My dad's friend is an expert ravioli maker and I jumped at the chance to learn from "the ravioli lady." She prides herself in herself on her featherlight creations and makes huge batches for big events. She rolls them nice and thin using the whole kitchen table. An authentic momanona technique.
Mix 2 lbs flour with two large eggs and enough water, about 1 cup, to make dough. She let me in on her secret ingredient - baking powder. She adds just a pinch to the recipe. The dough should look like this after mixing:
She didn't do a whole lot of kneading. Let it rest for at least a half hour before you try and roll it out. I think this is the step I always skipped in the past and wondered why the dough kept fighting me.
After the dough rests scatter flour profusely over the table and roll out the dough to paper thinness. We used my Wilton fondant roller for this, which is funny because I use my pasta roller for fondant!
At this point the filling is dropped by spoons full, about two inches apart.
Here is the filling recipe Rita used:
2 lbs ricotta - (whole milk)
2 eggs
1/2 cup grated parmesan (from the green can)
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat leaf Italian parsley
1/2 cup cup grated mozzarella cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Fold over the dough, stretching slightly to cover the filling.
Cut with a glass or biscuit cutter into half moon shapes. This is easier than trying to make round ravioli.
Make sure there's plenty of flour on the table. If you get a hole in the ravioli patch it with some flour.
Seal the ravioli with a fork.
Get water boiling in a big pot and add some oil to it. Add ravioli one at a time until there are about 12 in the pot. Once the raviolis have risen back to the top boil about ten minutes. Drain thoroughly and serve with your favorite sauce. These came out pillowy and delicate. The hand rolling seems to make a more delicate dough. I have rolled dough with my pasta roller and it didn't come out as soft.
This recipe made three trays full. Once the ravioli is made they can be frozen and saved for a quick meal later. I'm going to try making a butternut squash filling