Lamb Ravioli with Roasted Yellow Pepper Sauce

Kitchen Monkey had his wisdom teeth out this past Friday, so it's all about soft foods for the next few days. No one likes getting a bit of tortilla chip stuck in their socket.

I recently came by some Virginia-raised halal ground lamb, and figured it was time to make ravioli again. The filling can be changed up if you like, with different herbs, or different cheese. The sauce matches really well with the lamb though. Neither are too overbearing. There are plenty of places online to find homemade pasta recipes and ravioli instructions, and as usual, I'm feeling lazy, so here's the basics:

Lamb Ravioli with Roasted Yellow Pepper Sauce

Ravioli Filling

2 lbs. of ground lamb
4 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped (get rid of the stems, of course)
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 egg
1/2 lb. finely grated parmesan
Salt and pepper

Sautee the garlic at low heat in the olive oil, remove from heat after five minutes or so, before the garlic begins to brown. Strain the olive oil into a separate container, set the olive oil aside, and combine the garlic with the remaining ingredients and mix well. This is your filling. Make your ravioli, then set aside in the fridge. We usually like to make too many and freeze half for another day. The above amount will make approximately 40 to 50 ravioli, depending on the size you make.

Roasted Yellow Pepper Sauce

3 yellow peppers
3 large or 6 medium shallots, peeled and sliced
2 Tbsp. olive oil
6 medium fresh tomatoes, halved
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
olive oil reserved from the garlic for the ravioli
salt and pepper

(1) Cut the yellow peppers into quarters from top to bottom, removing the seeds and stems. Lay flat on a cookie sheet and put on the top rack of the oven, and set on broil. Watch after about 5 minutes, and remove when the skins are completely black. Allow them to cool or run under cold water, and the skins will peel off easily. Discard.
(2) place the halved tomatoes in a casserole, skin side up, and set in a 450 degree oven, for about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat, and once cool remove the skins, which should come right off. Discard the liquid in the casserole.
(3) Sautee the shallots in olive oil until translucent, do not allow to brown.
(4) Place the shallots in a food processor and puree. Place all the remaining ingredients, including the olive oil reserved from the garlic above, in a food processor and puree.
(5) Once smooth, pour the sauce in a saucepan over medium-low heat for 15 - 20 minutes.

Boil the ravioli in generously salted water, for about 7 minutes. Cut one in half to make sure the lamb is cooked. Serve with the sauce and a generous sprinkling of grated parmesan.