Artichoke and Hazelnut Ravioli with a Mushroom Leek Sauce

First, let’s make the dough. On a large cutting board, measure out the flour into a large pile and whisk the turmeric in, if using. Now make a well in the center of the flour and pour in 1 ¼ cup of the water. Slowly, from the inside of the well out, start mixing together the flour and water until a shaggy dough starts forming. If it still looks dry, add the remaining water a tablespoon at a time until it starts coming together. Using a bench scraper, scrap off whatever is sticking to the board and knead the dough for 5 minutes until a tight dough forms. The dough ball should have a slightly dimpled, almost cellulitey texture to it. Put this on a plate and cover it with a bowl so that it can rest for 10 minutes without drying out.

When the pasta dough is done resting it should be softer and a lot more pliable. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for 5 minutes until it appears smoother than before with a little stretch when you try to pull a piece apart in your fingertips. Divide the dough into 2 equal parts, roll them each into a tight ball, and wrap them in plastic. Store them in the fridge like this for at least an hour and up to 24 hours before dinner time.

Now let’s make the filling. Warm up a saute pan over a medium high heat and drizzle in 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Throw in the onion and a pinch of salt and sauté this around until the onion starts to brown, about 8 minutes. Turn off the heat and let them cool. Grab your food processor and throw in the hazelnuts. Run it until they are a fine powder, with no big chunks. Then add the tofu, artichoke hearts, parsley, nutritional yeast, garlic, sherry vinegar, and salt. Add the browned onions to the mix and let that run until it looks smooth. Taste and add more of whatever you think it needs.

Next, let’s assemble the ravioli. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one ball of the dough as thin as you can. Aim for a large 10 inch by 10 inch square. Now you have to choose how large to make your ravioli. The ones in our picture are 1 inch squares that were filled then folded over to make little triangles. If you’re new to the process, make your squares up to 2 inches so that you don’t have to struggle with tiny pieces of dough. Once you pick your size, use a knife or a pastry cutter and slice the dough into mostly even squares. Cover all but one row with plastic wrap or a damp towel to keep the pasta from drying out.

Dump the premade filling into a pastry bag or a plastic bag with a corner cut off and pipe a small dollop into the center of each square. Resist the urge to put a lot of filling in, that will only make closing them up harder. Fold the dough over, opposite corner to opposite corner, and pinch the tip of the triangle closed. Take your two pinky fingers and press the sides down closest to the filling then edges trying to make sure there isn’t a whole pocket of air in there. If the pasta starts feeling dry you can put a little water on the edges of the pasta square with your fingertip to help it stay together. Place the completed ravioli in a single layer on a lightly floured tray and keep going, uncovering one row at a time as you work. Repeat the process with the other ball of dough. If you are cooking them right away just leave them like this, uncovered, until you’re done making the sauce. If you're waiting, just cover the whole cookie sheet in plastic wrap or foil and freeze it until it’s time to make dinner.

When you’re ready to eat, put a pot of water on to boil the ravioli and grab a large sauté pan for the sauce. Add the olive oil to the sauté pan over a medium high heat. Add the leeks with a pinch of salt and sauté until a few start to look golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the rosemary, stem and all, and sauté it around for a minute. Add the mushrooms and let them cook until they start to release some of their liquid, about 4 minutes. Add the butter and garlic sauté for another minute. The pan should smell so good by now. Remove the rosemary sprigs from the pan and set them aside for later. Pour in the wine and use it to scrape off any bits of burnt tastiness from the pan. Whisk in the flour, making sure there aren’t any clumps then pour in the veggie broth. Stir in some salt and pepper and let the whole thing simmer until the flour starts to thicken up the sauce, about 3-5 minutes. Once it’s at your desired thickness, turn off the heat and taste. Add more salt or whatever you think it needs. Let this sit, covered, while you cook the ravioli.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, add the ravioli no more than 40 at a time to the pot, depending on their size. Let them boil for about 5 minutes until they are all floating at the top of the pot. Taste one and make sure it doesn’t taste like raw flour. When they’re done, scoop them out of the pot with a slotted spoon and toss the right into the pan of sauce. Keep going until they’re all cooked and covered in sauce. Pull the leaves off the cooked rosemary sprigs and toss them into the saucepan with the ravioli and stir.

Serve them warm topped with minced chives, pepper, and some more ground up hazelnuts if you’ve got them. After all that work, make sure someone else handles the dishes, ok?

*if there’s a nut allergy in your house, just leave this out or sub in toasted sunflower seeds if those are tolerated.

**not into wine? Just replace it with broth. Easy.