On your palate these will please–Homemade Ravioli with Goat Cheese

After visiting Cherry Grove Farm I had quite the assortment of cheese on my hands.  And when is a lot of cheese ever a bad thing?  The real question is, besides consuming large amounts of cheese and crackers, what can you do with cheese?!

Make ravioli of course!

Don’t worry.  I was scared about making homemade ravioli too.  But I promise this recipe is really easy and versatile.

You will need:

•3 cups flour

•1 cup of hot  water

•Extra flour for dusting

•Goat cheese

•Lemon zest

•Olive oil

•Sea salt

1.) Combine flour and water in a bowl and stir until the mixture becomes doughy.  Form into a ball and cover  with plastic wrap for 15 minutes.

2.)  Place dough on a clean surface that you have dusted with flour.  Begin rolling dough with a rolling pin and continue to roll until dough is very thin but will not rip when folding.  While you are rolling you may want to dust the rolling pin with flour and continue to add more flour as necessary if it is sticky.

3.) Cut dough into whichever shape you please.  I chose square but circular ravioli would work too.  After making the first piece, use it to measure the other pieces.

4.) Place about a teaspoon of goat cheese in the middle of each square then top with another piece of dough.  Press the edges to seal the dough.

5.)  To cook ravioli simply boil water and place ravioli gently in the water.  When the ravioli are finished they will float to the top in about 4-5 minutes.

6.) Top with olive oil, lemon zest and sea salt.   These ingredients can be used as liberally as you like!  I would suggest adding a little bit of ravioli topping and then just taste as you go and add more  if you like.

The goat cheese that I used was lavender and honey, which is why I chose to stick with simple ingredients to use with the ravioli – lemon, olive oil and sea salt.  Not only was the goat cheese creamy and tangy but the bold flavor of the lavender accompanied by the subtle honey really creates something unique.

While making homemade ravioli may seem tricky, once you learn  the technique you will most likely start experimenting with all kinds of creations!  And while I can’t promise any ravioli concoction will be amazing, stick with goat cheese and you won’t be disappointed.