessert Eggrolls
15 oz ricotta cheese
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
eggroll wrappers
1/2 cup fo confectioner's sugar

Mix the ingredients for the filling (the ricotta, pomegranate, chocolate chips and honey).  Place a large dollop in the center of an eggroll wrapper.  With the corner facing you, roll on a diagonal, folding in the sides to make an eggroll.  At the end of the rolling process, seal the tip with a couple drops of water. Then pan fry the eggrolls until brown in canola oil.  Using a strainer, dust with the confectioner's sugar before serving warm.

Sasha's Kitchen: Ricotta, Pomegranate & Honey Dessert Eggrolls

Sasha's Kitchen: Homemade Three Cheese Ravioli with Marinara Sauce

I'll admit it, making your own ravioli is time consuming and tedious. It takes a long time and a bit of upper arm strength, and is a bit tricky at first. But once you get the hang of it, it is totally worth it. not only does your ravioli taste 1000 times better than anything I have ever bought, but it is much less costly than buying gourmet ravioli, and a typical recipe makes enough to freeze for several meals, so it's actually good at saving time in the long run. Here's my second foray at ravioli making which may have been even better than the first. The first time though, I was fortunate enough to use ramps, but now that it's summer, ramps are out of season, so I used scallions instead. The dough recipe is from my pasta class that I took at the Brooklyn Kitchen, but uses less salt. 

Sasha's Three Cheese Ravioli
1 15oz containers of skim milk ricotta cheese
8 oz goat cheese, crumbled1/2 cup grated pecorino cheese
1/2 to 1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 eggbunch of scallions, diced
zest of one lemon4 cups flour
4 large eggs
4 T extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp Kosher salt

about 3 T of water

First, prepare the dough by mixing the four eggs, salt and olive oil in your mixer. Add the flour all at once and mix until it has a sandy texture. Add about 2-4 T of water to bring into a dough in the mixer (and with your hands to help bring it together, as it may not fully come together until you squeeze it together with your hands). Divide into four balls, wrap with plastic wrap and chill for an hour before using. 

Roll out to the dough to the Number 7 setting on your pasta machine and press into the ravioli molds. Mix the cheeses, egg, scallions, red pepper flake and lemon zest and fill for the filling. Dry the ravioli on a drying rack so they dry uniformly and do not become sticky (note - this was a mistake I made the first time). Prepare by placing in boiling water for about five minutes, freezing the extra. This recipe makes about six dozen ravioli.


For the pasta sauce
1 can san marzano tomatoes, squeezed and crushed by hand
1 onion diced
4 cloves of diced garlic
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 T balsamic vinegar

Saute the onions and garlic until lightly browned. Then add to the tomatoes and mix in the spices. Bring to a boil and then simmer. Add more oregano and thyme as needed, and season with some pepper. Just before serving, stir in the balsamic vinegar.

Sasha's Kitchen: Homemade Three Cheese Ravioli with Marinara Sauce

Sasha's Kitchen: Homemade Ravioli with Ramps in Sage Butter Sauce

Ramps (also know as wild leeks) are one of my favorite vegetables of the spring. They're gone now, sadly, as the season has passed, but before they were, I tried them out in some delicious ravioli. I learned how to make ravioli and pasta at a wonderful pasta making class that I took at the Brooklyn Kitchen in Williamsburg, which is a wonderful place to take cooking classes. After the class, I bought a pasta machine and a ravioli press, very reasonably, both of which are needed to make ravioli. This was the first recipe I tried, which was a winner. The recipe made plenty, so I froze half of the raviolis rather than cooking them all.

Sasha's Homemade Ravioli with Ramps in Sage Butter Sauce 
pasta dough (see below)
2 15oz containers of ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated pecorino cheese
1/2 to 1 tsp red pepper flakes
bunch of ramps, diced
4 T butter
4 T olive oil
7-8 sage leaves

Pasta Dough (recipe from the Brooklyn Kitchen class i took)
4 cups flour
4 large eggs
4 T extra virgin olive oil
4 tsp Kosher salt

To prepare the dough, beat the eggs, extra virgin olive oil and salt in your mixer until smooth. Then add all of the flour, and beat until it forms a dough. You may need to add some additional water (I added about 3 T) to bring it all together. Take the dough out of the stand mixer once it is coming together, and form int four balls. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the filling with the two cheeses, red pepper flakes and ramps.

Then roll the first ball of dough in your pasta machine, starting at the widest setting, following the manufacturers instructions.  Flour the machine before using it and roll several times at the first setting to form a nice, even sheet. Then roll two times at each setting, getting progressively thinner. I stopped after setting number 7. Cut the sheets into sheets the length of the ravioli press and press one into the ravioli press, using the top to mold it into form. Fill each with a teaspoon of the filling. Lay a second pasta sheet neatly on top and roll over both as hard as possible with a rolling pin to press the ravioli and cut it into shape. Remove the ravioli carefully from the press and separate. The  dry for about 20-30 minutes on a drying rack before cooking. Continue with the rest of the dough - the recipe makes about four dozen ravioli. It's like magic, isn't it? To cook, place in salted water brought to a boil and cook for about five minutes.

Serve in a butter/sage sauce. I browned the butter in the pan, then added the sage and olive oil and cooked for a few minutes, before mixing in the cooked ravioli. Serve with a bit of grated cheese.

Sasha's Kitchen: Homemade Ravioli with Ramps in Sage Butter Sauce