Monday, March 8, 2010

Homemade Four Cheese Ravioli

For all those chefs that want a bigger challenge, we have the recipe for you. Homemade ravioli sound like an impossible feat but we are here to prove you wrong. It may take some time but the final result is absolutely amazing. What's even better, you can freeze the leftover ravioli for a later date.

Here's the recipe:

Basic Pasta Dough:
4 large eggs
1TBS water
3 1/2C sifted flour
1/2 tsp salt

Filling:
15oz carton Ricotta Cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan, Romano, asiago cheese blend (or your fav Cheese blend)
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp garlic powder


For the pasta, add the eggs, flour, water, and salt to your mixer and beat with the flat beater for 30 sec. Exchange the beater for the dough hook and kneed for 2 min.

Turn the dough out on to a floured surface and kneed until the dough is elastic and smooth.

Cover the dough with a bowl and let the dough rest for 20-30 min.

While the dough is resting start the filling. Add the cheeses, egg, salt, pepper, parsley, and garlic powder into a bowl and mix well. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it refrigerate for 30min.

Cut the dough in to 4 equal portions and flatten each quarter into a 1/4 inch thick rectangle.

Using a pasta roller, or if you are up for the challenge you can use a rolling pin, to roll out each quarter to desired thickness.

Cut the dough into circles, we found this great dough press that makes the perfect sized half-moon ravioli. Someday we will be able to purchase a ravioli maker but until then this cost-effective gadget is perfect!

Add a spoonful of filling to the dough, being careful not to over-fill it.

Use a small amount of water to moisten the edge of the dough, fold it over and seal it together. Lay the ravioli in a single layer on a floured baking sheet to dry for 10-15min.

Bring water to a boil and add the ravioli. To prevent them from breaking turn the heat down to keep it at a gentle boil. Fresh ravioli will cook in 5-6min and frozen ravioli will cook in 8-9min.

Drain the ravioli and rinse with hot water to stop them from over cooking and sticking together. Top the ravioli with you favorite sauce and enjoy!

This is a labor intensive process, but is well worth the effort. The best part is that it will make 50-60 ravioli so you can eat some and then freeze the rest! Nothing beats homemade pasta, and this one this will really impress as well.

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

Fill with mashed potato and cheese instead, boil, fry in butter and onions....wa laaa ! Polish pierogi's