Fresh pasta, how delicious! The egg pasta sheets pulled by the skilled hands of grandmothers and aunts are a real delicacy. But now, we all get our hands on pasta because, let’s admit it, it’s a delightful pastime… especially with the help of “grandma duck”, the pasta machine! And even if you are among the purists of the rolling pin, we are sure that after trying our tortellini or the more traditional pansoti, you will also appreciate the ricotta and spinach ravioli. One of the most classic preparations of stuffed pasta, with a filling that exudes a fresh and delicate flavor. Pure poetry for the palate, the love affair between these two ingredients is an idyll that has lasted for years, perhaps one of the most successful marriages in the ten-year history of the kitchen. And you? If you are wondering how to delight your guests this Sunday, you have come to the right place! Prepare these fabulous ricotta and spinach ravioli with us!
Do you love this combination? Try our spinach and ricotta meatballs too!
Ricotta and Spinach Ravioli
Ingredients for 24 Ravioli
Flour 00250g
Eggs (about 2 eggs and 1 yolk) 124g
Semolina for dusting q.b.
Ricotta and Spinach Ravioli Calories
Difficulty: Medium Preparation time: 60 mins Portions: 24 pieces Cost: Low Note + 30 minutes of pasta dough rest
Ricotta and Spinach Ravioli Preparation
How to Prepare Ricotta and Spinach Ravioli
To prepare the ricotta and spinach ravioli, start with making the fresh egg pasta. Take the flour (you can leave about 50g aside to add as needed) and pour it into a bowl 1 together with the beaten eggs 2. Knead the ingredients well with your hands to create a homogeneous mixture 3. If the dough is not elastic enough, add warm water to make the pasta softer so that it can be rolled out with a rolling pin or a pasta machine. If it is too sticky, you can add the reserved flour, a little at a time.
Transfer the dough onto a work surface and work it vigorously. Once you have obtained a smooth and homogeneous dough, form a ball 4 that you will cover with transparent food wrap. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes, away from light and drafts that could dry it out. While the pasta is resting, work on the filling: take a large non-stick frying pan and pour in the rinsed spinach 5, covering them with a lid to let them wilt 6. Let them cook until they are soft, which should take a couple of minutes.
When they are well softened 7, drain them to remove excess liquids 8 and set them aside. Take a large bowl and pour in the ricotta and the Parmigiano cheese 9.
Flavor the mixture with nutmeg 10 and, using a whisk, mix the ingredients well to combine them 11. Season with salt and pepper. Once they are combined, chop the spinach in a mixer and add them to the ricotta cream 12. Mix the ingredients well to obtain a homogeneous mixture.
Transfer the mixture to a pastry bag 13 and set it aside. At this point, the pasta dough has rested. Take it, divide it into two portions. Leave one portion wrapped in plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out, while, after lightly dusting it with semolina flour (which will not be absorbed into the dough), roll out the other portion with the pasta machine, passing it through the rollers from the thickest to the second-to-last setting, until you get a rectangular sheet of pasta about 1 mm thick 14. Repeat the process with the other portion. Lay out the two pasta rectangles on a lightly floured work surface and create small piles of filling with the pastry bag 15.
Place them about 3 cm apart from each other 16, spraying water on the edges of the pasta 17 (you can also brush the edges with a kitchen brush) so that, when you lay the second sheet of pasta on top of it, it will stick more easily. Be careful to release the air between one raviolo and the next one, pressing around the filling with your fingers, to prevent them from opening up and releasing the filling during cooking.
When you lay the second sheet, make sure that the edges overlap the first one 19. Then, using a serrated pastry wheel, cut the ravioli into 4×4 cm squares 20: you will get about 24 ravioli that you should place on a tray lightly dusted with semolina flour 21. Your ricotta and spinach ravioli are ready! You can cook them in boiling water and season them to your liking, for example with butter and sage!
Preservation
You can freeze the ricotta and spinach ravioli for up to 1 month. To freeze them, follow these instructions: place the tray in the freezer for a couple of hours until the ravioli harden. Then put them in freezer bags. To cook them, boil them in salted water while they are still frozen.
Advice
Try to enhance this filling by relying on your imagination! We suggest some ideas: ham, herbs, or pecorino cheese… what will you use?
And how about seasoning them? The classic seasoning that enhances the delicate flavor of this preparation: butter and sage!
Those who want to can also try the Polish version of ricotta ravioli enriched with potatoes: pierogi.