I'm Back !

This is so common... You make a blog, then realize that it will take a while to reach people and you let it go..
But I'm back now and not planning to leave any time soon!!
I'm truly sorry for having been away, for not posting any recipes or ideas for great food... so now that we got that out of the way I can start..

It's winter, even here in Athens, although some of my friends abroad listen to me with disbelief when I tell them about the floods in the city and the snow in the mountains.

So, what do we do when the weather is absolutely awful? We listen to Ray Lamontagne... That song, "Trouble" is my one time favorite.... we pour ourselves a glass of ruby red wine... we light a few candles, the ones that smell like you want to eat them... and we disappear into our kitchen to come out when we're done with our cooking therapy !

And the best of all is to get the chance to share these moments with someone who is exactly in the same mood...

So, what would I suggest to cook today??
What about, mmmm, let me think, something not to heavy, still giving a fulfilling feeling, nothing weird, something homey, friendly, doable, with ingredients we have around...
Let's do some pasta !!! Homemade obviously !!!

SWEET POTATO RAVIOLI :

For the Pasta we need :
1 Recipe Fresh Pasta,in thin wide sheets
(which you'll find when you scroll down)

For the filling:
1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into 8 pieces
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons of Mascarpone(or creamy goat cheese)
Fresh ground pepper
1 large egg white, beaten (preferably organic)

For serving:
grated Parmesan cheese
some large sage leaves,sliced
some melted butter

So, we start by making the pasta...
Don't worry if you've never done that before, I had a lesson recently and it's really fun and easy..plus that you can always freeze the pasta if you have too much.
The taste is unbelievable, I have officially fallen in love with home made pasta !

All you need is :
4 large eggs(organic if possible)
400 gr pasta flour or unbleached all purpose flour, plus more for dusting.

Whisk together the eggs in a bowl.
Put the flour on a large board and make a well in the centre, pour the eggs into the well and then you slowly bring in the flour, using your hands or a fork.
Knead until you form a nice dough !
If the dough is sticky you can add some more flour, this is the classic rule for whatever you do with dough.
Now take out your pasta machine !
I have the simple hand -cranked pasta maker, my mum gave it to me as a gift and it sat on a kitchen shelf for 5 years, shame on me !
Now that I know how it works, I'm addicted..
Cut the dough into 8 pieces and roughly form into rectangles. Dust each rectangle with a bit of flour.
Starting with the widest setting, put one piece through the machine, dusting with more flour...yes, keep dusting your pasta, so it works with you!
Fold the dough over and go through again on the same setting, going from widest to thinnest, until you are left with a long thin sheet of pasta.
Repeat with all the pieces of dough, invite your friends, kids, neighbors for help and cover the pasta sheets with a damp towel.

For the filling:
You boil or steam the sweet potato for about 20 minutes, just like with a regular potato.
Mash it and stir in the cheeses.
Season the mixture.
Now put teaspoons of your mixture on half the pasta sheets, leaving a few centimeters space between them.
Brush the egg white along the top and bottom of each pasta sheet that you've placed filling on and brush between each dollop.
Lay the untouched pasta sheet over the filled ones.
Seal the edges with your fingers to get the air out.
Then cut the ravioli with a paring knife into squares.
Trim away extra pasta and seal each ravioli with your fingers.
Cook your ravioli in salted, boiling water, in batches, for two minutes....
Note: Fresh pasta doesn't need the cooking time that bought pasta needs.
Meanwhile hurry up and melt the butter with the sage, spoon this delightful mixture over your ravioli and serve with the extra Parmesan.

Heaven !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Enough talking for today... Enjoy !!!

With Love,
esther.