Bewitching Beet Ravioli Recipe

Valentine's Day means all things heart-shaped for every meal. So, why not make bright pink heart ravioli with the gorgeous color of freshly roasted beets? Leah Maroney uses all the parts of the beet to create these beautiful ravioli. The root of the beet creates the deep color of the dough, while the beet greens create a flavorful pesto for the filling. "Beet greens are an underutilized ingredient. They're packed full of flavor and color and are similar to spinach and Swiss chard. I love how they taste sauteed and blended with garlic," says Maroney.

The filling and topping use an unlikely ingredient — crumbled Biscoff cookies. The texture and sweetness complement the earthy flavor of the beets and add a hint of caramel-toasted goodness that just has to be tasted. Since the ravioli are full of complex flavors, we've kept the sauce simple. Garlic and lemon zest are added to browned butter for a nutty, bright sauce. Serve the ravioli with plenty of Parmesan cheese — it's the perfect romantic meal for Valentine's Day.

Beet ravioli starts with the beets! You will need beets with the greens still attached for this recipe, as both parts will be used. The beet is cut at the root and separated — set the greens aside for later. The beetroots are roasted in olive oil, salt, and pepper before they are peeled and added to the dough ingredients. The remaining dough ingredients consist of all-purpose flour, semolina flour (which is used in most pasta making and can be found in many grocery stores), eggs, and salt. The filling consists of beet greens sauteed in olive oil, lemon zest, garlic, salt, pepper, crumbled Biscoff cookies, ricotta cheese, and Parmesan cheese. Finally, you will need good, salted butter and more lemon zest and garlic for the sauce. Once the dish is complete, more Biscoff cookies are crumbled on top, along with additional Parmesan cheese and lemon zest. 

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Trim the greens off of the beets and set aside.

Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt and ground black pepper to the beets.

Roast the beets in the preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until fork tender.

Peel and quarter the beets.

Add the beets, 1 teaspoon olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and 3 eggs to a food processor and blend until smooth.

Add in the flours and pulse until combined.

Knead the dough on a floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.

Wrap the dough and let it rest at room temperature for at least 1 hour.

Saute the beet greens in 1 teaspoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper for 1–2 minutes, until wilted.

Add 3 Biscoff cookies, the cooked greens, 2 garlic cloves, ½ cup Parmesan cheese, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and ½ tablespoon lemon zest to a food processor and blend until smooth.

Add the ricotta cheese to the beet green mixture and mix to combine. Set aside.

Cut the rested dough into quarters.

Roll out each quarter into a sheet using the largest setting on your pasta roller.

Fold the dough into thirds and roll again.

Continue rolling on smaller settings until you get to the second-to-last setting. Repeat with remaining sheets.

Add tablespoon-sized dollops of filling onto the dough sheet 1 inch apart from each other.

Add another dough sheet on top and press to seal around the filling.

Cut out the ravioli with a heart-shaped cookie cutter.

Set the ravioli on a semolina-lined baking tray while you finish the remaining ravioli.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.

Boil the ravioli for 2–3 minutes, or until they float.

Heat the butter on low heat in a large saute pan until golden brown, about 3 minutes.

Add in the remaining garlic and lemon zest to the butter and warm through.

Add the ravioli to the sauce and crumble the remaining cookies over the top

Add more Parmesan and lemon zest, if desired, and serve immediately.

There are lots of options for substitutions in this dish, but one thing you don't want to substitute is the beets. You can achieve the color using food coloring, but the color and flavor will not be as brilliant. If you can find beet roots but not whole beets including the greens, then you can substitute the greens for spinach or Swiss chard. They can both be prepared in the same way as the beet greens. 

Biscoff cookies are fairly easy to find in most grocery stores, but you can replace them with other, similar cookies. Amaretti cookies work very well and also add a nice almond flavor that complements the ravioli well. Look for crumbling, caramel-colored cookies if you cannot find Biscoff. Substitute the Parmesan cheese for Grana Padano or Pecorino Romano, if you wish. Any crumbly cheese used for topping pasta will fit the bill. 

Beet ravioli is a great make-ahead dish. It can be frozen immediately after assembly and before boiling. You can freeze the ravioli on the semolina-lined baking tray until they are solid. Then, just transfer them to a plastic storage bag and store them in the freezer for up to 6 months. Simply boil them in salted water until they float when you are ready to serve! You can also store the cooked ravioli in the sauce or without the sauce in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat the ravioli in a saute pan or the microwave when you are ready to eat. The filling can be made ahead of time and stored in an air-tight refrigerator for up to 3 days. The dough itself can also be made ahead of time. It will keep (wrapped in plastic wrap) in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.