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Ravioli
Homemade ravioli with ricotta and basil filling
Course: Pasta
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
  • Pasta Dough
  • 2 1/2 C. "OO" flour
  • 1 t. fine sea salt
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 T. extra-virgin olive oil
  • Semolina flour for dusting pasta and surfaces
  • For Filling
  • Sea salt
  • 6 ounces about 4 cups fresh spinach
  • 2 ounces mozzarella shredded
  • 1 cup ricotta cheese
  • 1 T. thinly-sliced basil leaves
  • 1/8 t. freshly grated nutmeg
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • For Sauce
  • 1 T. olive oil
  • 1 medium shallot finely minced
  • 1 medium clove of minced garlic
  • 1 twenty-eight ounce can of peeled plum tomatoes with juice coarsely chopped
  • 1/2 t. crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 T. minced thyme leaves
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Chopped parsley and shaved parmesan for garnish
Instructions
  1. For Dough
  2. Place flour, salt, eggs and oil in the bowl of a large mixer (I used my Kitchen Aid mixer. Mix for 30 seconds until ingredients are incorporated. (Use the paddle attachment for this purpose.) Alternatively, you can make a well in the center of your mound of flour, add the other ingredients and mix your dough by hand.
  3. When the ingredients are fully incorporated, change your mixer attachment to the dough hook. Process for several minutes with the dough hook until the dough forms a ball in the mixer bowl.
  4. Move dough onto a solid surface and knead it for approximately ten minutes until the cough becomes smooth. Wrap dough in saran wrap and let it rest for a half hour.
  5. Run your dough through your pasta machine following the manufacturer's directions for ravioli dough.
  6. Here is a good link from Serious Eats about how to make homemade ravioli:
  7. http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/02/how-to-make-homemade-ravioli-recipe.html
  8. To make the ravioli filling, briefly (30 seconds) boil fresh spinach in salted water. Then, quickly move the spinach to an ice bath. Remove spinach from ice water and squeeze out as much of the water as you can. Coarsely chop the spinach and set aside. Add mozzarella, ricotta, basil, nutmeg and black pepper to a bowl. Add the chopped spinach and stir the mixture to combine. Refrigerate until ready to use.
  9. To make the sauce, heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add shallot and garlic to the hot oil and sauté for about two minutes. Be careful not to let the garlic burn. Stir in the tomatoes, red pepper flakes, and thyme. Simmer the sauce for about 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to season.
  10. To cook the ravioli, add prepared ravioli to salted boiling water. Boil for approximately four minutes. When the ravioli float to the top, they are almost done. Use a spider or a slotted spoon to remove the ravioli from the pan. Blot with a paper towel. Plate and dollop a bit of sauce on top of the ravioli. Garnish with chopped parsley and parmesan.
Recipe Notes

I bought OO flour online through Amazon. It is also available at Whole Foods. In a pinch, you can substitute all purpose flour.

I used a can of Cento brand San Marzano tomatoes from Trader Joe's. To my taste, this a very good tasting tomato for all sorts of recipes.

To help seal the ravioli, I brushed some water on the edges of the lower layer of dough before sealing the packet with the top layer of dough. Alternatively, you could brush some egg whites on the dough to seal it.