Chocolate Ricotta Ravioli with Garlic Sauce

adapted from "Cooking with Chocolate" by Avner Laskin

For the dough:

Flour - 1 1/2 cups
Cocoa powder, unsweetened - 1 tablespoon
Eggs - 2
Olive oil - 1 tablespoons
Salt - 1/2 teaspoon

For the filling:

Egg - 1
Ricotta cheese - 1/2 cup
Parmesan cheese, grated - 1/4 cup
Hazelnuts, ground - 1/2 cup
Nutmeg, ground - 1/4 teaspoon
Garlic, chopped - 2 cloves
Salt - 1/2 teaspoon

For the sauce:

Oil - 1 tablespoon
Garlic, finely minced - 2 cloves
Chicken stock - 1/2 cup
Cold butter - 1 tablespoon
Cilantro, chopped - to taste
Salt, pepper, cayenne pepper

- For the dough: Place all the ingredients for the dough in a food processor, and process until the ingredients form a ball of dough.
- Wrap the dough in a plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
- While the dough is chilling, prepare the filling. Place all the ingredients for the filling into a bowl and mix well until the mixture is uniform.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and transfer to a floured work surface. Roll out the dough as thin as possible. Cut into two equal portions.
- Place spoonfuls of the filling 3-4 cm apart on one half of the dough.
- Brush a thin layer of water on the dough around each spoonful of filling.
- Place the other half of the dough on top of the first half. Press the dough around each filling to seal.
- Using a cookie cutter or a knife, cut around each pocket of filling.
- In a large pot, boil water with a generous amount of salt. When the water is boiling, drop the ravioli in the water and cook for 6-8 minutes. Strain.
- For the sauce: In a small pot, heat some oil and add minced garlic to it. Saute for about 1 minute on medium heat. Make sure that the garlic does not burn.
- Add the chicken stock and let boil for a minute.
- Add the butter, reduce the heat to medium-low and let the sauce bubble for a few minutes until it thickens a little bit.
- Add the chopped cilantro.
- Pour the sauce over the ravioli and serve immediately.

Comments:
- Cocoa only gives the dough colour, it does not effect the taste much.
- Do not over mix the dough or it will become tough.
- Make sure the dough is rolled very thinly.
- The original sauce called for 1/2 cup of butter and some sage leaves which I didn't have. This sauce is really really tasty and not as fattening. I had to make a double batch of the sauce it was soooo good!

Ricotta Bagels

Flour - 300 g (might need a couple of teaspoons more)
Baking powder - 3 teaspoons
Sugar - 100 g
Ricotta - 140 g
Egg - 1, separated
Milk - 80 ml
Grape seed oil (or any other oil with no taste) - 20 ml

- Mix egg white and sugar, add ricotta, oil, milk and mix until everything is incorporated.
- Sift flour and baking powder add it to the ricotta mixture.
- Mix to get a nice soft dough, if it is too sticky, add some more flour.
- Divide the dough into 6 parts and divide each part into 3 more parts.
- Roll each part into a very long log, put three of them together and make a braid, then make bagels out of the braids.
- Mix the egg yolk with a tablespoon of milk and brush the bagels with it.
- Sprinkle some sugar on top of the bagels and bake at 200C for 20 minutes (if it's too pale after 20 minutes, then put the grill on for a couple more minutes to get some colour).

Comments:
- I just realized that I put only 1 teaspoon of baking powder in my dough and the bagels turned out really good. I guess 3 teaspoons would make them a bit more puffy.
- I ended up using more flour because my dough was too sticky at the end.
- They are really good and not too fattening.