Faux Babbo Ravioli Recipes

FAUX BABBO RAVIOLI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place a large, ovenproof skillet over medium heat and add the oil. Add onion and celery and sauté until softened, about 10 minutes. Increase heat to high and (working in batches, if necessary) brown beef on all sides. Add the wine and deglaze the pan. Add tomatoes and rosemary. Season with salt and pepper. When the mixture returns to a boil, cover and place in oven until meat is fork-tender, 45 minutes.
• Remove pot from oven and allow to cool. Skim off excess fat, transfer to a food processor, and pulse until smooth. If the mixture seems dry, add a tablespoon of wine or 1 or 2 tablespoons of tomatoes. Taste and adjust seasoning.
• Cut sheets of pasta into 4-inch squares. Place 1 tablespoon beef filling into the center of each square. Wet edges of pasta with warm water, and bring two opposite corners of each square together to form a triangle. Press edges to seal. Put finished ravioli on a cookie sheet, cover with plastic and place in freezer until needed.
• Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Heat butter in a large sauté pan until it browns but does not burn. Add about half the chicken livers Toscani and sauté for 1 minute. Add 3 tablespoons of the salted water to loosen the sauce. Reduce heat to low and keep warm.
• Add the ravioli to the boiling water and cook until they float to the surface, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer ravioli to pan of chicken liver sauce. Add parsley and 1/4 cup grated pecorino. Toss lightly. Divide ravioli on four warm plates. Spoon extra sauce over each serving and top with cheese. Serve immediately.

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.

HOMEMADE RAVIOLI

Steps:

• Place 5 cups flour in a large bowl. Make a well in the center. Beat the eggs, water and oil; pour into well. Stir together, forming a ball. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 4-6 minutes, adding remaining flour if necessary to keep dough from sticking. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes., Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, combine sauce ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally., In a large bowl, combine filling ingredients. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use., Divide pasta dough into fourths; roll 1 portion to 1/16-in. thickness. (Keep pasta covered until ready to use.) Working quickly, place rounded teaspoonfuls of filling 1 in. apart over half of pasta sheet. Fold sheet over; press down to seal. Cut into squares with a pastry wheel. Repeat with remaining dough and filling., Bring a soup kettle of salted water to a boil. Add ravioli. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer; cook until ravioli float to the top and are tender, 1-2 minutes. Drain. Spoon sauce over ravioli.