I’ve decided to prepare a classic Italian dish: spinach and ricotta ravioli. In my recipe I’ve indicated ingredients and doses that are fine to satisfy 8 people. So every person can eat 6 medium sized ravioli. I’ve changed a little the traditional recipe that is, I’ve used sheep’s ricotta and not the cow’s. So the filling is more tasty. I would advise you to season them with only butter and sage. This dish is usually prepared during the holidays, but you can eat during the week as well.
Serves: 8
For egg pasta:
- 250 grams flour 00
- 50 grams re-milled durum wheat semolina
- 3 medium eggs
For the stuffing:
- 350 grams sheep ricotta
- 350 grams clean spinaches
- 25 grams Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
- 1 peeled garlic clove
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt to taste
- Ground white pepper to taste
- Nutmeg to taste
For the seasoning:
- 80 grams butter
- Sage leaves
- Grated Parmigiano Reggiano to taste
Method
Start by preparing the filling. Drain the ricotta inside a fine mesh sieve for about 1 hour. Meanwhile, brown the garlic with a little oil, add the spinaches and cook. Remove from the heat and let them cool. After squeeze them and remove the water. Chop with a knife and place them in a bowl with ricotta cheese, Parmesan and season with salt and pepper. Finally flavor with nutmeg. Put aside.
Now prepare the dough: place the flour on a wooden board, add the eggs and begin to knead. The dough should be smooth, so it will have to be worked for about 10 minutes. Form a ball, cover with cling film and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Divide the dough into small loaves. Take one, while the others leave them wrapped in the cling film so they will not dry up. Roll the pasta dough through a pasta machine, starting from the widest setting, and gradually going down the settings until the arrow is between 0 and 1. The pasta dough should be very thin ( about 1 mm thickness). Proceed in the same way for all the other loaves. Roll out a rectangle of pasta on a lightly floured surface and place on top small balls of filling with a teaspoon. Brush the edges with water. Lay down on a second sheet and remove the air between ravioli, pressing around the filling with your fingers, this will help you to prevent the ravioli from opening during cooking. Put aside.
Cook the ravioli in boiling water for about 5 minutes. Drain and stir-fry pasta in the pan with the melted butter and sage leaves for a minute. Serve with grated Parmigiano Reggiano.