Homemade Ravioli-Raviolis Caseros

Homemade Ravioli. 

When I hear about Those People (you know the ones...) who have the time and energy to make their own ravioli from scratch, I think (with a twinge of envy, I must admit) they should probably take up a hobby.  Who but who would inflict torture like that on themselves-oh, the difficulty and the time!!

Ok.  I get it now.  And I'm a convert.  It's completely and utterly worth every precious second of time to make your own ravioli.  Frankly, I don't think I'll ever be the same again.  I mean, how can I go back to store bought, machine manufactured ravioli after tasting this homemade food of the gods?!

And just for the record, it's not that hard-actually not too complicated at all, just requires a little planning.  I would rate it somewhere around meatloaf or homemade pizza, difficulty-wise. 

In Argentina, making your own pasta is done pretty regularly in many households.  With so many people of Italian descent, it's not surprising.  The tools necessary are sold at the grocery store, not at a specialty shop.  (Like the wooden ravioli dowel you see pictured below--it came from a Vea supermarket in Mendoza.)  Homemade ravioli and pasta of all types are on every restaurant menu.  And in Bowen, the little hardware store that sells washing machines and new bedroom sets also sells hand-cranking pasta makers. 

I thought to myself "I have to try it, even if I never do it again.  It's Argentinean." I told myself.  "It's for the blog!"  Oh, the motivation--I really had to talk myself into it!  A few hours later, Guillermo and I sat, stuffed.  Not a ravioli remained, no leftovers for the next day's lunch, our plates were wiped clean.  And Guillermo said "That...was probably the best ravioli I have ever tasted." 

There's some truth in that old adage "The way to a man's heart is through his belly".  And really, the way to my heart, too!  Is that enough of an endorsement to get you to try it? 

Below the recipe are step-by-step pictures showing the assembly process after rolling out the ravioli dough.   The sauce I used was this tomato sauce.  Enjoy!

Receta Para Raviolis Caseros

Recipe For Homemade Ravioli

Makes 2 batches of about 2 dozen ravioli each.

Three Cheese Filling:

1 cup shredded mozzerella cheese

1 cup good quality ricotta cheese

1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon salt (or more or less to taste)

freshly ground pepper (to taste)

3-4 Tablespoons dried parsley

Add cheeses and egg together in a medium mixing bowl.  Stir together.  Add in remaining ingredients.  Mix until well incorporated. 

The Dough: (From Saveur Magazine)

3 cups flour, plus more as needed

2 eggs

1/2 Tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

10 Tablespoons water

Mound the flour on a work surface and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt.  Make a wide, deep well in the center of the flour, leaving some flour at the well's bottom.  Pour oil into well, and crack the eggs into it.  Use a fork to gently mix the eggs and oil together, then gradually incorporate surrounding flour a little at a time into the well.  As egg mixture absorbs flour, slowly add 10 Tablespoons water until the dough becomes wet and sticky.  Generously sprinkle the dough and work surface with additional flour.  Knead the dough, adding flour as necesasary to prevent sticking, until it's elastic and smooth, about 10 minutes.  Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and set aside to let rest for one hour.

Divide the dough in half.  Working with 1 dough half at a time (keep the other half on the counter covered with a towel), roll it with a rolling pin, stetching it occasionally with your hands, into an 18-inch wide circle about 1/6 th of an inch thick on a well-floured work surface, rotating it occasionally.

To assemble the ravioli, spread half the filling (not so much that it will squish out, but not too little, either)evenly over one side of the dough, leaving a half an inch border.  Brush the border with water.  (PHOTO 1)

Fold the dough over filling to form a half moon.  Press edges to seal.  Generously dust dough with flour.  (PHOTO 2)

Roll a checkered ravioli pin firmly over dough, imprinting it with a pattern of squares, or use a hand-stamp ravioli cutter.  (PHOTO 3)

Using a fluted ravioli cutter (ok, I used a pastry cutter) cut the ravioli along the indentations. (PHOTO 4)

Separate the ravioli and let them air dry for one hour.  Repeat with remaining dough and filling. (PHOTO 5)

At this point, they can be laid out on a wax-paper lined baking sheet and frozen, or plopped into a large pot of boiling salted water over high heat and cooked 8-10 minutes, until al dente.  Drain and transfer to a large bowl and serve with the sauce of your choice.

Ravioli rollers can be bought online at www.bakedeco.com (and probably elsewhere, too) or at finer kitchen/cooking stores.

Comments

[brilynn]

The filling technique you used makes homemade ravioli waaay easier than trying to fill individual molds, thanks for the idea! And you're right, homemade is so much better than anything you get at the grocery store.

[Mar]

Que ricoooooooooooossss!!!!, me encanta las pastas rellenas y sobre todo caseras, no me digas que no es un placer hacerlas en casa?, te felicito, quedaron maravillosos!!!

[George@CulinaryTravels]

Nothing beats homemade pasta, such a delight.

[Sylvia]

Before I started my own pasta I had the same thinking line Now is a relaxing for me and I create a lot of stuffed, I love do it
Ps I am glad to find you

[RobinSue]

It is a lot of work but so worth it. I haven't done it in years. You make it look so easy. Beautiful Blog, I have been reading your posts for a while and liking your writing.

[cathy chen]

they look delicious! ohhh i can feel my stomach trying to eat itself! :P your pictures always make me so hungry. i wish there were more artisan cookware stores here. i have yet to see a ravioli pin in real life :(

[We Are Never Full]

The more you make it, the easier it gets! Keep on trying, those look amazing. Pretty soon you'll be making only homemade pasta for dinner!!

[Laylita]

Yummy! Looks delicious and the photos make me think I can actually do it - one of these days I will try. (by the way, even though I had an Italian neighbor who used to make homemade paste all the time, I still have that notion that one must really have way too much free time to be able to make homemade pastas).

[Peter]

Ahh, the mere mention of Saveur sends me to food heaven. I don't think I've met a person who doesn't like ravioli...when may I come for a tasting?

[Lydia (The Perfect Pantry)]

Making ravioli is one of those things that I'm glad to know how to do, but hardly ever do. When you know how to make something by hand, you also know how to shop for good quality store-bought. And I'm lucky to live in Rhode Island, land of the great Italian ravioli. Yes, I'm a bit lazy in the raviol department!

[Paz]

Wow! Looks delicious!

Paz