Ravioli and stuffed pastas have been one of my favourite foods since I was a kid. There’s just something so fun about tiny little pasta parcels full of cheeses and meats. Learning to make my own therefore was a very exciting time. Homemade ravioli doesn’t need to look as perfect and fancy as store bought or professional stuff. So don’t be concerned if your first batch is all different sizes or wonky shaped. It’s all about the soft, rich, fresh pasta dough, and stuffing them full of your favourite ingredients.
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There’s something very warming and comforting about big ol’ three cheese raviolis. As the Autumn rolls in I start craving those little cheesy pillows. And since we had a cold snap last week here in the Ottawa Valley, I thought it was time to jump into some ravioli.
How to Serve
I don’t normally go too wild with my sauces or accompaniments to ravioli, as I like the focus of the dish to be on the pastas themselves. And in the autumn there’s really nothing better than brown butter, crispy sage, and a little bacon. When it comes to cheeses for your filling, it’s good to start with a base of ricotta for the creaminess, and then you can choose whatever you like. I love old cheddar and parmesan for my basic three cheese mix.
My fresh pasta dough recipe always get cut into two pieces and I end up usually saving one of the halves for future use, since there’s only two people in our house. So I use one of the two halves for 2 servings.
Rolling the Dough
If you don’t have a pasta roller, don’t despair! You can still roll your ravioli dough with a rolling pin. You’re aiming for long lasagne shaped, paper thin pieces. If you’re using a pasta roller, then you want to roll the strips of dough down to the lowest setting.
Filling the Ravioli
Next you can use a ravioli mould like the one below, and lay the dough across it. Push down the little holes a bit and pack them full of your filling.
You want them to be quite full, so that you’re less likely to have air pockets. Using a damp finger, wet the dough in between and all around each cavity.
Next, cover the filled raviolis with the second piece of dough and roll across the top with a small rolling pin to seal them up.
Then flip them out, separate the raviolis and set them aside on a lined baking tray.
If you don’t have a ravioli mould, simply lay the dough strip on your counter, and heap small mounds of your filling at even intervals along the dough.
Then, again, wet the dough all around the mounds, and lay the second dough on top. Press the dough firmly the seal up the parcels, then cut them with a knife or a ravioli cutter.
Once you’ve filled all your dough and have a good collection of raviolis ready to go, it’s time to cook them! Boil a large pot of salted water, and boil the ravioli for 1-2 minutes. You want them soft but not mushy.
Ready to Serve!
I like serving these up with buttery, sagey, bacony goodness. If you’re going to do something like that, cook them for a few seconds less. Cook a few slices of chopped bacon in a cast iron pan, and set aside. In the bacon fat, fry a few sliced sage leaves until crisp, then set aside. Pour out the bacon fat (reserve for another use!) and add the butter to brown. Once your butter is nutty smelling and brown turn off the heat, add the ravioli, bacon, and sage. Toss to coat, and serve with more parmesan and some fresh sage leaves. SO. FLIPPIN. GOOD.
3 Cheese Ravioli
Ingredients
- 1/2 recipe Fresh Pasta Dough Link Below
- 1 cup Fresh Ricotta Link Below
- 1/2 cup Parmesan grated
- 1/2 cup Old Cheddar grated
- Salt and Pepper
- Flour for dusting
For Serving
- 2 slices Good quality Bacon Chopped
- 8-10 Fresh Sage Leaves
- 1/2 cup Butter
- Parmesan
Instructions
- First mix up your filling. Combine the 3 cheeses in a bowl and stir together. You want them well incorporated and slightly whipped in texture. Add salt and pepper and adjust to your tastes. Set aside.
- Remove your pasta dough from the fridge. You still want it cold to work with so don't let it sit out for too long before starting to roll. Cut the disc of dough in half. Shape the halves into rough oblongs that are as close to rectangular as possible. Either by hand or with a pasta roller, slowly roll each piece until it's paper thin and about the shape of lasagne sheets. You will have to cut each piece in half part way through rolling or it will get too long to handle easily. This means you'll get 2 pieces from each half of the dough, 4 total.
- Lay the first piece of dough onto a ravioli mould. Gently press the dough into the indentations and make sure the dough is aligned still at each end of the mould. Fill each cavity with a heaped mound of the cheese mix. Do this with a spoon or with a piping bag.
- Using a finger dipped in a cup of water, gently wet the dough around each cavity to create the glue that will hold the raviolis together. Lay the next sheet of dough across the top. Using a rolling pin, roll across the top of the mould to press the two sheets together and seal up the ravioli. Flip them out and separate the little parcels. Set them aside on a lined baking sheet while you roll and fill the rest. If you aren't using a mould: Lay your first piece of dough out on a floured surface. Making small mounds of filling at about 3/4" intervals in two rows along the dough. Wet the dough all around the mounds, and lay the next piece of dough onto. Press dough firmly between and around each mound to seal them up. Then cut between each of the mounds.
- Put a large pot of water on to boil.
- While the pot comes to a boil, prepare your "sauce" for serving. Cook the bacon to your preferred doneness, set aside to drain. In the bacon fat, fry the sliced sage leaves for a few seconds on each side to crisp them up. Then set them aside to drain as well. Pour out the bacon fat from the pan. Then add the butter and gently cook over medium low heat until it's brown in colour and has a nutty smell. Turn off the heat, and cook the pasta.
- When the water is boiling, add your ravioli and boil for about a minute. Using a slotted spoon, remove the ravioli into the pan with the brown butter.
- Add the bacon and sage back to the pan and toss everything to coat the ravioli. Serve and top with grated parmesan, fresh sage leaves, and black pepper.
LizaLeigh
