Raw. Vegan. Beet Ravioli with Macadamia "Cheese" Filling + Shaved Fennel Arugula Salad (RAW)

So I finally made this dish for my Valentine last night... Beet RaWvioli! A little late since we were not home for the special day. This is a raw dish, which is wonderfully light yet satisfying with the nutty "cheese" filling and the rich pesto sauce. Using the candy cane beets added a perfect Valentine twist! If you were to use golden beets and cut them square, they'd look a lot more like ravioli. There are lots of raw beet ravioli recipes roaming the web. I had never heard of them until recently!

The one thing that you will need if you undertake this recipe is a good mandolin. I have a really flimsy one and it was not easy to slice those hard beet roots, especially as thin as I wanted, which I never managed. But it eventually worked with lots of trial and error...

You'll want 4-5 beets about 4 inches in diameter. Be prepared to lose some in the slicing process. I just cut up the ones that didn't turn out well and cooked them.

After you've sliced the beets, use a cookie cutter if you want for a special shape, or just stack them and cut them into squares. Then make a marinade of the juice of 1/2 lemon, 1/2 tsp low-salt soy sauce, like Bragg's Liquid Aminos, and 2 TBS olive oil and soak them for about 2 hours. Note: Save the marinade as you will use it later.

    ~ for the "cheese" filling

Ingredients:

• 1 cup raw macadamia nuts, soaked for 4-5 hours, then rinsed well
• 1 clove garlic
• 3 TBS water
• 2 large basil leaves
• 1 medjool date
• 2 tsp nutritional yeast

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in food processor and pulse until smooth but still a bit grainy; you want a consistency similar to ricotta cheese. Add a little more water if needed.
2. Note: When you assemble the rawviolis, wipe any excess marinade from the beet slices. Otherwise the filling will slide out very easily!

    ~ for the creamy pesto sauce 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup raw cashews
• 1 cup water
• bunch of fresh basil, thick stems removed
• few handfuls fresh spinach
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Directions:

1. Place cashews in high powered blender and add enough water just to cover.
2. Blend until smooth.
3. Add remaining ingredients and blend again until smooth.
4. Add a little more water if needed. The spinach will really make this sauce smooth and thick.

    ~ for the salad

Ingredients:

• 1 large fennel bulb
• 2 cups baby arugula
• Remaining marinade from your beets

Directions:

1. Using your mandolin, slice the fennel bulb as thinly as possible.
2. Toss with the arugula and leftover marinade.

Serves two Valentines ❤ ❤

Healthy trails,