Blame Michelle over at Thursday Night Smackdown for this recipe. I was perusing through the many food blogs I have bookmarked at work (during lunch…yes, that’s it, during lunch) and stumbled upon her most recent edition of Cheap Ass Mondays…which included fresh pasta made by hand (yes ladies and gentleman, she didn’t even use a pasta roller or maker). The thought of making fresh pasta was stuck in my head the rest of the day, so as soon as I got home, I pulled out the Babbo Cookbook and immediately fell upon the recipe for black pepper pasta dough. Hello luvah!

I am a gadget whore…this should not be news to anyone who reads my blog regularly. But I must admit, after making pasta without the use of a pasta maker or roller, even I am considering retiring my pasta making gadgets. It was so much easier to just roll the dough out with my heavy rolling pin than to run it through a machine repeatedly. And adding fresh ground pepper to the pasta dough? Sheer genius! You can find the pasta dough recipe here, so I now turn my attention to the fabulous pesto!

3 handfuls fresh arugula

1 handful chopped walnuts

3/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded

1/2 cup olive oil

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup heavy cream, warmed but not scalded

Black pepper pasta, already cut and ready to cook

Place a large pot of water to boil on high on the stove for the pasta. Salt the boiling water and add the tagliatelle, cooking for about four minutes. While the pasta cooks, start on the pesto. In a food processor, place the arugula, parmesan, garlic and walnuts and pulse until combined. With the processor still running, slowly pour in the olive oil. In a saucepan, warm the heavy cream on medium heat until almost at a boil. Remove from heat and let stand for about a minute. Turn the processor back on and slowly add the heavy cream until you get a green, creamy emulsion. Scrape the pesto onto the cooked pasta and toss until evenly coated.

Since I had so much fun participating in last week’s Presto Pasta Nights, I decided to submit this entry for the next round-up! Head over to Chew on That this Friday for a slew of pasta recipes from all over the food blogosphere!

I’ve really been in a bit of a funk lately, which means no inspiration to cook or write. In fact, I have even ordered Chinese take out for dinner…twice! So this post is from a dish I made almost two weeks ago with my fabulous morels. Luckily there are a slew of recipes I made and photographed just in case such a funk hit…yes, I’m a planner…

A few years (and several boyfriends) ago, I went to a great Italian restaurant in North Carolina. I think we were celebrating something but for the life of me I can’t remember what (which pretty much tells you all you need to know about that relationship). What I do remember is this amazing mushroom ravioli I had there and I have always wanted to try to recreate it at home. Since I had these great mushrooms at my disposal, I figured now was as good a time as any to give them a whirl. I opted to use won ton wrappers instead of making a more traditional ravioli dough because I had some left over from a previous dish. But feel free to use the filling any way you see fit!

For the filling:

8 ounces morels (or any other wild mushroom)

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

1 medium shallot, chopped

2 handfuls of baby spinach

1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated

2 tablespoons butter

Salt and pepper

24 won ton wrappers, cut lengthwise

For the sauce:

4 ounces morels

1 tablespoon butter

1 small shallot, diced

Salt and pepper

Place a large pot of water on the stove on medium heat to boil. While waiting for the water, start on the filling. In a large skillet, melt the two tablespoons of butter and add the medium chopped shallot and the 8 ounces of morels. At this point, add the salt and pepper to suit your tastes. Cook until the shallots are translucent and the mushrooms are soft (but not soggy). Add the spinach and cook until it’s wilted. Remove the mixture from the heat and allow to cool.

While waiting for the mushroom mixture to cool, cut the won ton wrappers lengthwise and create a ravioli making station. Place half the wrappers in one stack and the other half in another stack. Pour some water in a small bowl and place it next to the wrappers. Once the mushroom mixture has cooled, transfer it to a bowl and add the breadcrumbs and cheese. Mix everything together thoroughly and then begin the ravioli assembly. Place one wrapper on a clean work surface and add a small dollop of the filling to the center. Dip your finger in the water and brush all four sides of the wrapper with it. Place another wrapper on top of the filling and press down around the edges (the water serves as a bit of glue to hold the two wrappers together). Set aside the completed ravioli and repeat the process until all the raviolis are formed.

Salt the boiling water and then (gingerly) add about 10 raviolis at a time to it. When the raviolis float up to the top, they’re done. Using a slotted spoon, gently fish out the raviolis and place them in a large serving bowl. Repeat this process until all the raviolis are cooked.

For the sauce, melt the butter in a sauce pan and add the mushrooms and shallots. As before, salt and pepper the vegetables to suit your taste. Cook until the shallots are translucent and the mushrooms are soft (just like you did for the filling). This makes an excellent butter sauce that can be placed atop the raviolis!

This was one of my most recent favorite dishes, hands down! I am going to try a variation using shiitake mushrooms and another type of cheese, so stay tuned! I am also sending this over to Ruth at Presto Pasta Nights for the weekly Friday Presto Pasta round up! This is my first time submitting for this but since I adore pasta, I’m sure it won’t be my last!

Hopefully I can kick out of this lazy funk I’ve been in lately. But with so much to do this weekend with the Culturati posse, I’m just glad I have the foresight to store recipes and pictures for just such a cooking inspiration drought!