Homemade Eggplant & Roasted Red Pepper Ravioli

Taste

This is a weekend project built around two of Lufa’s greenhouse staples: Jaylo purple eggplant and coloured bell peppers. Roasting them together concentrates their sweetness and adds a subtle smokiness that becomes the heart of the filling, balanced by creamy buffalo ricotta and sharp parmesan. The ravioli are simple squares — no fancy crimping — tossed in brown butter with fried sage leaves. Every major ingredient can come straight from the Lufa marketplace.

Instructions

1. Make the pasta dough. Mound the flour on a clean work surface and create a well in the centre. Crack in the eggs, add the olive oil and salt, then use a fork to gradually pull flour into the wet centre until a shaggy dough forms. Knead by hand for 8–10 minutes until smooth, elastic, and springs back when poked. Wrap tightly in plastic and rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. ⏱︎ 10 min

2. Roast the vegetables. Preheat the oven to 220 °C (425 °F). Halve the eggplants lengthwise and score the flesh in a crosshatch pattern. Halve and seed the peppers. Place everything cut-side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet along with the unpeeled garlic cloves. Drizzle with olive oil and roast for 30–35 minutes, until the eggplant is completely soft and the pepper skins are blistered and charred in spots. ⏱︎ 35 min

3. Make the filling. Transfer the roasted peppers to a bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let them steam for 10 minutes — the skins will slip off easily. Scoop the eggplant flesh from the skins and squeeze the garlic from its papery shell. Combine the eggplant, peeled peppers, and garlic in a food processor. Pulse to a chunky puree — don’t over-process, a little texture is good. Transfer to a bowl and fold in the ricotta and parmesan. Season generously with salt and pepper. The filling should taste bold since the pasta will dilute it. Let cool completely before filling the ravioli. ⏱︎ 10 min

4. Roll the pasta. Divide the dough into four pieces. Working with one piece at a time (keep the rest covered), flatten it with your palm and pass it through a pasta machine, starting at the widest setting and working down to the second-thinnest setting (usually setting 2). You want sheets thin enough to see your hand through, about 1 mm. Lay the sheets on a lightly floured surface.

5. Shape the ravioli. Place teaspoon-sized mounds of filling about 5 cm apart along one half of a pasta sheet. Brush around each mound with a damp finger. Fold the other half of the sheet over the filling, pressing firmly around each mound to seal and push out any air. Cut into individual ravioli with a sharp knife or pastry wheel. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling — you should get 30–36 ravioli. Lay them on a floured tray in a single layer.

6. Cook the ravioli. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a rolling boil. Cook the ravioli in two batches, about 3 minutes per batch — they’ll float to the surface when done. Lift out with a slotted spoon and reserve about 120 ml (½ cup) of pasta water. ⏱︎ 3 min

7. Make the brown butter and sage sauce. While the pasta cooks, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Once it foams, add the sage leaves and cook until the butter turns nutty brown and the sage is crispy, about 3–4 minutes. Watch it closely — it goes from brown to burnt fast. Remove from heat and add the lemon juice (it will sizzle). ⏱︎ 4 min

8. Combine and serve. Add the cooked ravioli to the skillet with a splash of pasta water. Toss gently over low heat until the ravioli are glossy and coated. Divide among warm bowls and top with extra grated parmesan.

Tips

• No pasta machine: Roll the dough by hand with a rolling pin. It takes longer and won’t be as uniform, but works fine — aim for roughly 1–2 mm thickness.
• Make ahead: Shaped ravioli freeze well on a parchment-lined tray. Once solid, transfer to a freezer bag. Cook directly from frozen, adding 1–2 minutes to the boiling time.
• Filling variation: Stir in a tablespoon of harissa or smoked paprika for a spicier, more North African–leaning filling.
• Substitution: If buffalo ricotta isn’t available, regular ricotta or soft goat cheese works well. Drain regular ricotta in a fine-mesh sieve for 30 minutes to remove excess moisture.