Beetroot and chocolate tortellini
Pasta is great! It is such an easy dish to make and incredibly versatile. We have jazzed up the dough itself and served it with a flavoursome pesto and beetroot jelly. If you make all the elements this makes for a stunning dish. You can also just serve the pasta with the pesto.
Jelly and Pesto
- Jelly:
- 200ml beetroot juice
- Pinch of salt
- 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon of garam masala
- 1 heaped tablespoon of agar agar
- Pesto:
- 50g pecan nuts, toasted
- Large bunch of parsley
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- Pinch of salt
- 30g grated parmesan (or a vegetarian style cheese)
- 100ml olive oil
For the pasta:
- 200g ‘00’ flour
- 2 eggs and 1 egg yolk
- 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
- We added: large pinch of nutmeg, 1/4 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tablespoon of cacao powder and 1/4 tsp beetroot powder
Method
For the pasta:
You can make the pasta in an electric mixer- just pop the flour and flavourings into the mixer and pour the eggs and oil in whilst the motor is running
The mixture should resemble cous cous and should come easily together The mixture should also be tacky, not sticky and rest for 20 minutes
Roll out until 1mm thin, cut into circles, place a teaspoon of filling in the middle and seal with a little water around the edges
Leave to dry out for 2 minutes
Cook in boiling salted water for 2 minutes and serve with the pesto, jelly and a drizzle of balsamic syrup
The filling:
Combine all the ingredients
Pesto:
Blend the ingredients and season to taste
Jelly:
Pour the juice into a small sauce pan with the salt and spices and sprinkle with the agar agar
Gently bring to a simmer until the agar agar has dissolved and then boil for 3 minutes
Leave to cool slightly and then pour into a small baking dish lined with cling film, this will set very quickly even at room temperature, so don’t forget about it!
Once this jelly sets (15-20 minutes), cut into cubes and keep in the fridge until ready to use
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