Giada Homemade Ravioli Dough Recipes

RAVIOLI ALLA CAPRESE

Steps:

• For the dough: In a small saucepan, over high heat, bring the water and salt to a simmer. Put the flour in a medium bowl. Pour the hot water over the flour and stir with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to bring it together into a shaggy dough. Transfer the mixture onto a lightly floured surface and continue to work and knead the dough until smooth, about 5 minutes. Allow to rest for at least 10 minutes at room temperature.
• Meanwhile for the filling, in a medium bowl mix together the ricotta, caciotta, Parmigiano Reggiano, oregano, egg and salt.
• For the sauce: Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the olive oil and garlic and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes until the garlic is lightly browned. Stir in the tomato puree and nestle in the basil and cheese rind. Add the salt. Simmer, stirring often, until the sauce is slightly thickened, about 12 minutes. Remove and discard the basil and cheese rind.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season with salt.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll the pasta dough into a large rectangle about 1/8-inch-thick. Place little mounds, about 2 teaspoons, of the filling about an inch apart down the edge of the rectangle closest to you. Fold the unfilled portion of the dough over the line of filling and gently press down around all the filling to seal the dough. Using a small 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter or drinking glass, cut out the ravioli. Remove any scrap dough from the top and repeat the process. You should end up with around 30 ravioli. In batches, add the ravioli to the boiling water and simmer until they float and are cooked through, about 3 minutes. Remove with a spider or slotted spoon.
• To serve, place a spoonful of sauce in the center of the plate and position the ravioli around it. Sprinkle with more Parmigiano Reggiano and garnish with a few leaves of basil.

RAVIOLI DOUGH

Steps:

• In an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine flour and salt. Add eggs 1 at a time and continue to mix. Drizzle in oil and continue to incorporate all the flour until it forms a ball. Sprinkle some flour on work surface, knead the dough until elastic and smooth. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest for about 30 minutes to allow the gluten to relax.
• Cut the ball of dough in half, cover and reserve the dough you are not immediately using to prevent it from drying out. Dust the counter and dough with flour. Form the dough into a rectangle and roll it through the pasta machine, 2 or 3 times, at its widest setting. Guide the sheet of dough with the palm of your hand as it emerges from the rollers. *Reduce the setting and crank the dough through again, 2 or 3 times. Continue until the machine is at its narrowest setting. The dough should be paper-thin, about 1/8-inch thick.
• Dust the counter and dough with flour, lay out the long sheet of pasta. Brush the top surface of dough with egg wash. Drop 1 tablespoon of cooled filling about 2-inches apart on half the sheet of pasta. Fold the unfilled half over the filling. With an espresso cup or fingers, gently press out air pockets around each mound of filling and form a seal. Use a crimper to cut each pillow into squares. Check to make sure the crimped edges are well sealed before cooking. If making ravioli in advance, dust with cornmeal to prevent them from sticking.
• Cook the ravioli in plenty of boiling salted water for 10 to15 minutes. Ravioli will float to the top when cooked so be careful not to overcrowd the pot. Lift the ravioli from water with a large strainer or slotted spoon. Plate the pasta, top with sauce and grated cheese before serving. Garnish plate with chopped herbs and toasted pine nuts.
• *For Herb-Patterned Pasta: Follow the standard recipe given above and roll it out to a medium-thick sheet. Next, take well-washed leafy herbs such as, basil, flat-leaf parsley and tarragon, pinch away the stems so only the leaves remain. Hand press the fresh herbs on the dough's surface at 1-inch intervals. Fold the dough over itself and run the "sandwich" through the pasta machine at a thin setting. The leaves will stretch and pattern the pasta. Continue making ravioli as indicated in the procedure.

HOMEMADE RAVIOLI

Steps:

• Measure flour into a large bowl and make a well in the center. Crack eggs into the center. Beat eggs with a fork until blended. Use the fork to gradually draw in flour from the sides, mixing until all the flour is incorporated.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, 3 to 4 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for at least 20 minutes.
• Mix ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheeses together in a bowl. Whisk water and egg together in a small bowl to make egg wash.
• Lightly flour the work surface again. Roll out dough into a thin sheet. Cut into hearts using a cookie cutter. Brush edges with egg wash. Spoon filling into the center of 1/2 of the hearts; cover with remaining hearts. Press edges together to seal.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add ravioli in batches and wait until they float to the top. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes after that. Transfer to a colander using a slotted spoon. Repeat with remaining ravioli.

PASTA DOUGH FOR RAVIOLI

Steps:

• Combine flour and salt in a large bowl, making a well in the middle. In a small bowl, beat together the eggs, egg yolks and olive oil, then pour into the well in the flour. Mix with the fork until the flour begins to clump together. When the mixture becomes too hard to stir with a fork, use your hands. Knead dough in the bowl or on a lightly floured board until it is quite stiff and no longer sticky. Sprinkle with a little flour. Cover with plastic or a cloth, and let it rest for about 30 minutes.
• Lightly sprinkle a wooden board with flour. Cut off one-third of the dough; keep the rest covered while you work. Roll the dough lightly in flour, then flatten it into a rectangle about the width of your hand. Roll a rolling pin over the dough up and down, left and right. Flip the dough over about every two dozen rolls. If the dough sticks, dust with more flour. Repeat until the pasta is roughly 24 inches in length and 8 inches wide. Dust with flour and set aside; repeat with remaining dough.
• To form jackets for ravioli, cut each sheet of dough into rectangles about 24 inches long and 4 inches wide, trimming edges neatly.

FRESH PASTA

Steps:

• Place the cake flour, all-purpose flour, egg yolks and salt in a food processor. Pulse to combine. With the machine running, gradually add the oil then 1/3 to 1/2 cup water until the mixture forms a dough (the dough should stick together if pinched between your fingers). If necessary, add additional water, 1 teaspoon at a time if the dough is too dry.
• Place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Gather the dough into a ball and knead until the dough is smooth, 5 to 8 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Cut the dough into quarters and press flat. Run each piece of pasta dough several times through a pasta-rolling machine, adjusting the setting each time, until the pasta is about 1/8 to 1/16-inch thick. Cut the pasta into the desired shape and use as needed.

PASTA DOUGH FOR RAVIOLI

Steps:

• To make the pasta dough: In an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook*, combine the flour and salt. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and continue to mix. Drizzle in 1 tablespoons of the olive oil and continue to incorporate all the flour until it forms a ball. Sprinkle some flour on work surface, knead and fold the dough until elastic and smooth, this should take about 10 minutes. Brush the surface with the remaining olive oil and wrap the dough in plastic wrap; let rest for about 30 minutes to allow the gluten to relax.
• *Alternatively if you don't have an electric mixer: Combine the flour and salt on a flat work surface; shape into a mound and make a well in the center. Add the eggs and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to the well and lightly beat with a fork. Gradually draw in the flour from the inside wall of the well in a circular motion. Use 1 hand for mixing and the other to protect the outer wall. Continue to incorporate all the flour until it forms a ball. Continue as directed above.
• Cut the ball of dough in 1/2, cover and reserve the piece you are not immediately using to prevent it from drying out. Dust the counter and dough with a little flour. Press the dough into a rectangle and roll it through a pasta machine, 2 or 3 times, at widest setting. Pull and stretch the sheet of dough with the palm of your hand as it emerges from the rollers. Reduce the setting and crank the dough through again, 2 or 3 times. Continue tightening until the machine is at the narrowest setting; the dough should be paper-thin, about 1/8-inch thick (you should be able to see your hand through it.). Dust the sheets of dough with flour as needed.
• Beat 1 egg with 1 tablespoon of water to make an egg wash. Dust the counter and sheet of dough with flour, lay out the long sheet of pasta, and brush the top surface with the egg wash, which acts as a glue. Drop tablespoons of your favorite filling on 1/2 of the pasta sheet, about 2-inches apart. Fold the other 1/2 over the filling like a blanket. With an espresso cup or fingers, gently press out air pockets around each mound of filling. Use a sharp knife to cut each pillow into squares and crimp the 4 edges with the tins of a fork to make a tight seal. Dust the ravioli and a sheet pan with cornmeal to prevent the pasta from sticking and lay them out to dry slightly while assembling the rest.
• Cook the ravioli in plenty of boiling salted water for 4 minutes; they'll float to the top when ready, so be careful not to overcrowd the pot. Lift the ravioli from water with a large strainer or slotted spoon. Bath the ravioli in your favorite sauce to lightly coat and serve.

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.

RAVIOLI DOUGH

Steps:

• Place the flour on a dry, clean work surface, forming a mound about 8 to 10 inches (20 to 25 cm) in diameter at its base. Sprinkle the salt in the middle of the mound. Using the bottom of a measuring cup, create a well 4 to 5 inches (10 to 13 cm) wide, with at least 1/2 inch (12 mm) of flour on the bottom of the well.
• Slowly and carefully add the whole eggs, egg yolks and olive oil to the well, treating the flour as a bowl. Using a fork, gently beat the eggs without touching the flour walls or scraping through the bottom to the work surface.
• Then, still stirring, slowly begin to incorporate the flour "walls" into the egg mixture, gradually working your way toward the outer edges of the flour, but disturbing the base as little as possible. If the eggs breach the sides too soon, quickly scoop them back in and reform the wall. Once the dough starts to take on a thickened, paste-like quality (slurry), slowly incorporate the flour on the bottom into the mixture.
• When the slurry starts to move as a solid mass, remove as much as possible from the fork. Slide a pastry scraper or spatula under the mass of dough and flip it and turn it onto itself to clear any wet dough from the work surface. At this point, with your hands, start folding and forming the dough into a single mass. The goal is to incorporate all the flour into the mass, and using a spray bottle to liberally spritz the dough with water is essential. It is a very dry dough, and it is very important to generously and constantly spritz it with water to help "glue" any loose flour to the dry dough ball.
• When the dough forms a stiff, solid mass, scrape away any dried clumps of flour from the work surface, which, if incorporated in the dough, will create dry spots in the final product.
• To knead the dough, on your work surface, drive the heel of your dominant hand into the dough. Push down and release, and then use your other hand to pick up and rotate the dough on itself 45 degrees. Drive the heel of your hand back in the dough, rotate and repeat for 10 to 15 minutes. When the dough is ready, it will stop changing appearance and texture. The dough will be firm but bouncy to the touch and have a smooth, silky surface, almost like Play-Doh. Tightly wrap the dough in plastic wrap before proceeding as directed with your recipe. Makes about 20 oz. (625 g) of dough.

EASY HOMEMADE PASTA DOUGH

Steps:

• Beat flour, eggs, olive oil, and salt together in a bowl. Add water, 1 teaspoon at a time, to flour mixture until a smooth and very thick dough forms.
• Turn dough out onto a work surface and knead for 10 minutes. Let dough rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Divide dough into 8 balls and use a pasta machine to roll and cut dough into desired pasta shape.

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.