Asparagus Ravioli

Yesterday was a busy day of chores. We cleaned, gardened, went to mom's house and brought all of her outdoor furniture, set up her pond, and brought her garden art, we went for a long walk, and found time to cook dinner. I now know why I feel so bloody tired.

For our first course this evening we made asparagus ravioli. The pasta was a simple recipe from a Williams Sonoma cookbook:

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour,
plus more as needed
3 eggs, lightly beaten
Semolina flour for dusting

Place the 2 cups flour in a mound on a work surface. Make a well in the center large enough to hold the beaten eggs and pour the eggs into the well. Using a fork, begin gradually incorporating some of the flour from the sides, taking care not to break the flour wall. When the eggs are no longer runny, you can stop worrying about the wall. Continue working in more flour until the dough is no longer wet.

Begin kneading the dough by hand, adding as much additional all-purpose flour as needed until the dough is smooth and no longer sticky, 3 to 5 minutes. 

Dust baking sheets with flour. Divide the dough in half. Keep one half on the work surface, covered with a kitchen towel to prevent it from drying. Set up your pasta machine alongside another work surface. Lightly flour the work surface with some flour. Using a rolling pin, flatten the other dough half into a rectangle thin enough to go through the rollers at the widest setting. Pass the dough through the rollers once, then lay the resulting ribbon down on the work surface and flour it lightly. Fold into thirds lengthwise to make a rectangle and flour both sides lightly. Flatten the dough with the rolling pin until it is thin enough to go through the rollers again. With one of the two open edges going first, pass the dough through the rollers nine more times at the widest setting; after each time, flour, fold and flatten the dough as described. After 10 trips through the wide rollers, the dough should be completely smooth and supple.

Now you are ready to thin the dough. Starting at the second-to-widest setting, pass the dough through the rollers repeatedly, setting the rollers one notch narrower each time. When the pasta ribbon gets unwieldy, cut it in half and continue rolling one part at a time until the dough reaches the desired thinness.

Arrange the finished pasta sheets on the prepared baking sheets and cover with kitchen towels to prevent drying. Repeat the entire process with the second half of dough. Cut the pasta by hand or machine as desired. Makes 1 lb. dough.

When we were kneading the dough we kneaded in 1 tablespoon of dried thyme so that the dough was infused with the flavour of the herb.

The filling was one I made up using a suggestion from Palma:

2 cups of chopped asparagus (blanched)
2 cups ricotta
2 eggs
1/2 cup grated pecorino cheese
1 tablespoon of grated lemon zest

Mix all of the ingredients together. Set aside until ready to use.

Making Ravioli

Undoubtedly the most well-known filled pasta in Italy, ravioli can be found in different shapes with fillings of various flavors. Following are basic instructions for making ravioli. After cutting the ravioli, crimp the edges with the tines of a fork to add a decorative touch.

1. Place a 12-by-4 1/2-inch sheet of pasta on a lightly floured surface with the longest edge facing you. Fold the dough in half lengthwise, press gently to make a crease and then unfold the dough.

2. Place a scant 1 Tbs. of filling (about 2 tsp.) every
2 1/2 inches along the furthest edge of the pasta, about 1 1/2 inches in from the edge. Dip a finger in a small bowl of water and drag your finger around each mound of filling to moisten the pasta.

3. Fold the front edge of the dough over the mounds. Starting in the center, gently press and shape the dough around each mound, working out to the sides. To ensure that the pasta cooks evenly, make sure the air is pressed out and the filling is secured neatly in a circular mound in the pasta.

4. Use a sharp knife to cut the ravioli into 2-inch squares, or use a 2-inch round pastry cutter to cut the ravioli into circles. If desired, crimp the edges with the tines of a fork. Transfer the ravioli to a lightly floured sheet pan. Repeat with the remaining dough to make about 40 ravioli. If you have a ravioli cutter you can use it instead. We used a round cutter.

5. Refrigerate the ravioli for at least 2 hours before cooking. The ravioli can be wrapped tightly and refrigerated for 2 to 3 days or frozen for 4 to 6 weeks.

To cook, bring a large pot two-thirds full of water to a boil over high heat. Add 1 Tbs. salt and half of the ravioli and return to a boil, stirring gently. Cook until the ravioli float and are al dente (tender but firm to the bite), 30 seconds to 3 minutes, depending on the freshness of the pasta. Using a skimmer, transfer to paper towels to drain briefly, then put the ravioli in a warmed large, shallow bowl. Repeat with the remaining ravioli.

This ravioli had a very simple sauce. We melted some butter in a frying pan. We added chopped fresh sage leaves to the melted butter and fried them for about 2 minutes. The cooked ravioli (carefully drained) was added to this mixture, tossed, and placed on a plate. A grating of fresh Parmesan and we were good to go.

Comments

[sandi @ the whistlestop cafe]

Great post!
Fess up... who was the ravioli model? :{)

[Jerry]

I'll fess up - the pics are neither of us. I found them on the web! LOL Nice try though.