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Lentil Ravioli with Fennel Butter





I made some flower pasta (recipe here), I used roses, borage and nasturtiums. I cooked some brown lentils, then I passed them in a pot with olive oil, a shallot and salt. I used them as filling.







Possibly herbs would have been better: the lentil filling is quite dark, so the petals were not so visible. I'll remember this next time :-)! For the sauce I cooked some baby fennels very slowly with butter and a little water. I added more butter, and just a pinch of salt at the end.



The fennel butter matched the lentil filling beautifully. A great dish for New Year (FYI, in Italy it is traditional to eat lentils for New Year). The borage flowers are decorations, but they too can be eaten, and we did!


Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©


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Comments

  1. Sharon RuddJanuary 10, 2011 at 3:02 PM

    Absolutely gorgeous and enticing! And thanks for reminding me about borage. I was introduced to it by a friend what grew it in his garden, but it's not something I ever see at the market.

    Happy New Year to you, my friend!
    eggy

    ReplyDelete
  2. BronJanuary 10, 2011 at 3:08 PM

    Yum! I've never put lentils into filled pasta before, but thinking about the endless possibilities I'm very excited to try.

    ReplyDelete
  3. RoseJanuary 10, 2011 at 3:45 PM

    What a wonderful combination of flavors and ingredients! Your ravioli are beautiful...such a cool idea to put lentils in them!

    I'm familiar with the lentils for New Year...my dad's parent were both born in Italy and then came to the US....in his family eating lentils in January was a tradition too! Is it because they look like little coins?

    Yum. So beautiful and nutritious.

    ReplyDelete
  4. SwathiJanuary 10, 2011 at 5:00 PM

    I like the lentil filling. Love to try them. ravioli is beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AlessandraJanuary 10, 2011 at 5:49 PM

    Yep Rose, eating lentils for New Year is all about money!!!

    Hehehehe, maybe because they are cheap and you start saving...

    ReplyDelete
  6. RachanaJanuary 10, 2011 at 10:24 PM

    Adding lentils to the ravioli is a great idea. They look so beautiful too :-)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Flavia GalassoJanuary 11, 2011 at 2:11 AM

    Che avevi creato una pasta da opera d'arte te l'avevo già detto....una buna settimana, baciozzi, flavia

    ReplyDelete

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