Recipes, re-invented from cooking shows
Black and White Vegan Ravioli
Prep. Time:
Baking Time:
Total Time:
1 hour 30 minutes
25 minutes
3 days, including 24-36 hours fermenting and an overnight rest
Serves:
Serves 4 as a plated starter, at 8 small ravioli per portion
Lawrence created this dish for Great British Menu Series 21. Two egg-free doughs, one plain and one blackened with charcoal, are layered so the finished ravioli read as a strip of film reel, carrying the series brief from monochrome into colour. The fermented cashew filling, the sunflower seed romes...
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Ingredients
FOR THE FERMENTED CASHEW FILLING (BEGIN TWO DAYS AHEAD): 250 g raw cashews, soaked 8 hours in cold water and drained 3 tbsp live vegan yoghurt or rejuvelac 80–100 ml water 3 tbsp nutritional yeast 2 tsp dehydrated dashi powder, kombu-based and bonito-free 1 tsp fine sea salt Finely grated zest of ½ lemon, optional
FOR THE WHITE PASTA DOUGH: 150 g type 00 flour 50 g semola rimacinata (finely reground semolina flour) 15 g tapioca starch ½ tsp fine sea salt 1 tbsp olive oil 95–105 ml warm water
FOR THE BLACK PASTA DOUGH: 150 g type 00 flour 50 g semola rimacinata (finely reground semolina flour) 15 g tapioca starch 1½ tsp activated charcoal powder, food grade ½ tsp fine sea salt 1 tbsp olive oil 95–105 ml warm water
FOR THE SUNFLOWER SEED AND ROAST TOMATO ROMESCO: 3 red peppers, roasted, skinned and seeded 300 g ripe tomatoes, roasted until collapsed and caramelised 80 g sunflower seeds, toasted 2 garlic cloves, roasted with the peppers 1 tbsp sherry vinegar 1–2 tsp harissa 60 ml olive oil ½ tsp fine sea salt, or to taste
FOR THE SUNFLOWER PETAL SAUCE: 400 ml vegetable nage (fennel, leek, celery and white peppercorn, no root vegetables) A large handful of unsprayed sunflower petals, or marigold or calendula petals 40 g raw cashews Lemon juice, to taste ½ tsp fine sea salt, or to taste
FOR THE POPCORN FURIKAKE: 20 g popped popcorn 5 g dried wakame, crumbled 1 tbsp nori powder 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
TO FINISH: 60 g hazelnuts, roasted, skinned and roughly chopped Lightly salted popcorn, to serve Salt, for the pasta water
EQUIPMENT: Electric pasta maker or hand-cranked pasta machine High-speed blender or food processor Piping bag Small rolling pin Wide, shallow pan
Method
STEP 1: FERMENT THE CASHEW FILLING
Two days ahead, blend the soaked cashews with the yoghurt or rejuvelac and just enough of the water to move the blade, working to a completely smooth paste. Scrape into a clean bowl, cover loosely and leave at warm room temperature for 24 to 36 hours. It is ready when it smells lactic and faintly sharp.
STEP 2: SEASON AND CHILL THE FILLING
Beat in the nutritional yeast, the dashi powder and the salt, along with the lemon zest if you are using it. Chill until firm enough to pipe. Do not push the balance further; the fermentation is what gives this filling its depth.
STEP 3: MIX BOTH DOUGHS
The day before serving, make each dough separately. Mix the flour, semola rimacinata, tapioca starch and salt, adding the activated charcoal powder to the black dough only. Add the olive oil and most of the water and bring together to a shaggy mass, working only until there are no dry patches. The dough should be firm rather than sticky. Wrap each one tightly.
STEP 4: REST THE DOUGHS
Rest both doughs at room temperature for at least two hours, then refrigerate overnight. This rest is the heart of the correction: the flour hydrates fully and the dough turns extensible without any of the kneading or lamination that made the pasta chewy on the plate.
STEP 5: ROLL THE SHEETS THIN
Bring both doughs back to room temperature. Roll each one separately through the pasta maker, working down the settings without forcing. Rest each sheet for five minutes between the last two passes, then take both to the thinnest setting the machine will hold cleanly. The sheets should be genuinely translucent, thinner than you would take an egg dough, because the sealed seam will double them.
STEP 6: BUILD THE FILM-REEL SHEET
Cut the black sheet into narrow strips and lay them across the white sheet at even intervals, leaving white bands between them so the sheet reads as a strip of film reel. Pass the combined sheet through the machine once more at the same setting to marry the two without thickening them. Do not fold and re-roll. Make a second combined sheet the same way.
STEP 7: FILL AND CUT THE RAVIOLI
Pipe small domes of the chilled filling along one sheet, spaced generously, keeping the filling domed rather than mounded. Brush the bare pasta lightly with water, lay the second combined sheet over the top, and press the air out from each dome of filling outward. Cut into rounds or squares.
STEP 8: ROLL THE SEAM OUT
Take each parcel and press the sealed border back thin with a small rolling pin or the heel of your hand, working from the filling toward the edge. Two thicknesses of pasta at the centre is what made the finished ravioli eat heavy; one is what you want. Rest the finished ravioli uncovered for twenty minutes so the surface dries slightly.
STEP 9: MAKE THE ROMESCO
Blend the roasted peppers, roasted tomatoes, toasted sunflower seeds, roasted garlic, sherry vinegar and harissa to a coarse paste, then trickle in the olive oil with the motor running. Season with the salt. Leave it rough. The coarse texture is part of why this sauce works, and the harissa should warm the sauce rather than dominate it.
STEP 10: MAKE THE SUNFLOWER PETAL SAUCE
If you are making the nage, simmer chopped fennel, leek, celery and a few white peppercorns in water for twenty minutes and strain; a good shop-bought vegetable stock will stand in. Bring the nage to a bare simmer, take it off the heat, add the petals and cover for ten minutes. Strain, blend with the raw cashews until glossy, then sharpen with lemon juice and season with the salt. It should coat rather than cling.
STEP 11: MIX THE FURIKAKE
Chop the popcorn to irregular pieces rather than crushing it to dust, then toss it with the crumbled wakame, the nori powder and the toasted sesame seeds. Keep it dry and loose until you serve.
STEP 12: COOK THE RAVIOLI
Bring a wide pan of well-salted water to a gentle rolling boil, not a violent one, which tears egg-free pasta. Cook the ravioli for two to three minutes, until the seam turns translucent, and lift them straight into a warm pan with a spoonful of the sunflower petal sauce. Roll them once to coat. They should not sit in water.
STEP 13: PLATE
Spoon the romesco across one side of a warm plate and the sunflower petal sauce across the other, so the two meet without merging. Scatter the roasted hazelnuts, set eight ravioli over them, and finish with the popcorn furikake. Serve with a small tub of salted popcorn alongside. Cut one ravioli through the centre before service to check the correction: the pasta at the seam should be the same thickness as the pasta over the filling.
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Instructions
FOR THE FERMENTED CASHEW FILLING (BEGIN TWO DAYS AHEAD):
250 g raw cashews, soaked 8 hours in cold water and drained
3 tbsp live vegan yoghurt or rejuvelac
80–100 ml water
3 tbsp nutritional yeast
(/interesting-ingredients/nutritional-yeast)2 tsp dehydrated dashi (/interesting-ingredients/dashi)powder, kombu-(/interesting-ingredients/kombu)based and bonito-free
1 tsp fine sea salt
Finely grated zest of ½ lemon, optional
FOR THE WHITE PASTA DOUGH:
150 g type 00 flour
50 g semola rimacinata (finely reground semolina flour)(/interesting-ingredients/semolina-flour)
15 g tapioca starch
½ tsp fine sea salt
1 tbsp olive oil
95–105 ml warm water
FOR THE BLACK PASTA DOUGH:
150 g type 00 flour
50 g semola rimacinata (finely reground semolina flour)(/interesting-ingredients/semolina-flour)
15 g tapioca starch
1½ tsp activated charcoal powder, food grade
½ tsp fine sea salt
1 tbsp olive oil
95–105 ml warm water
FOR THE SUNFLOWER SEED AND ROAST TOMATO ROMESCO:
3 red peppers, roasted, skinned and seeded
300 g ripe tomatoes, roasted until collapsed and caramelised
80 g sunflower seeds, toasted
2 garlic cloves, roasted with the peppers
1 tbsp sherry vinegar
(/interesting-ingredients/sherry-vinegar)1–2 tsp harissa
60 ml olive oil
½ tsp fine sea salt, or to taste
FOR THE SUNFLOWER PETAL SAUCE:
400 ml vegetable nage (fennel, leek, celery and white peppercorn, no root vegetables)
A large handful of unsprayed sunflower petals, or marigold or calendula petals
40 g raw cashews
Lemon juice, to taste
½ tsp fine sea salt, or to taste
FOR THE POPCORN FURIKAKE:
20 g popped popcorn
5 g dried wakame, crumbled
1 tbsp nori (/interesting-ingredients/nori-sheets)powder
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
TO FINISH:
60 g hazelnuts, roasted, skinned and roughly chopped
Lightly salted popcorn, to serve
Salt, for the pasta water
EQUIPMENT:
Electric pasta maker (/cooking-equipment/electric-pasta-maker)or hand-cranked pasta machine
High-speed blender or food processor
Piping bag
Small rolling pin
Wide, shallow pan
Heading 5
Ingredients
STEP 1: FERMENT THE CASHEW FILLING
Two days ahead, blend the soaked cashews with the yoghurt or rejuvelac and just enough of the water to move the blade, working to a completely smooth paste. Scrape into a clean bowl, cover loosely and leave at warm room temperature for 24 to 36 hours. It is ready when it smells lactic and faintly sharp.
STEP 2: SEASON AND CHILL THE FILLING
Beat in the nutritional yeast, the dashi powder and the salt, along with the lemon zest if you are using it. Chill until firm enough to pipe. Do not push the balance further; the fermentation is what gives this filling its depth.
STEP 3: MIX BOTH DOUGHS
The day before serving, make each dough separately. Mix the flour, semola rimacinata, tapioca starch and salt, adding the activated charcoal powder to the black dough only. Add the olive oil and most of the water and bring together to a shaggy mass, working only until there are no dry patches. The dough should be firm rather than sticky. Wrap each one tightly.
STEP 4: REST THE DOUGHS
Rest both doughs at room temperature for at least two hours, then refrigerate overnight. This rest is the heart of the correction: the flour hydrates fully and the dough turns extensible without any of the kneading or lamination that made the pasta chewy on the plate.
STEP 5: ROLL THE SHEETS THIN
Bring both doughs back to room temperature. Roll each one separately through the pasta maker, working down the settings without forcing. Rest each sheet for five minutes between the last two passes, then take both to the thinnest setting the machine will hold cleanly. The sheets should be genuinely translucent, thinner than you would take an egg dough, because the sealed seam will double them.
STEP 6: BUILD THE FILM-REEL SHEET
Cut the black sheet into narrow strips and lay them across the white sheet at even intervals, leaving white bands between them so the sheet reads as a strip of film reel. Pass the combined sheet through the machine once more at the same setting to marry the two without thickening them. Do not fold and re-roll. Make a second combined sheet the same way.
STEP 7: FILL AND CUT THE RAVIOLI
Pipe small domes of the chilled filling along one sheet, spaced generously, keeping the filling domed rather than mounded. Brush the bare pasta lightly with water, lay the second combined sheet over the top, and press the air out from each dome of filling outward. Cut into rounds or squares.
STEP 8: ROLL THE SEAM OUT
Take each parcel and press the sealed border back thin with a small rolling pin or the heel of your hand, working from the filling toward the edge. Two thicknesses of pasta at the centre is what made the finished ravioli eat heavy; one is what you want. Rest the finished ravioli uncovered for twenty minutes so the surface dries slightly.
STEP 9: MAKE THE ROMESCO
Blend the roasted peppers, roasted tomatoes, toasted sunflower seeds, roasted garlic, sherry vinegar and harissa to a coarse paste, then trickle in the olive oil with the motor running. Season with the salt. Leave it rough. The coarse texture is part of why this sauce works, and the harissa should warm the sauce rather than dominate it.
STEP 10: MAKE THE SUNFLOWER PETAL SAUCE
If you are making the nage, simmer chopped fennel, leek, celery and a few white peppercorns in water for twenty minutes and strain; a good shop-bought vegetable stock will stand in. Bring the nage to a bare simmer, take it off the heat, add the petals and cover for ten minutes. Strain, blend with the raw cashews until glossy, then sharpen with lemon juice and season with the salt. It should coat rather than cling.
STEP 11: MIX THE FURIKAKE
Chop the popcorn to irregular pieces rather than crushing it to dust, then toss it with the crumbled wakame, the nori powder and the toasted sesame seeds. Keep it dry and loose until you serve.
STEP 12: COOK THE RAVIOLI
Bring a wide pan of well-salted water to a gentle rolling boil, not a violent one, which tears egg-free pasta. Cook the ravioli for two to three minutes, until the seam turns translucent, and lift them straight into a warm pan with a spoonful of the sunflower petal sauce. Roll them once to coat. They should not sit in water.
STEP 13: PLATE
Spoon the romesco across one side of a warm plate and the sunflower petal sauce across the other, so the two meet without merging. Scatter the roasted hazelnuts, set eight ravioli over them, and finish with the popcorn furikake. Serve with a small tub of salted popcorn alongside. Cut one ravioli through the centre before service to check the correction: the pasta at the seam should be the same thickness as the pasta over the filling.
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