Ricotta and Basil Ravioli

OK, I was on a pasta roll before but it's even worse (or better I guess) now that I got a pasta attachment set for the mixer!!!! It has the pasta roller, spaghetti cutter and fettuccine cutter.  LOVE it. LOOOOOOVE it.  LUUURVEE it.  It's SOOOOO quick and easy to roll the pasta now.  Really, I'm in love.  Is it wrong to love a hunk of metal and some gears?

The weekend before last we went to Whole Foods for a few things.  We try to avoid that place cause you can easily spend your child's inheritance there but we do go every now and then.  I picked up a tub of fresh ricotta hoping to make some ravioli with it.  I also picked up a basil plant, the hydroponics type that is not meant to be kept alive.  A couple of days later I made these ravioli and froze them for a quick meal some other time.  Tonight was that time.  The filling was so nice and rich.  You could definitely taste the basil but it wasn't overpowering.  I used tomato sauce as a complement rather than to drown to the ravioli in it and it was great, it did not mask the flavor of the ricotta filling. Again, Matt gobbled it right up.  I guess he's really starting to like pasta!

Ricotta and Basil Ravioli


For the dough:
2 cups all purpose flour
3 large eggs, beaten


In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the flat beater, mix the flour and eggs for about 1 minute.  Scrape the dough off the beater and change to the dough hook.  Knead for about 3 minutes.  The dough will look dry and pebbly.  Bring the dough together with your hands and knead, by hand, until it has come together fully.  You may need to add a small amount of water but not much.  Flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

For the filling:
1 cup ricotta cheese
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup minced fresh basil
1/2 tsp salt
ground black pepper to taste.


Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix until well integrated.  Can be covered and refrigerated overnight.


Assemble the ravioli following these instructions if working by hand.  You can also follow these instructions or your preferred method.


Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, add a small amount of olive oil.  Cook the ravioli in batches until they float. This may take as little as a minute or as much as 4 if frozen.  It really depends on a lot of factors so watch the pot.  Serve with your preferred sauce.


Serves 4

There are a ton of resources on the internet about rolling and filling ravioli and they do a much better job at describing it that I can in this post so check them out.  I think I will at some point do a demo but until then, I'm outsourcing my dirty work ;)

The dough will look really, really dry but trust me, it works!  Ask me how I know.  OK, I'll tell you! I actually made two batches of this dough.  The first one I made just as I posted here.  I seriously thought I had messed up because it looked so dry in the mixer bowl.  I did put it together into a ball quite easily and it was really easy to work with later on.  For the second batch I decided to add more water while kneading and it was easier to knead but not so easy to work with later on while rolling and forming the ravioli.  As little water as possible is the way to go.

I'm so in love with this pasta business.  Fresh pasta is just so much better than the dry commercial stuff and homemade pasta is MUCH better than fresh pasta at the supermarket.  It is true that it is time consuming, but it's not hard.  If you can devote an afternoon to making a few batches you can freeze it and be set for a while..again ask me how I know.  I have so many more combinations in my head, flavored pasta, colored pasta, shapes, etc and I can't wait to try them all.  Cliche alert......Oh, the pastabilities!

During the photo shoot a little somebody saw some food on the table and grabbed the fork.  I guess he figured it was on HIS table so it was his.  LOL.  It was the cutest thing ever, so cute in fact that I will inflict the cuteness upon you.  I love this little guy even more than I love the pasta making junk.  Check out my other blog for more pictures!