I made Ravioli!!!

As I have become more comfortable in the kitchen, I've branched out to making things that I believed to be more challenging.  Homemade pasta was something I put off for a long time.... thus, ravioli was even more delayed.  But, I was up for a kitchen challenge this week, and my conclusion: Don't be intimidated by making ravioli... it was easy!

Not to mention, it was delicious.



There are two parts to this recipe -- the dough and the filling. Prepare the filling first, and then the dough, because the filling needs to chill before using.

Homemade Ravioli - Modified from Effortless Savings

Filling

1 C ricotta cheese (well drained)
1 C spinach (we used 1/2 of a frozen package)
1 egg white (save the yolk!)
4 oz mushrooms, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 C Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 C Mozzarella cheese, shredded

Saute mushrooms and spinach over medium heat until mushrooms are tender and spinach is warmed.  Season with a little salt and pepper. 



Place sauteed veggies in a bowl, and add to that the cheeses, and egg.



Season with additional salt and pepper. Stir well to combine.



Refrigerate for 15-30 minutes.

Did I mention these are really good?

Dough

4 eggs (that is, 3 eggs + 1 egg yolk from the filling recipe)
3 C flour
1/2 C water

Combine ingredients in your mixer and knead until dough is formed.  (You can knead by hand as well).  Lightly flour a work-surface and remove the dough from the bowl and place it on the work surface.  Cover and allow the dough to sit for 10ish minutes (the dough becomes easier to work with the longer you let it sit).



I found it easier to cut the dough in half and work with half of it at a time.

Roll the dough out as thin as you can make it.  Less than 1/8 inch is desirable.



Using a pizza cutter, cut squares/rectangles into the dough that are roughly 2-inches by 2-inches.  I found that it's better to make them wide than long.


(see, these were really too narrow -- I ended up having to stretch them wider).

Using a 1 tsp. measuring spoon, place 1 tsp-ish full of filling onto the dough squares.



Place an empty dough square over the top, and press to seal the edges. Use a fork to seal tightly.



Filling these babies took roughly a 1/2 hour... and there were about 40 of them by the time I was done.

Did I mention they're worth it?

Bring salted water to a boil. Add the ravioli and boil for about 15 minutes. The ravioli will begin to float when they are close to done.



Place ravioli on a plate, and top with your favorite spaghetti sauce.





Or, use in a delicious bake -- like the roasted pepper tortellini bake!

Did I mention these are delicious?!



This recipe made ~40 ravioli.  A good serving size for me was 4-5; Frog Prince enjoyed more.  We made ~17 for dinner, and had enough leftovers for a second meal.  The others I set on a plate and flash froze for about 20-30 minutes before removing from the plate and placing in a Ziploc bag for a quick and easy freezer-meal dinner.  

According to Effortless Savings, making a batch of these is roughly $3.21.  This will give us roughly 4 meals.  Tasty, easy and cheap -- awesome.

This is linked up to: Recipe Swap with Grocery Cart Challenge, Foodie Friday, Friday Feasts, Ingredient Spotlight