Dragonfruit Striped Ravioli

Everybody should have his personal sounds to listen for - sounds that will make him exhilarated and alive or quiet and calm.
~ Andre Kostelanetz

Among the few things in life I find relaxing to do is making pasta. The others are swimming (in the ocean), ogling at the stars on a clear evening and creating something beautiful, be it food, jewelry or paintings. 

Okay enough of that, back to the pasta. When I first posted about my quirky dish for the 5-Star Makeover Challenge, a number of readers commented on the striped ravioli I made using dragonfruit and some even asked how I did it. Well, I promised to show you and *ta-daah*...here's a video of my hands doing all the work. Once I can afford the hair and make-up guy, you'll get to see me from the neck up, I promise. For now, you can admire my cool T-shirt that looks as if a massive bearded guy is about to devour the ravioli!

This striped ravioli is easy to make, looks super fancy and is fun to eat. When you cut into the ravioli, the gooey dragonfruit mingles with the spring onions to give a sweet-savory flavor to the pasta – delicious!

Start with a basic pasta dough; the recipes vary wildly depending on your sources. The recipe below is one I find easy to use, as well as easy to convert to a vegan version by swapping out the egg with water or clear vegetable broth in the pasta dough. The filling here is vegan friendly anyway, but you could also try alternative fillings like sweet peas mashed with a bit of mint leaf, or roasted pumpkin or butternut squash mashed with a bit of salt. Just remember to change the color of the stripes accordingly :-).

Have a good Wednesday, everyone!

Dragonfruit Striped Ravioli

Basic Egg Pasta Dough

To make about 1/2 pound (2 servings):

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 egg*

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 tablespoon lukewarm water

To make about 3/4 pound (3 to 4 servings):

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 tablespoon olive oil

3/4 tablespoons lukewarm water

To make about 1 pound (5 to 6 servings):

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3 eggs

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon lukewarm water

* For the dragonfruit pasta, I just replaced one egg with 2 tablespoons dragonfruit juice.

Filling:
1/2 to 1 medium dragonfruit, diced
spring onion stalks, sliced finely

1. Place the flour on a large floured surface.

2. Make a well in the center. Break the eggs or add the dragonfruit juice into the well.

3. Add the salt, oil, and water. Beat the mixture in the well with a fork.

4. Using a fork, gently start to work the flour into the liquid. Continue until the dough becomes sticky and difficult to work with the fork.

5. Use your hands to form the rough dough into a ball. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.

6. Cover with a bowl or towel and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes before rolling and cutting the pasta.

7. For striped pasta, you’re going to need two portions of dough, one plain and one colored with the dragonfruit juice. If you prefer, you can use various natural colorants – powdered spinach, matcha or beets, for example. You could use liquid natural colorants (like beet juice) as well — just keep a handful of flour on hand to make sure you’re able to adjust the texture of the dough.

8. Start rolling out the plain dough first with a pasta machine. Stop when the thickness is on the second- or third-to-last setting. Set aside.

9. Roll the colored dough in the same way and then pass the dough through the fettuccine cutter on your machine.

10. Lay your plain pasta sheet on a well-floured surface and brush the exposed side with a brush dipped in water. Arrange the colored pasta strips on the uncolored sheet and press gently to adhere.

11. Lightly dust the top of the pasta and run through the pasta roller. I start at a slightly wider setting (third or fourth) on the machine to set the stripes, then gradually move to thinner settings to get the right thickness for my ravioli. It takes some practice to get the stripes clean and straight, but even crooked stripes make delicious noodles!

12. To make the filling, chop the dragonfruit flesh into small cubes and mix with finely sliced spring onions in a bowl. Place spoonfuls of filling on the bottom sheet of pasta and carefully cover the filling with a second sheet of pasta. Press around the filling to ensure as little air as possible gets inside the pocket, and seal carefully by pressing edges between your fingers.

13. To cook the ravioli, bring a pot of well-salted water to a rolling boil. Gently lower the ravioli into the boiling water and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Carefully remove the pasta from the water and serve. I like mine with a drizzle of browned butter and slices of crispy garlic chips.