Fig and Walnut Ravioli Dolci

This recipe tastes like a fig newton, sprinkled with class. It is basically a sweet pastry crust, rolled thin and filled with a fig paste. I used mission figs and walnuts in this particular example, and the results were divine. Once you have mastered this technique, the actual filling has endless options. Try dates and pecans, raisins and pistachios; the list goes on.

Ingredients

Sweet Pastry Crust Ingredients:

  • 1 cup Earth Balance Margarine
  • 2/3 cup Turbinado or Demarara Sugar
  • 2-3 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup cold water

Filling Ingredients:

  • 1 cup dried figs- stems removed, if necessary
  • 2/3 cup walnuts
  • 1/2 cup turbinado or demarara sugar
  • 2 -3 tbsp light corn syrup or agave syrup

Directions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350°.

Make pastry:

Step 2

Combine Earth Balance and flour until crumbly. Stir in turbinado sugar and once well mixed, add water. Combine with fork until a soft dough forms. Add a little flour if dough is too sticky and knead a few times on a lightly floured surface. Separate dough into two disks, one slightly larger than the other, and chill.

Make filling:

Step 3

Combine figs and walnuts and 1/2 cup turbinado sugar in food processor until finely chopped. Add 2 tbsp corn syrup and pulse again until thoroughly combined. The mixture should hold its shape when spooned into a ball.. if not, add a little more corn syrup.

Step 4

Roll the smaller of the two chilled disks onto a lightly floured surface. Roll until about 1/8- 1/4 inch thick into a square or rectangle. If dough sticks to surface, add more flour to surface and try again.

Step 5

Once dough has been rolled out, drop teaspoon sized balls of figgy filling about 1 inch apart from each other on rolled out dough square. (Imagine a top layer being draped over the fig paste balls, which is what you will do next.)

Step 6

Roll out the other dough disk into slightly larger square or rectangle. With a pastry brush, dampen around the fig paste mounds, to glue the two layers of dough together.

Step 7

Drape the separate sheet of rolled out dough on top of first layer and press down to seal each pile of filling. (I found this easiest to do in two sections.)

Step 8

Using a pizza cutter, cut squares in between each mound of filling. This is where it is obvious you are making ravioli; seal each ravioli by pressing with tip of fork around edges. With a spatula, scoot each ravioli on ungreased cookie sheet about 1/2 inch apart.

Step 9

Bake about 15-20 minutes, depending on size of ravioli until edges are the slightest golden color. Let cool for about 10-15 minutes and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Reprinted with permission from Allyson Kramer of Allyson Kramer: eat good food.
Photograph © Allyson Kramer.

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