Whole Wheat Mushroom and Ricotta Ravioli



Fresh-made ravioli is one my favorite things on this Earth.  Ravioli are so commonplace, so deeply ingrained in our culinary culture (thanks to Chef Boyardee), that they're accessible and familiar to everyone.  But, break out the pasta roller and the ravioli cutter, and this ho-hum foodstuff becomes something to be savored.

We especially love this one for dinner parties. Ravioli are incredibly cheap to make and guaranteed to please. And because they are rather labor intensive, we like to enlist the help of our guests.  Everyone happily joins in, chatting and enjoying the shared experience of crafting something special.  It's fun.  There's something deeply comforting about using your hands and doing simple, repetitive tasks to create delicious, wonderful things.

And of course, this kind of project affords us ample time to get drunk before dinner.  So there's that too.

We made this batch with my mom. She's not the most adventurous eater, so we kept it pretty standard, using the ricotta and mushrooms from our CSA to provide filling. We went with a whole wheat pasta dough because, simply, my mom didn't have enough all purpose flour on hand.  She made the sauce, slow cooking canned tomatoes, herbs and bay leaves all day in her crock pot. We used our CSA's god-sent hydroponic basil to garnish the dish.  Naturally.

Prep time: 1.5 to 2 hours
Cook time: 20 minutes




Pasta dough ingredients:
  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 5 eggs
  • 3/4 cup water (approximate)
  • 1 Tbl olive oil
  • 1 tsp salt
Directions:
  • Mix flours and salt together, then pour into a mound on a clean surface.  Make a hole in the center to create a volcano shape.
  • Crack the eggs into the hole and add the olive oil.
  • Mix the eggs together with a fork, gradually incorporating more and more flour around the outside of the hole.  
Note: This is a very oldschool style of pasta making and I find it amazingly fun.
  • When the eggs are fully  incorporated, begin working the dough with your hands.  Add the water incrementally until the dough pulls together and a ball can be formed.  Don't be afraid to add more water if necessary.
  • Knead the dough ball for about 10 minutes or until it becomes "springy" and slightly tacky.
  • Cut into 6 equal pieces and reserve.

Filling ingredients:
  • 1 1/2 cup button mushroom, minced
  • 2 cups ricotta cheese
  • 3 garlic cloves
Directions:
  • Mince garlic and saute in a hot pan coated with olive oil
  • When garlic begins to brown, add the minced mushrooms and saute until they're caramelized.
  • Drop to low heat and mix in the cheese.  Cook the cheese for several minutes to remove some of it's moisture.
  • Season with salt and pepper, then transfer to mixing bowl

Ravioli Instructions:
  • Roll one of the pasta dough balls flat with a rolling pin, then pass it through a pasta machine set on it's widest setting.  Fold the resulting sheet in thirds, so the two ends meet in the middle to create a square.  Roll the square through again and repeat this process of folding and rolling a few times to help knead the dough.  This will ensure the dough becomes stretchy enough for the following steps
  • Gently roll the sheet through the machine on progressively thinner and thinner settings until you have a long sheet that's as thin as your machine can make.
  • Lay the sheet out on a clean surface dusted with flour.  Mark the center of the sheet then spoon out the filling on one half only. 
  • Wet the dough around  the outside of the filling--at home we just dip our fingers in water and trace around the filling--and fold the other half of the sheet over, covering the filling and creating the top of the ravioli. Seal the dough around the filling by pressing it gently with your fingers.
  • Using a ravioli cutter, punch out the ravioli and transfer them to a large sheet tray dusted with corn meal to prevent them from sticking.
  • Roll extra dough into a ball and repeat this procedure from the beginning.
  • Repeat until the desired amount of ravioli have been produced.
  • Cook the ravioli in well-salted boiling water for about 5 minutes, or until the dough is perfectly al dente. 

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