Add a low-grade concern for the world ending to Christmas landing on a Tuesday, and it feels like a long, confusing holiday season already. I’m ready to start fasting, and yet, we still have New Year’s Eve for which to account, along with a number of parties unraveling throughout this in-between week. (I’ll be at the James Beard House in Greenwich Village, NYC, on December 27th as a guest of the Newburyport restaurant, Ceia, who will be hosting a spectacular “European Coastal Celebration.” Check out the menu here: http://www.jamesbeard.org/events/european-coastal-celebration-122712.)
So here is a recipe that tilts so seriously to “healthy” it’s chic. Raw, vegan, and surprisingly tasty with a glass of something sparkling, these turnip raviolis keep you in the party game but have leaner, cleaner culinary times in sight. These are packed with vitamin C, anti-oxidants, and, like all cruciferous vegetables, isothiocyanates, which are believed to have cancer-preventive properties, but they have a sophisticated inventive feel to them.
Small local turnips - what you want to use here - are in stores and markets now, and a welcome alternative to mesclun and broccoli. Serve these ravioli with drinks, or use them as the vegetable on a dinner plate. I love the pale green filling peeking out between the thin, purple band left from the skin.
Raw Turnip Ravioli
Ingredients
Filling:
1 cup pine nuts
1 cup macadamia nuts
1 cup walnuts
3 tablespoons Braggs (liquid aminos) (optional)
2 ½ tablespoons lemon juice
2 cloves garlic
1 cup fresh parsley
Instructions for making filling:
Blend the nuts in food processor until ground. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend well, until creamy.
Ingredients Tomato Sauce:
1 clove garlic
6 dates, chopped fine
2 large tomatoes
½ cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil
¼ cup fresh basil
a dash of olive oil
Instructions for making Tomato Sauce:
Place garlic and dates in food processor and blend. Add basil, both types of tomatoes, and blend until smooth. Add olive oil if needed, but the sauce should be thick.
Instructions for the wrappers
2 Small Turnips
Slice turnips into very thin slices using a mandolin, spiral slicer or other vegetable slicer to make thin round discs. These will be used as the wrapper and would normally be the pasta dough.
Remove a single turnip slice from the batch, place a teaspoon of filling on top and spread it out to the edges. Put another turnip slice on top. Place them in a single layer on a large plate. Then top each Ravioli with a spoonful of Tomato Sauce. Let sit for a few hours to allow the turnip to soften.
I served some with toasted macadamia nuts on top which added a nice crunch.
