4 Cheese Ravioli Recipes

RAVIOLI (DOUGH AND CHOICE OF 4 FILLINGS)

Steps:

• MAKING THE FILLING: Ricotta Filling#1: In a large bowl, blend all filling ingredients together until smooth, set aside filling until needed.
• Ricotta Filling#2: In a large bowl, blend all filling ingredients together until smooth, set aside filling until needed.
• Beef and Spinach Filling: Brown beef and veal in butter with the whole clove of garlic.
• Remove garlic and let meat mixture cool.
• Mix spinach, parsley, eggs, cheese and nutmeg into cooled meat until well blended, set aside filling until needed.
• Sausage Filling: Brown sausage in frying pan, drain fat and allow sausage to cool.
• When sausage has cooled, mix in eggs and cheese, set aside filling until needed.
• MAKING THE RAVIOLI DOUGH: Sift flour and salt together.
• Place flour mixture on a board, making a well in the center of the flour.
• Drop eggs into the flour well, using your hand or a fork, break the yolks and beat eggs slightly.
• Combine the eggs and flour together, gradually adding enough warm water to make a stiff dough.
• Knead dough well, until smooth; cover the dough and let it rest for 15 minutes.
• Cut dough in half and roll each half of the dough out on a floured board, into a very thin sheet (about 1/16 to 1/8 inch thick).
• FILLING THE RAVIOLI: Drop about 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoonfuls of filling about 1 1/2 inches apart all along the dough.
• When the sheet of dough is fully dotted with dabs of filling mixture, cover filling with other sheet of dough.
• Using your fingers, gently press dough between each dab of filling to seal it.
• Cut ravioli into squares with a (zig-zag edged) pastry cutter, or very sharp knife.
• DRYING THE RAVIOLI: Allow ravioli to dry for one hour before cooking.
• COOKING THE RAVIOLI: Drop ravioli into 6 to 8 quarts of boiling, salted water and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until dough is tender.
• Remove cooked ravioli from pot carefully with a skimmer or a large slotted spoon, and drain well.
• Place drained ravioli on a serving platter in layers, alternating layers with your favorite sauce and a sprinkling of grated cheese between each ravioli layer.
• Serve hot.

FOUR-CHEESE RAVIOLI WITH HERB PESTO

Steps:

• For the pesto: In a food processor, combine the basil, parsley, mint, Parmesan, pine nuts, anchovy paste, pepper and garlic. Pulse until chunky. With the machine running, gradually add the olive oil until the pesto is smooth.
• For the ravioli: In a medium bowl, mix together the ricotta, mozzarella, mascarpone, Parmesan, breadcrumbs, nutmeg, 3/4 teaspoon salt and the pepper.
• In a small bowl, mix together the egg and 1 teaspoon water until smooth.
• Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the edges of the wonton wrappers with the egg mixture. Spoon 1 level tablespoon of the filling into the center of each wonton wrapper. Fold the opposite corners of each wonton wrapper over to form triangle shapes. Seal the edges firmly, pressing out any air around the filling. (Can be made a few hours in advance. Cover with foil and refrigerate until ready to use.)
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons salt and the olive oil. In batches, add the ravioli to the water and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender but still firm to the bite, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, carefully remove the ravioli and drain in a colander. Transfer the ravioli to shallow soup bowls. Spoon the sauce over the ravioli and serve.

HOMEMADE FOUR CHEESE RAVIOLI

Steps:

• Mound the flour and salt together on a work surface and form a well. Beat the teaspoon of olive oil, 2 eggs, and water in a bowl. Pour half the egg mixture into the well. Begin mixing the egg with the flour with one hand; use your other hand to keep the flour mound steady. Add the remaining egg mixture and knead to form a dough.
• Knead the dough until smooth, 8 to 10 minutes; add more flour if the dough is too sticky. Form the dough into a ball and wrap tightly with plastic. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
• While the dough is resting, prepare the ravioli filling. Combine the ricotta cheese, cream cheese, mozzarella cheese, provolone cheese, egg, and parsley and mix well. Set the filling aside.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the crushed garlic and pesto sauce and cook for one minute. Pour in the heavy cream, raise the heat to high, and bring the sauce to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the Parmesan cheese and stir until the cheese melts. Remove the pan from the heat and keep warm.
• Meanwhile, in a separate saucepan, warm the marinara sauce over medium-low heat.
• Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Beat the egg with the tablespoon of water to make the egg wash.
• Roll out the pasta dough into thin sheets no thicker than a nickel. To assemble the ravioli, brush the egg wash over a sheet of pasta. Drop the filling mixture on the dough by teaspoonfuls about one inch apart. Cover the filling with the top sheet of pasta, pressing out the air from around each portion of filling. Press firmly around the filling to seal. Cut into individual ravioli with a knife or pizza cutter. Seal the edges.
• Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Stir in the ravioli, and return to a boil. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the ravioli float to the top and the filling is hot, 4 to 8 minutes. Drain well.
• Grease a baking sheet. Place the cooked ravioli on the sheet pan and bake in the preheated oven until brown, about 4 minutes.
• To serve the ravioli, divide them among four warmed serving bowls. Drizzle the marinara sauce over the ravioli and then top with the cream sauce.

EASY CHEESE RAVIOLI

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, egg, basil, nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste.
• Place 1 rounded teaspoon of filling in the center of each wonton wrapper.
• Brush the edges of a wonton wrapper lightly with water.
• Fold the wrapper in half, making sure all the filling remains inside.
• Seal the edges by pinching.
• Continue with the remaining filling and wrappers.
• Add salt to large pot of boiling water.
• Gently add the ravioli, and cook for about 3 minutes, or until tender, stirring gently.
• Meanwhile, in a small pot over low heat, cook the tomato sauce.
• Using a large slotted spoon, place the ravioli into 4 individual bowls.
• Pour the sauce over each serving, and garnish with the additional basil.

CHEESE-FILLED RAVIOLI

Steps:

• To make the pasta, sift the flour and a pinch of salt onto a work surface and make a dip in the middle. Add the eggs and mix into a smooth dough.
• Shape the dough into a smooth ball, wrap in a damp cloth or tea-towel and leave for thirty minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the filling by putting the ricotta and Bel Paese in a bowl and beat well. Add the rest of the ingredients with another pinch of salt and beat thoroughly.
• Roll out the dough until it is paper thin. Cut into 4cm squares with a zigzag edge cutter. Put a little filling in the middle of each square then fold over the corner to make a triangle. Squidge together the corners so the filling doesn't come out and boil in the stock for five minutes.
• Add a sauce to your liking and serve with a basil leaf on top. Voila! :-)

FOUR CHEESE RAVIOLI

Steps:

• In a large stockpot, boil the ravioli as per instructions on the box. Wash and split 12 cherry tomatoes then set aside. Remove about half of the spinach from the box and set aside. When the ravioli are done, strain and set aside. Place the thawed spinach in the stockpot with the tomatoes add the olive oil and butter. Return to a medium hear, stir and add the ravioli to the pot. Cook for an additional 2 minutes, season with salt and fresh pepper and top with freshly grated Asiago cheese.