Purple Basil Ravioli

This invention of a recipe has dough made with purple basil, and a filling of steak and peas.

I have this purple basil plant growing, and lately it has been looking a little wild, so I was trying to think of a way I could use a large chunk and not make the same ol’ boring pesto. Since I have been on this ravioli kick, I started to wonder, if I made dough with the purple basil, would I get purple raviolis?

Then I couldn’t stop thinking about it, so guess what..I made some purple basil ravioli.

Lone behold…the purple does not transfer. Instead, I got a cool blue/grey. Even if the color wasn’t all the amazing…the ravioli turned out pretty damn tasty. So good I thought it fitting enough to create a recipe.

For the dough:

1 cup flour
1 egg
1 cup packed basil leaves
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

For the filling:

1/4 Cup Steak (or any leftover meat you might have)
1/2 Cup Peas
1 tsp Garlic Salt

First fill up a pot of water (about 8 cups) and add the salt and baking soda. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the basil leaves and blanch for 15 seconds, then strain. Make sure to pat out all the water. You will quickly discover that the basil makes the water a very beautiful blue.

Place the basil and the egg into a food processor and blend until combined. Place the mix through a fine mesh strainer and try your best to get out all the liquid. You should get about 1 cup of liquid.

In the food processor, add your flour and the now grey-blue liquid and blend. If your mix doesn’t form a ball of dough, gradually start adding in a bit of water until the ball has formed. Knead the dough for about 3 minutes for the best elasticity. Place in a bowl, cover, and refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes.

While your dough is resting you can start working on your filling. In the food processor drop in your steak, peas, and garlic and blend until well combined.

Once your filling and your dough is formed, you get to start the fun part!