Matcha Ravioli filled with Spring Pea Garlic Scape Pesto and Italian White Bean Purée

I contribute recipes to the blog of my friends' tea company, Arbor Teas. Here is another recipe I created using their matcha tea.

Matcha Tea, made from stone-ground, Japanese green tea leaves, has a body and flavor that is thick and rich and green with a slight bitterness. It’s thought to be even healthier than regular green tea, because the entire tea leaf is consumed, instead of just the infusion as with normal teas. And since it is a powder, it can be incorporated into just about any cooking recipe, swapped out for a little flour. Its deep green hue and flavor add a lot of appeal to homemade pasta.

Inspired by the green of the coming spring, I used Arbor Teas cooking grade organic matcha green tea to make matcha ravioli. I filled the pasta with a green pea and Italian white bean purée, and topped it with a garlic scape-kale pesto. So very green!

A more simple filling idea would be to use an herb-laced ricotta. After reading this post by Smitten Kitchen, I’ve taken to making my own. It’s really very simple to do.

Even simpler, cut the fresh matcha pasta into thin linguini strands, cook in boiling water, and top with your favorite sauce.

Matcha Pasta
(serves 3-4)

9½ ounces (scant 2 cups) all purpose flour
1 heaping tablespoon organic Matcha Green Tea
3 large eggs, beaten

Add the flour to the workbowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to evenly distribute. Add the eggs. Process again for about 30 seconds until the dough forms a rough ball. It’s OK if some small bits remain unincorporated. Turn the contents of the workbowl onto a floured surface and knead until the dough is smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for at least 15 minutes and up to 2 hours, allowing the dough to relax.

Dough that has the perfect amount of moisture will come together in one large mass. If the dough resembles small pebbles it is too dry; with the motor running, add water ½ teaspoon at a time until the dough forms a rough ball. If the dough sticks to the side of the workbowl it is too wet; add flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, and process until the dough is no longer tacky and forms a rough ball.

Using a manual pasta machine or a rolling pin, roll out the dough into thin, satiny sheets. It should be rolled thin enough that you are able to see the outline of your hand through the pasta. Lay the sheet of pasta on a clean kitchen towel and cover it with a damp cloth to keep it from drying out. Repeat with the other pieces of dough. Leave the pasta as is for use in filled pastas or cut the pasta sheets into long strands to make fettuccine.

If making ravioli, place a dollop of the filling (recipe below) along the rolled sheet every few inches. Lay another sheet of dough directly over the filling and press down to seal the ravioli. Cut into squares with a pastry wheel. Place the cut ravioli on a floured baking tray and repeat with the remaining dough and filling.

If you don’t plan to cook the ravioli right away, place the baking tray full of finished ravioli (in one layer only) in the freezer. Once the ravioli have frozen solid (half an hour or so), you can transfer them into a zip-top plastic bag and continue to freeze until ready to use. When ready to serve, drop the frozen ravioli directly into a large pot of salted boiling water for 4 or 5 minutes. Carefully remove cooked ravioli with a slotted spoon and then toss with sauce.

Filling: Spring Pea, Garlic Scape, Italian White Bean Purée

¾ cup garlic scapes, diced
1 cup shelled peas
1 tablespoon butter
¼ cup olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground pepper
2 cups cooked white beans, drained

Lightly sauté the garlic scapes and peas in butter until softened. Transfer to the bowl of food processor. Blend the scapes, peas, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper until fairly smooth. Add the cooked beans and blend again. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Let cool before filling the ravioli.

Garlic Scape-Kale Pesto Sauce
Makes about 1½ cups of pesto
From 365daysofkale.com

1 cup garlic scapes, chopped
3-5 leaves kale, stems removed
⅓ cup pecans, toasted
¾ cup olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
Black pepper to taste

Process scapes, kale, and nuts in the bowl of a food processor until well combined and somewhat smooth but not completely pureed. Slowly drizzle in oil and process again until incorporated. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Chinese Tea Eggs - 茶叶蛋 （cháyèdàn)

I often contribute recipes to the blog of my friends' tea company, Arbor Teas. Here is the latest recipe I developed using one of their teas.

A tea egg is a traditional snack food commonly sold by street vendors or in markets throughout Chinese communities. It's a hard-cooked egg steeped with tea leaves and traditional Chinese spices, which adds a savory, slightly salty tone to a normally neutral flavored source of protein. The shell cracking method is an important feature in this recipe that not only lends to a beautiful design, but allows the tea and spices to seep into the egg white. The tea used for making tea eggs is usually high in dark-brown tannins. Pu-erh is commonly used, but it can be substituted with any black tea leaf. Green tea is often considered too bitter, but may be worth trying if you'd like to explore the effects of the marbling pattern from an entire color palate of organic loose leaf teas from Arbor Teas.

I like the idea of imparting unique flavors directly to a hard-cooked egg, but I'm not one to eat such things directly out of hand. A quick poll of the egg-eating habits of some friends, however, confirms that I seem to be in the minority. In any case, if you're like me and prefer to incorporate hard-cooked eggs into other recipes here are a few suggestions to take tea-steeped eggs to the next level:

• Sieved over roasted fresh asparagus or a salad of spring greens. Press the eggs through a strainer, or grate on the finest facet of a box grater to create mimosa flower-like bits.
• Deviled with whole-grain mustard and cream fraiche to serve at you next picnic or barbeque
• Mashed with olive oil and sea salt. Enjoy as creamy sandwich filling between slices of crusty bread
• Stirred into a sauce gribiche, a vinaigrette bound with chopped hard-cooked egg, shallots, capers and herbs that makes a fine complement to roasted potatoes or grilled fish

Chinese Tea Eggs

6 eggs
2 TBS organic loose leaf Pu'erh
¾ cup soy sauce
2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp dark brown sugar
4 pieces star anise
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp cracked black peppercorns
2 strips dried tangerine or mandarin orange peel (optional)

Place the eggs in a medium-sized pot with enough cool water to cover by 1-inch. Bring the water to a boil, then lower heat to simmer for 3 minutes.

Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl of cool water. Reserve the simmering water in the pot for use in the next step of the recipe. When cool enough to handle, take the back of a spoon and gently crack the eggs evenly all around the shell. Take care when cracking to leave the shell intact. This allows the dark steeping liquid to seep into the egg white, staining it with a marbled design. The more you crack, the more intricate the design will be.

Add the remaining ingredients to the pot of simmering water, stirring to combine. Return the cracked eggs to the pot as well. Bring the liquid to boil again, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 40 minutes. Turn off the heat and cover the pot with a lid. Let the eggs steep for a few hours to overnight. The longer the eggs steep, the more intense the flavor and color will be.

Drain the eggs, peel and serve. Unpeeled eggs can be refrigerated in a covered container for up to 4 days.

Signs of Spring...

A fresh batch of painted sugar cookies from Heather and Olivia take shape as butterflies and snails to herald the arrival of Spring.

Please believe us when we say this technique is super easy. Recipes and inspiration can be found here and here and here and here. Custom orders are welcome as well...

Here's a few more photos of our favorites: