Homemade Ravioli!!

Last week after making ultra thick fettuccine for pasta night I vowed that this week I would make ravioli. And so I did. I was very excited about making ravioli and the experience has inspired me to make more in the future and get it perfect. Even in it's first attempt non-perfect state it was pretty good.

For the Love of a Pasta Roller

Let me just say that it is essential to have a pasta roller for ravioli. The dough cannot be too thick and it would be nearly impossible to roll it out so thin without the roller. There are only about four or five pasta rollers available for purchase in the United States, ranging from $40 - $200. I researched them and decided that the Mercado Atlas 150 (coming in around $80) would fit my needs. The MA150 had consistently good reviews on the many websites I consulted. Unfortunately my first attempt to purchase a pasta roller was a failure. I purchased it from a bogus website and never received my merchandise. Luckily I had paid through Paypal and was able to get a full refund. Anyway, things were looking bleak for a ravioli making session this week until I finally decided to pay slightly more and go to a local kitchen supply store. At least I was certain to come home with a roller and therefore able to embark upon the ravioli making journey.

My Atlas 150 and My 2 Year Old
A pasta roller is unquestionably a fun piece of equipment to have in your kitchen. I opted for a model without a motor (anything I can do to burn calories while in the kitchen) and quickly realized that the absolute biggest advantage to using my pasta roller was that not only could my 2yo help out with it but she was actually very helpful and it was easier to cook because she was participating. She stood on her chair and cranked every single piece of pasta over and over for me, freeing up my hands to feed and catch the pasta as it rolled. And she had a great time doing so. Another bonus: since she was so involved in the cooking she ate really well at dinner tonight. She was so excited about the ravioli.

The Ravioli Making Process

Due to my irrational tendency to complicate things in the kitchen, I chose to do both a meat filling and a cheese filling in my raviolis. And not only that, I decided to make so much filling that I would never have to cook ravioli ever again. When cooking ravioli it is important to figure out how much rest time the various components need. The fillings generally have to be refrigerated for at least an hour so they stick together better. The dough needs to rest for at least 30 minutes so it relaxes and is easier to roll out. Given these parameters I started my fillings first. The recipes were from my Williams Sonoma Pasta cookbook (which I highly recommend if you are new to this whole pasta thing). After the fillings were started I made my dough. There are many different recipes for making dough out there. My friend Sue experimented with dough making this week and her recipe follows. Making pasta dough is one of those things that requires some attention to detail. No recipe can work the same every time. You need to get a feel for the dough to get it right.

Once the dough is rested and the fillings are ready it is time to roll out the pasta. At this point I always put my pot of water to boil because that can take a long time. With ravioli you don't want a rapid boil, something closer to a simmer is desirable. I rolled out my dough to two thicknesses - the #2 setting on the roller which I believe is 1/16" and the #3 setting which is a little thinner. Next time I do this I am going to try the #4 setting because I really like thinner pasta when it comes to ravioli. The #2 setting was much to thick, #3 was okay and if I can get #4 to work without breaking I think that will be the winner.

When I purchased my roller I also bought a round ravioli stamp. I wanted a pasta cutter but the store was all out of them. I believe, after using the stamp, that the cutter would be an easier tool. Of course, you could just use a knife but I wanted to cool edge.

Basically you roll the pasta out into a long sheet and then place very small drops of filling at whatever interval you need for your stamp or cutter or whatnot. It is important to not overfill your ravioli. I made this mistake with a few of mine and the center took too long to cook, overcooking the pasta. A teaspoon is really sufficient (and since I have six cups of filling left over you now know that I was not exaggerating when I said I made too much - a little goes a long way). Using your finger, put a cold water ring around your filling and fold over the pasta, sealing the filling. Work out any air bubbles that remain inside. Air bubbles will cause your raviolis to burst.

Once you have completed all of your raviolis place them, a few at a time, in gently boiling water. They are done when they pop to the surface. Add some sauce and serve. So delicious, and really quite easy once you get the hang of it.

Sue's Dough Recipe

four cups flour
four eggs
salt
sprinke of olive oil
cold water till it willingly forms a ball