Homemade Ravioli

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Homemade ravioli - stuffed pasta pillows! Comfort food doesn't get much more comforting than this. In Italy there are many stuffed pastas like tortelli, tortellini, and agnolotti, to name just a few. However, authentic Italian ravioli was stuffed with cheese and vegetables like spinach, while tortelli was stuffed with meat. Now, the distinction between tortelli and ravioli seems almost forgotten.

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Mound the flour on a board and make a well in the center. Add the eggs.

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Using a fork, scramble the eggs slowly incorporating some of the flour along the edges until the dough comes together into a shaggy mass.

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Finish the dough by hand kneading it into a smooth ball.

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Cut the dough into four sections. Flatten one section at a time and begin passing it through your pasta machine.

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Lay the finished pasta sheet out, over the ravioli mould.

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Use the plastic press to mould the pasta for the filling.

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Using a spoon or pastry bag, fill each of the raviolis.

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Lay a second pasta sheet over the top and press to seal the edges.

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To cut the raviolis use a rolling pin with firm pressure. Go back and forth a couple of times.

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Empty the press and repeat.

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Roasted Red Pepper And Goat Cheese Ravioli in a Fig and White Balsamic Sauce

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• Yield: 8 as an appetizer, 4 as a main course
• Prep Time: 90 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes

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Equipment

• Pasta Machine
• Ravioli Mould with Press
• Pasta Cutter

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Ingredients

For The Filling

• 6 ounces goat cheese
• 10 ounces whole milk ricotta
• 2 large eggs
• 2 red peppers, roasted and peeled, recipe follows
• kosher salt, to taste
• fresh cracked pepper, to taste

For The Pasta

• 500 grams all-purpose flour
• 3 large eggs
• 7 egg yolks

For Assembly

• 1 egg, beaten with a tablespoon of water

For The Sauce

• 15 calmyrna figs - cut in half
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup White Wine
• 1 Tbsp White Balsamic Vinegar
• Juice of 1 Lemon
• zest of 1/2 lemon
• 2 to 3 sprigs lemon thyme - picked
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch piece

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Method

For the Filling 

1. Roast the peppers until the skin is charred and blistered.Place pepper in a small bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let rest for 15 to 20 minutes.
2. Combine the ricotta and goat cheese together and mix well. Add the egg and mix well again. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Peel the pepper and rinse. Remove the stem, seeds, and pith. Place peeled pepper between layers of paper towels and press to remove excess moisture.
4. Dice the pepper into pieces about 1/8th by 1/8th inch. Add to cheese mixture and stir to combine. Set aside.

For the Pasta 

1. Mound the flour on a cutting board or pasta board, making a well in the middle.
2. Crack the eggs into the well and add the yolks. Beat gently with a fork to scramble the eggs while incorporating some of the flour.
3. Keep beating the dough until it comes together into a shaggy mass. Work the dough with your hands kneading until smooth.
4. Wrap in plastic wrap and let it rest for 15 to 20 minutes.
5. Once the dough has rested, section the dough into four pieces.
6. Working one section of dough at a time pass the dough through the pasta roller starting with the widest setting and working down to the thinnest. Be certain to keep remaining dough covered with plastic or a damp towel to prevent drying out. As the dough stretches it is going to get very long and become difficult to work with. For the last two settings cut the dough in half and continue rolling.
7. Once the pasta sheet is rolled trim the sheet so that it overlaps the ravioli mold by about 1 1/2 inches all the way around.

Assembly

1. Prepare the ravioli press by coating the flat surfaces with flour. This step is really important, if the ravioli mold isn't coated with flour the pasta is going to stick and you'll never get them off without destroying them.
2. Lay the sheet out over the ravioli mould, using the press to make pillows.
3. Brush the edges of the sheet with a little beaten egg and water mix.
4. Fill each pillow with some of the filling and lay another sheet over the top. Press firmly to seal and cut ravioli using a rolling pin.
5. Set individual raviolis on a floured work surface and repeat until all of the dough is used up.

To Cook 

1. Bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil. Salt it liberally, and add the ravioli. Cook until ravioli start to float. Strain in a colander and toss with sauce.

For the Sauce 

1. Saute figs in olive oil until heated through and just beginning to soften.
2. Add the white wine, balsamic, lemon juice, zest and lemon thyme. Boil until it reduces by half.
3. Add the honey and sugar and continue cooking over low heat until the sauce thickens.
4. Add the butter a piece at a time working it into a pan sauce. Toss with the Ravioli.

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About Homemade Ravioli

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Making pasta for homemade ravioli differs from making pasta. Ravioli pasta is an all white flour dough. The reason for this is that white flour tends to be more elastic than semolina.

If you try and make homemade ravioli using semolina pasta dough it's going to tear and rip. It can be done, but it means making each individual ravioli by hand.

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Notes

How To Roast Peppers

1. You can roast peppers on a grill, under the broiler, or if you have a gas range, you can roast the peppers right on the burners. Place the pepper on the grate and turn on the gas, to high. You're not actually trying to cook the peppers just blacken the skin. Carefully rotate the peppers as the skin begins to blacken until the whole pepper is black.
2. Place the blackened peppers in an aluminum or ceramic work bowl and seal the bowl with plastic wrap. Allow them to rest for 20 to 30 minutes. 
3. Remove the peppers and peel away the skin. The easiest way to do it is with a clean, lint free, kitchen towel. Just wipe the skin away. Next remove the stem and seeds. When you're done give the flesh a quick rinse and set aside.

Tags: homemade ravioli, Italian ravioli

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