Honey-Lemon Goat Cheese Raviolis

I was excited about this dish before I even thought about it. Ok, I realize that that doesn’t make much sense…so I better explain.

I was walking through one of my favorite local farmers’ market (Larchmont, NY) when I came across the booth for Coach Farms – a local diary purveyor that produces amazing artisanal goat cheeses.

Actually, they don’t just make cheese. Coach Farms offers a range of fabulous and delicious goat milk products (such as milks and yogurts). While everything looked delicious, I really only had eyes for one thing…the cheese!

There are not many things that I love to eat more than a great cheese. So I was excited when I saw a full range of free cheese samples. Yeah! I tried them all. They were all amazing. I felt like a kid in a candy store. With every bite, I was struck by the rich and full flavors that filled my mouth. And while I really did like all of them, there was one that stuck out in my head…the Honey-Lemon Goat Cheese Spread. Yum!

It has this wonderful complex profile. The richness of the fresh and creamy goat cheese was front and center. But this is no one note cheese. There was the added layer of the sweet and almost floral accent of the honey.

I instantly knew that I wanted to use this cheese for a pasta stuffing. I also knew that I didn’t want to mask the cheese’s flavor with too many ingredients. There were just a few flavor compliments that I thought would work with the cheese and let it shine. I would add a bit of truffle oil to give the filling some earthiness, lardons (bacon) to add a touch of smokiness, and sense all of these elements be somewhat bold, I would add a little ricotta cheese for a bite of creaminess to pull the other elements together.

As for the pasta itself, I went with my easy “One-Two-Three Pasta recipe (as in ONE teaspoon of olive oil, TWO cups of flour and THREE large eggs). While this pasta doesn’t have the richness and silky texture of a seven-yolk pasta, it is easier and faster t make.

By the way, if you can’t make it to the Larchmont, NY farmers’ market, you can always browse through Coach Farms’ online store.

Discovering food purveyors like Coach Farms is one of the reasons that I am so excited to be taking part in the first ever “Westchester Farmers’ Market Blog-a-Thon.” Here’s the scoop.

Some of Westchester County’s coolest food bloggers are banding together to launch this week-long effort.

Throughout the week, participating bloggers will publish delish recipes that are made primarily with ingredients purchased at one of Westchester’s many farmers’ markets. (Westchester is a suburb of New York City).

In addition to recipes, each blog will spotlight a local market by providing photographs of the market and the available produce, as well as provide details on the market’s location and hours of operation. The objective is twofold – first, enjoy and share delicious recipes with fresh and healthy ingredients; and secondly, to support local sustainable farmers.

The following Westchester bloggers are participating in the week-long effort (click the links and check them out):

Chick in the Kitchen

Cooking in Westchester

Culinary Comments by Cinnamon Girl

Farmers Market Cooking

Small Bites

Somebody’s Mom

Sweet Paprika

HONEY LEMON GOAT CHEESE

7oz honey-lemon goat cheese

4 oz ricotta cheese

1 TSP truffle oil

½ TSP kosher salt

¼ cup of slab bacon, cut into batons (alternatively, use thick cut bacon)

In a medium bowl stir goat cheese, ricotta, truffle oil and salt until blended. Set aside.

In a medium pan, sauté bacon until brown and cooked through. Set aside.

ONE, TWO, THREE PASTA

3 large eggs

1 TSP extra virgin olive oil

½ TSP kosher salt

2 cups all-purpose flour

In a medium bowl, mix together the eggs, olive oil and salt.

Mound the flour on the countertop creating a well in the center large enough to hold the egg mixture. Pour egg mixture into the flour well.

Using your finger or fork, begin making a circular motion in the egg mixture to slowly start incorporating into the flour. If needed, occasionally push a little of the flour into the well. Continue until the egg mixture becomes incorporated with the flour. Once the dough begins to form, mound it together into a rough ball.

Knead the dough on a clean, lightly floured area of the countertop. The dough will be sticky at first, but will be come smoother as you continue kneading. Sprinkle with a bit of flour if the dough is too sticky to work with.

Knead the dough by pushing down and away from you with the palm of your hands and turning the dough onto itself. Knead dough for no less than 10 minutes. After kneading, the dough should have a smooth texture. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand for 1 hour.

Assembling the ravioli: Cut dough into 4 equal parts. Starting at the widest setting, run each piece through the pasta press attachment of KitchenAid mixer. Gradually, press the dough through smaller and smaller settings until you get about 1/8″ thick (setting “4″ on the KitchenAid pasta press). Work pressing only two pasta strips at a time.

(Alternatively, you can roll out the pieces of dough with a rolling pin on a lightly floured counter top until you reach the desired thickness.)

On a lightly floured countertop lay out the first press strip. Mound about 1 ½ tablespoons of filling on the pasta strips. Continue, mounding the filling about 3” apart in a row down the pasta. Dipping your fingers into a small bowl of water, wet all around each mound of filling. Place second strip of pasta on top of the one containing the filling. Carefully press the top sheet of pasta around the mounds making sure to press out any air bubbles and creating a tight seal around each mound.

Using a lightly floured, 2” ravioli or cookie cutter, separate and remove each ravioli. Place the ravioli on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper that has been lightly covered with cornmeal. Repeat process for remaining 2 pasta pieces. If not immediately using, drape the raviolis with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator. This should yield about 12 extremely plump raviolis.

To cook pasta, bring a large sauce of salted water to boil. Cook the raviolis for 4-5 minutes (about 2 or 3 minutes after they began to float while cooking.)

Tagged as: Bacon, Goat Cheese, Pasta Filling