Whole Wheat Ricotta and Mushroom Ravioli

Fresh-made ravioli is one my favorite things on this Earth.  Ravioli are so commonplace, so deeply ingrained in our culinary culture (thanks to Chef Boyardee), that they're accessible and familiar to everyone.  But, break out the pasta roller and the ravioli cutter, and this ho-hum foodstuff becomes something to be savored.

We especially love this one for dinner parties. Ravioli are incredibly cheap to make and guaranteed to please. And because they are rather labor intensive, we like to enlist the help of our guests.  Everyone happily joins in, chatting and enjoying the shared experience of crafting something special.  It's fun.  There's something deeply comforting about using your hands and doing simple, repetitive tasks to create delicious, wonderful things.

And of course, this kind of project affords us ample time to get drunk before dinner.  So there's that too.

We made this batch with my mom. She's not the most adventurous eater, so we kept it pretty standard, using the ricotta and mushrooms from our CSA to provide filling. We went with a whole wheat pasta dough because, simply, my mom didn't have enough all purpose flour on hand.  She made the sauce, slow cooking canned tomatoes, herbs and bay leaves all day in her crock pot. We used our CSA's god-sent hydroponic basil to garnish the dish.  Naturally.

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