Spinach Ricotta Ravioli

I’m a big Italian eater - give me pasta, any kind of pasta and I’m a happy girl. I figured it was about time I gave ravioli a go and now I can be a happy girl whenever my heart desires.

My favorite part of these? The fact that no two ravioli were alike. :)

One note: sorry for the poor lighting in these pictures. I’m still getting used to the lights in my new kitchen…

SPINACH RICOTTA RAVIOLI RECIPE

Ingredients (makes 50-60 ravioli)

For the filling:

  • 12 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained of all water
  • 1 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
  • pinch of grated nutmeg
  • 1 tbsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper

For the pasta:

  • 4 cups all purpose flour
  • 6 eggs
  • 1 tsp salt

For the filling, begin by making sure the spinach is thawed and completely drained of all liquid (this part is really important because when it comes to filling your ravioli, the extra liquid will make it difficult to seal the dough together). Combine the spinach with the rest of the filling ingredients and stir until evenly incorporated.

Set the filling aside and clear your counter off. Pour 4 cups of flour directly onto the counter and create a hole in the middle of the mound. Crack the 6 eggs directly into the center of the flour. For this amount of pasta, I would suggest beating the eggs in a separate bowl and then pouring it into the center of the flour. Add your salt. With a fork, start combining the flour with eggs until a dough is formed. Knead the dough until everything comes together, adding as much flour as you need along the way. The dough will be lumpy.

Place the dough on a lightly floured surface (it will be lumpy, that’s okay) and cut it into three or four pieces. Set the pieces you’re not using aside under a damp towel - always keep the dough moist. Flour your counter and rolling pin. Roll out each piece to as thin as you possibly can. Cut the dough using a pizza cutter into 1 - 1.5 inch squares. Take each square and roll it out so that it’s even thinner. Ideally, you should be able to see your hand through the dough. Place a dollop of filling on each piece of dough and then fold it over on itself.

Then using the pizza cutter again, trim any excess dough and crimp the sides using a fork. If you’re having trouble getting the dough to stick together, dampen it a bit with some water. Place aside under a towel as you continue working.

When all your raviolis are formed, bring a pot of water to a boil and season with salt. In 3 batches, boil the ravioli. If your dough is very thin you only need to boil each batch for 4-5 minutes. If your dough was thicker, I’d suggest boiling each batch for 10-13 minutes.

In a saucepan, melt 3 tbsp butter, add the ravioli to the melted butter as they come out of the water.

Serve your ravioli plain, with the butter, marinara sauce, vodka sauce, alfredo sauce, cheese, no cheese, however your heart desires! It will be delicious though, I promise!

ENJOY!