Ravioli with Spinach and Ricotta (Italian recipe made Gluten Free)
I had failed once. Why trying pasta at home again?
The main reason for me to try my luck once more with fresh homemade pasta is because I was craving ravioli. So bad. And in Malaysia there is no shop, or market that I could find that is selling it.
They say will is power. So I gave it a shot. And oh man I was happy this time!
These Ravioli with Spinach and Ricotta were so good, so tasty, so much like home that I couldn’t believe it. I think this variation of ravioli, with spinach and ricotta, is the most common italian ravioli recipe that I’ve had while growing up. It’s naturally vegetarian, so it’s a great meatless option.
Of course there are more ways to prepare ravioli. My second favourite recipe is probably pumkin ravioli, I might try that next time.
In the meantime, as always, I’m not keeping my secrets all by myself, but I’m sharing with you. You’re welcome! The recipe is divided in 2 parts:
Making the Dough - I described the recipe and step by step process in the Homemade Pasta recipe (step 1 to step 4.f)
Making Ravioli - the rest of the process is described below.
Enjoy.
Ingredients (4 people)
Dough made with 250 gr flour blend, 2 eggs, 1 yolk (like this recipe)
250 gr spinach
250 gr ricotta
50 gr parmesan cheese
Salt, pepper, nutmeg to taste
To season:
50 gr butter
10 leaves of sage
Salt, pepper and grated parmesan to taste.
Making Ravioli
Prepare the filling while the dough is resting, before it’s flattened. The steps for the pasta dough are described here.
Briefly cook the spinach in boiling water for 2 minutes. Transfer in a sieve and let all the water out.
Chop the spinach by hand or in a food processor for a few seconds. Mix in the ricotta and parmesan and create a dense cream.
Season with salt and pepper, I also love to add some fresh ground nutmeg. Leave the filling in the refrigerator while you work out the dough to a thin pasta rectangle.
Use a cookie cutter to form pasta disks (I used one of 4-5 cm diameter).
You will place one teaspoon of filling in half the disks, the other halves are to cover.
To make one raviolo: place the filling in the middle of a disk, brush a bit of water on the sides of the pasta disk (around the filling), place another empty pasta disk on top, seal the raviolo with a fork, pressing delicately but firmly all over the perimeter.
Complete all the ravioli like this.
Once the pasta is ready, cook in boiling water until the ravioli start to float on top (it should take about 3 minutes). Note: if you are boiling all the ravioli together you need at least a big cooking pot with 5-6 liters of water. Otherwise you can cook them in 2 batches.
Remove the water and season the ravioli with your favourite sauce: tomato sauce, cream and mushroom sauce...up to you.
This time I did it with simple butter and sage. While the ravioli are cooking, melt 50 grams of butter and add the sage leaves (fresh, frozen, chopped, every option is ok). Add the ravioli while hot after you’ve drained the water (you can add a bit of the cooking water if you prefer a more creamy result). Let it absorb the flavour for a minute over low-heat, and get ready to serve. Season with salt, pepper and parmesan to taste.
TIPS:
How to preserve the ravioli?
You can freeze them for at least 1 month. Complete the steps until #8, sprinkle a little bit of flour on the ravioli, and place in a big plastic bag (suitable for freezing food) and distribute the ravioli so they don’t touch each other (you can use a tray as a base if you need a flat support) and place in the freezer.
You can remove the tray after 2-3h.
