Pumpkin leaf ravioli

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“The locals enjoy eating pumpkin leaves, so I incorporated them into our homemade pasta, giving it a beautiful green colour and flavour. I wanted it to look like the Mexican sunflower (Tithonia), which grows wild in and around the lodge.”

Ingredients

For the pasta:
100 g pumpkin leaves
250 g flour
2 free-range eggs
1 T extra virgin olive oil
salt, to taste
2 free-range egg yolks
For the whipped feta, blend:
100 g feta
50 g plain yoghurt
1 T parsley
1 T mint
½ T salt
½ T black pepper
For the yoghurt sauce:
1 cup plain Greek yoghurt
1 clove garlic, minced
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the beurre noisette:
250 g unsalted butter
50 g peanuts, roasted and crushed
½ lemon, zested

Cooking Instructions

1. To make the pasta, strip the pumpkin leaves off their stems and remove any spines, then blanch in salted water. Remove and place in a bowl of iced water. Squeeze out excess water, then chop or place in a blender.

2. Place the flour and pumpkin leaves on a clean counter and make a well in the centre. Pour the eggs and olive oil into the well and slowly incorporate into the flour. Bring the dough together and knead until smooth and elastic. Allow to rest for at least 15 minutes.

3. Roll out the dough on a floured surface to an approximate thickness of 2 mm, or use a pasta machine. Dust the pasta lightly with flour to prevent it from sticking, then cut into long sheets.

4. Place the whipped feta into a piping bag and pipe an 8 cm circle onto the pasta sheet, then place a fresh egg yolk in the centre of the whipped feta. Repeat to make 8 circles. Cover with another layer of pasta, then seal tightly, making sure not to leave any air pockets inside the ravioli and taking care not to burst the egg yolk. Cut out the ravioli using a cookie cutter or ravioli press, then dust with flour and place on tray until ready to use. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil, then cook the ravioli for 2 minutes.

5. To make the yoghurt sauce, place the yoghurt, garlic and seasoning in a bowl, then microwave for 30 seconds at a time until warm.

6. To make the beurre noisette, place the butter in a pan and cook until the butter turns golden brown, then remove from the heat and add the roasted groundnuts and finish off with lemon zest.

7. To serve, place the warm yoghurt sauce in a bowl and top with the cooked ravioli. Drizzle over the beurre noisette and ground nuts and garnish with flower petals.

Photograph: Jan Rasl
Recipes: Aaron Menezes
Food production: Khanaya Mzongwana

Find more pasta recipes here.