Ravioli - A Frugal Meal

While the oven was on all day Sunday I also roasted off the cut pumpkin (see previous post here) and a small portion was devoted to ravioli for dinner the next night. And I really do mean small, a little goes a long way with ravioli.

I googled hoping to find something inspirationally different but was confronted with a hundred recipes for sage and burnt butter sauce....and do you know what....

I couldn't think of anything that does go better with pumpkin ravioli, it's like a law!

So I'm not going to give you a recipe like every other except to say that the pumpkin was roasted with a tiny sprinkle of my home grown and incredibly pungent in it's freshness caraway seed. It was then mashed with feta and lemon myrtle leaf and freshly grated nutmeg. You can simply chose your own aromatics and make it your own. After simmering the ravioli for a few minutes, drain and toss in a pan of "burnt" butter. For the burnt butter I add a large knob of butter and a sloosh of olive oil to allow more leeway in temperature and I add slivered fresh garlic and sage leaves and allow to brown. Simple, nutty, aromatic and perfect with pumpkin.

What I will say is that making your own pasta saves you squillions and makes for a luscious meal even if you don't have backyard chickens. If you do have your own chickens then your pasta will have a bright yellow like mine form those gorgeous free range eggs and if you harvested pumpkins from the compost heap like we did, the cost is next to nix, just some flour.

Would I make this with three little ones under the age of five? Probably not. It does take some time in the kitchen but if you are wanting to spend some quality talk time with a partner or older child, bonus!

I use ordinary flour and generally I use a ratio of one egg for every 100g of flour and the flour component is 1 part fine semolina to 2 parts plain flour. 

A pasta maker can be an investment but it can also be a waste of money if you don't get it out regularly, and that's the key; get it out fortnightly or at least monthly and make lasagne or spaghetti and it soon becomes an enjoyable habit. There is no substitute for fresh pasta and when you compare the costing you will find yourself making very tasty yet incredibly frugal meals.

****************

REMEMBER

NEVER!!! Wash your pasta maker!

Simply dust it off and brush loose pieces free with a pastry brush.

***************