Maultaschen: German Ravioli
[Vegan]

To Make the Noodle Dough:

1. Combine the ingredients in a bowl and begin to knead the dough until smooth. This may take some time and patience. If you feel you need a bit more water, sprinkle some over the dough with your hand and then knead some more. Spelt flour needs more water than white flour, and more patience when kneading.
2. Once well combined (can still be somewhat dry in the middle) and smooth on the outside, cover the dough with plastic wrap and allow it to sit overnight in a warm spot. This helps the water to evenly diffuse through the dough, giving you a nice smooth dough to work with the following day.

To Make the Filling:

1. Strain the oat groats from the soaking water and place into a saucepan. For every one part oat groats, add about 3 parts water. Add a vegetable bouillon cube and garlic clove and bring to boil. Reduce the heat and cook slowly until the groats have become creamy. This will take about an hour with a saucepan, and less with a pressure cooker. Stirring the groats every once in a while makes them creamier.
2. Once groats are fully cooked and creamy, with no liquid remaining, use an immersion blender and blend the groats until most groats are puréed, and some whole. You are trying to imitate a texture of ground beef.
3. Sauté the onions in the oil until browned. Meanwhile, soak day old bread in lukewarm water. In a large bowl, add sautéed onions, cooked spinach, and fresh parsley. Squeeze out day old bread and add to the large bowl. Stir the mixture well and season with salt, pepper, nutmeg, and chili flakes. Add the oat groat mixture and mix well. Add more salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste.

To Make the Maultaschen:

1. Separate the dough in half. It is easier to do the batch in two sections than in one.
2. Sprinkle flour on your working surface and roll out the dough until very thin. Try to keep the dough in a rectangular shape. Make sure as you roll out the dough that you flip it every so often and dust with flour. You do not want the dough to be sticky.
3. Once rolled out cut into rectangles that are about 6-inches long and 3-inches wide. You don’t need to measure them exactly, just estimate. Mix together the cornstarch and water in a little bowl and set it near your working station — this is the glue for the maultaschen.
4. Take one rectangle and dust the top with flour. Roll the rectangle out a bit more to get a nice thin rectangle. Flip and dust with flour again. Using your finger, line the edges of the noodle rectangle with the cornstarch and water mixture. Then, place about 2 tablespoons of the filling onto the rectangle and spread it out 2/3 of the length-always leaving the edge free.
5. From left to right, flip the dough three times and press the edges with a fork. Repeat with all the dough and all of the filling. Set finished maultaschen aside.
6. When the first batch is finished, fill a large saucepan with 1/3 cup water and add a bouillon cube, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a medium-low and add only enough maultaschen so that they do not lay on top of each other. Do not let the water boil. Cook for 10-12 minutes.
7. With a slotted spoon, place them individually on a large baking sheet or wire rack to cool. Do not stack one on top of the other, as they will stick.
8. Once they are cool, you can then freeze them, refrigerate them, sauté them, or bake them. If you choose to refrigerate or freeze them, you must reheat them in a broth for 10 minutes.