Valentine’s Day: Chocolate Heart Sweet Ravioli

Valentine’s Day : Chocolate Heart Sweet Ravioli yields 24 hearts depending on size of cutter student recipe

Chocolate Ganache filling:

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup chopped dark chocolate
• About ½ cup of raspberry jam

Chocolate Pasta:

• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
• ⅓ cup cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp powdered sugar
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• ½ cup lukewarm water

Optional toppings for your Ravioli: melted butter, chocolate sauce, fresh raspberries, a dusting of icing sugar, whipping cream, ice cream or whatever your heart desires this Valentine’s Day.

Chocolate Ganache Instructions:

1. Place chopped chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it begins to gently simmer. (Do not let it come to a rapid boil– that’s too hot!) Pour over chocolate, then let it sit for 2-3 minutes to gently soften the chocolate.
2. With whisk, very slowly stir until completely combined and chocolate has melted. The finer you chopped the chocolate, the quicker it will melt with the cream.
3. Ganache can be ready to use as a drizzle or you can let it sit at room temperature to cool and thicken. This is what we want for the Ravioli application.
4. It will fully cool within 2 hours or refrigerate to speed this up. Stir it a few times as it sets in the refrigerator so it remains even and smooth.
5. Once completely cool and thick, the ganache can be piped with a piping tip or scooped with a spoon to fill your ravioli

Storage tip: Cover tightly and store ganache in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Once ganache cools completely, you can cover it tightly and freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator.

Chocolate Pasta Instructions:

Mix the dough:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, sugar and salt.
2. Make a well in the middle and add the eggs, water and olive oil. Continue whisking the liquid, but begin pulling in bits of flour from inside the well. Use a stirring motion and go slowly.
3. Continue like this until the dough starts to come together and the eggs have been incorporated. The dough will be damp and chunky in some parts and loose in others. And the mixture will still be quite floury. That’s ok. Use your hands or fork to continue bringing the dough together.

Knead the dough:

1. When the dough looks relatively cohesive but still a bit scraggly, form it into a ball, and knead for 10 minutes against the counter. The dough will be rough at first, but it should begin to tighten up and smooth out as you continue kneading.
2. If the dough sticks to your hands, dust the countertop with a little more flour. If the dough is too stiff, add a teaspoon of water. Add more water or flour, a teaspoon at a time, until you get the right texture.
3. In the end, you should have a soft, elastic dough that isn't sticky, and feels smooth like a baby’s bottom.
4. Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest on your counter for a few minutes to allow the dough to hydrate.

Roll out the pasta:

1. When the dough has finished resting, shape it into a fat log and cut it into 4 equal sections. Leave one section out and re-wrap the others. (If you are working on a small counter, you can cut each piece in half again, so you are working with less dough.)
2. Flour your workspace well, and use your rolling pin to roll out the dough into a long strip. With each pass as you roll, lift the dough up, re-dust the counter beneath, and flip it over. When you’re finished, you should have a long, thin piece of dough. It should be just about paper thin, but strong enough to be lifted off of the countertop.

Fill and Shape your Ravioli:

1. Transfer cooled ganache to a piping bag. Pipe a round circle onto the dough, next with a small spoon add a dollop of jam to the center of the ganache circle you just made. Continue to add filling to the dough strip.The space between the filling should be about "2 fingers-width" apart. Brush around the filling with an egg white wash. Top with remaining strip, and gently press around filling to seal, working from center out.
2. Using a heart cookie cutter, press it into the dough around the filling, trying to keep the filling in the center of the heart. Transfer ravioli to a sheet, and cover with a kitchen towel.

Cooking your Ravioli:

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil, and boil the ravioli. Once they float to the surface, let them cook a few seconds more.
2. Using a slotted spoon, remove the ravioli
3. Plate the ravioli, and garnish with melted butter, chocolate sauce, fresh raspberries, a dusting of icing sugar, whipping cream, ice cream or whatever your heart desires this Valentine’s Day.