Ricotta And Sausage Filled Ravioli Recipes

RICOTTA-FILLED RAVIOLI (RAVIOLI DI RICOTTA)

Steps:

• To make the ravioli filling:
• 1. In a large bowl combine the ricotta, nutmeg, lemon zest, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and 1 egg. Season to taste with salt and pepper, stir well, and set aside.
• To make the ravioli dough:
• 1. Mound the flour on a clean work surface and create a well in the center. Place the eggs, egg yolks, and oil (if using) in the center. Using a fork, whisk the eggs and oil together and slowly start dragging the flour into the egg mixture. Knead by hand until all the ingredients are well combined and the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. (Alternatively, place all the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. With the mixer on medium speed, knead the dough until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.) Wrap the dough in plastic wrap or place it in a covered bowl and let it rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
• 2. Set up a pasta machine and turn it to the largest opening. Cut off pieces of dough about the size of an egg. Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll the dough into sheets about 1/8-inch thick.
• 3. Lay 1 pasta sheet flat on a lightly floured work surface and determine approximately where the halfway point is lengthwise. Use a pastry brush to lightly wet one half of the dough with the remaining egg lightly beaten with water. Spoon mounds of the filling, about 2 teaspoons each, onto half of the wet side of the dough, leaving about a 1/2 inch between the mounds. Fold the dry half of the sheet over lengthwise to cover the filling. Press the pasta sheets together to seal the edges around the filling, and press out any excess air. Use a pastry cutter or knife to cut individual ravioli. As you cut out the ravioli, place them on a plate or baking sheet sprinkled with flour to keep them from sticking. Repeat with the remaining pasta and filling.
• 4. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the ravioli all at once and stir a few times to submerge and separate them. Cook, uncovered, at a gentle boil until the pasta is just tender to the bite, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain the ravioli thoroughly and serve with a desired sauce or cheese.

RICOTTA AND SAUSAGE-FILLED RAVIOLI

Steps:

• Pulse together the onion, celery, and carrot in a food processor until finely chopped, to make a pestata. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, scrape in the vegetables and cook until they begin to soften, about 3 to 4 minutes.
• Pour the white wine over the sausage in a medium bowl, and crumble the sausage into small pieces with your fingers. Add the sausage and wine to the skillet with the vegetables, breaking up the sausage as finely as possible with a wooden spoon. Sauté until the sausage is completely cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes. Scrape into a bowl to cool. When the sausage is completely cooled, stir in the ricotta, grated cheese, and parsley.
• Roll the dough: Cut it into four equal pieces. (You could roll the dough out with a rolling pin, but a small Imperia pasta machine is not expensive; it rolls the dough out in even strips and makes ravioli making so much easier.) Flatten a piece of dough into a rectangle, approximately 2 inches by 2 inches, and roll through the widest setting on the pasta machine. Fold this rectangle of dough like a letter, and roll through again. Repeat the rolling and folding a few more times, to knead and smooth the dough. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.
• Switch to the next-narrowest setting on the machine. Roll a dough strip through, short end first. Repeat with the remaining dough strips. Continue this process with narrower settings, now rolling each strip only once through each setting, until you've gotten to the next-to-last setting and the dough strips are about as wide as the machine (6 inches).
• Lay one strip out on a floured counter, and place a heaping teaspoon of filling at about 4-inch intervals down the center of the strip (you will get about six or seven large ravioli per strip). Brush around the filling with water, fold the strip of dough over the fillings, the edges touching evenly, and seal the edges by pressing lightly. Using a serrated pastry cutter or pizza cutter, cut the ravioli evenly between the fillings into rectangles. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
• Keep the ravioli on a baking sheet lined with a clean kitchen towel, and covered, until you are ready to cook them; up to 2 or 3 hours is fine. To cook the ravioli, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop the ravioli into the pot one by one, stirring with a wooden spoon periodically so they do not stick to the bottom.
• Have a sauté pan with the bubbling sauce ready to dress the ravioli. Once the ravioli are in the boiling water, cook for 3 minutes, then fish them out with a spider or slotted spoon. Drain them, and set them in the sauce. Stir gently to coat the ravioli with sauce. When ready to serve, toss some grated cheese over the ravioli plate, and spoon the remaining sauce on top.
• notes
• You can serve these with a simple marinara and some grated Grana Padano or sautéed with butter and sage and some grated Grana Padano.
• If you want to freeze the ravioli: Once you have set them on a lined baking sheet, cover with a film of plastic wrap and set in the freezer for 2 or 3 hours, till frozen. Gently collect the frozen ravioli, set them flat in a ziplock bag, and lay the bag flat in a sealed plastic container. They will last in the freezer for a month or more.

SAUSAGE AND RICOTTA RAVIOLI WITH PESTO SAUCE

Steps:

• Place onion and 3 cloves of garlic in a food processor. Process while drizzling in 1/4 cup of olive olive, until smooth. Set aside.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and stir in the sausage. Cook and stir until the sausage is crumbly, evenly browned, and no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Drain and discard any excess grease. Stir in onion mixture, reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Pour mixture into the food processor along with the ricotta cheese. Process until smooth, streaming more olive oil as necessary. Stir in paprika and cayenne, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Spoon about 1 tablespoon full of the sausage mixture onto the center of one wonton wrapper. Brush the edges of the wrapper with the egg, then fold the wrapper into a triangle, sealing the edges tightly. Place ravioli on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Repeat until all the wonton wrappers have been filled. Cover and refrigerate the ravioli until ready to cook.
• Meanwhile, place the basil and pine nuts in a clean food processor. Pulse 4 or 5 times, then add 2 garlic cloves. Pulse 2 or 3 more times, then process until smooth while slowly adding in 5 tablespoons of olive oil. Stir in the balsamic vinegar, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil. Once the water is boiling, stir in the ravioli. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the ravioli float to the top and the filling is hot, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain well in a colander set in the sink. Place ravioli in a large bowl and toss with 4 to 5 tablespoons of pesto.