Homemade Cheese Ravioli Filling Recipe 445

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 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.

THREE-CHEESE RAVIOLI

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk or fork.
• Add the ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, thyme, and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and mix well with a fork. Set aside.
• Fill a stock pot with water and bring to a boil over high heat.
• Meanwhile, lightly dust a work surface or a pastry mat with flour.
• Fill a small bowl or custard cup with room-temperature water.
• Use a bench cutter or a knife to cut the dough into 4 to 6 equally sized portions and cover them loosely with plastic wrap.
• Take one piece out and roll it into a thin sheet, about 5 to 6 inches wide, according to your pasta maker's instructions.
• Lay the piece of dough lengthwise on a floured work surface. Place teaspoon-sized dollops of filling about 2 inches apart in the center of the bottom half of the dough.
• Use your finger to moisten the area around each dollop of filling, then fold the top half of the dough over the filling to meet the other edge. Press down around each dollop of filling, making sure to press out any air bubbles.
• With a sharp knife , a pasta cutter, or a small pizza cutter, cut each ravioli apart by making a cut halfway between each portion of filling, as well as trimming the bottom edge of the pasta.
• Place ravioli on a parchment-lined baking sheet and repeat with the remaining pasta dough and filling. At this point, the pasta can be refrigerated, covered with plastic wrap, for up to a day.
• To cook the pasta, add remaining 1 tablespoon salt to the stockpot of boiling water. Drop the ravioli into the boiling water.
• Cook in boiling water for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the pasta floats to the surface.
• Serve with the sauce or topping of your choice and enjoy.

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.

CHEESE FILLING FOR RAVIOLI

Steps:

• Mix together all ingredients well and fill pasta.

HOMEMADE ITALIAN RAVIOLI WITH MEAT & CHEESE FILLING

Steps:

• Fry the meat in olive oil until well browned. Drain the meat on paper towels
• When the meat cools a little put it into a large bowl and mix in the chopped spinach. chopped parsley, beaten eggs and the rest of the ingredients, add salt and pepper to taste.
• Put the filling into the food processor bowl and pulse several times until the mixture is fine.
• Return the filling to the mixing bowl and refrigerate. (The filling is easier to work with when refrigerated.) The filling will give you enough for a double batch -- making about 90 - 100+ ravioli. The filling can be frozen.
• Using the metal blade pulse the flour and salt together.
• Lightly stir the eggs and olive oil in a measuring cup.
• With the processor running, add the egg/oil mixture all at once through the feed tube until a ball is formed then pulse several times. The dough should be slightly sticky to the touch and should spring back when you press it.
• Form the dough into a smooth ball and place on a dough board or tabletop and cover with a bowl for 30 minutes.
• After 30 minutes you can make the dough into your preferred shape. This is a single batch --you'll need to double the dough to use up all of the filling.
• Sift flour and salt into a mixing bowl.
• Gradually add eggs and oil to flour, mixing with a spoon. As the mixture becomes lumpy, begin to press together and knead with your hands. If mixture seems too dry and grainy, add one tablespoon of water at a time until the mixture holds together into a ball.
• Remove dough from the mixing bowl and begin to knead dough for 2 minutes on a lightly floured dough board or table top.
• Cover the dough with a bowl and let the dough rest for 30 minutes. Allowing the dough to rest will improve the texture of the dough.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water. You want your water as salty as the sea.
• Add the ravioli in batches. About 10- 12 at a time. Don't overcrowd. Bring the water back to a gentle simmer and cook for about 3-4 minutes. If the ravioli is frozen, cook for an additional minute.
• Remove with a slotted spoon or spider to a serving dish. Continue cooking the rest of the ravioli. Serve with your favorite sauce or just with extra-virgin olive oil, butter, sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Sprinkle with fresh herbs.

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! :-)

HOMEMADE RAVIOLI WITH RICOTTA CHEESE FILLING

Steps:

• In an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, add eggs, 1 at a time, and mix. Continue mixing and add all the flour and water; continue mixing until it forms a ball. Sprinkle some flour on work surface, and 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, and 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 finger, 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 water for 10 to 15 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 your favorite pasta sauce and grated cheese before serving.
• In a mixing bowl, thoroughly combine all ingredients. Chill in the refrigerator a few minutes to firm up the filling.