I Learn to Make Ravioli from Scratch

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

Easy Weeknight Spaghetti with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Almonds

I got a reminder from a new follower that I needed to update my blog. Here's a recipe that I tried out last night which is really quick for a weeknight meal. I made it extra garlicky to ward off vampires. Never have gotten into the whole Twilight thing. It's from the latest Food and Wine magazine. I had everything and it was calling my name. As usual I had to fiddle with it.

I had 1/2 of a garlic clove laying around so when I put the slice of bread in the food processor to make crumbs I threw it in.

1/2 garlic clove
1 slice bread cup fresh bread crumbs (I used the multigrain bread I had on hand)
In a skillet, toast the bread crumbs in 2 tablespoons of the oil, stirring, until golden. Transfer the crumbs to a plate; season with salt and pepper.

1/2 cup drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes (3 ounces)

1/3 cup roasted almonds (I like the sliced ones from Trader Joes)
1 large garlic clove
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
In a food processor, pulse the tomatoes, almonds and garlic. Add 1/4 cup of the oil and puree. Season with salt and pepper.

Salt and freshly ground pepper
12 ounces spaghetti
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1/4 cup grated parmesan (the cheap stuff in the green can works great with this)
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until al dente. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid. In the pot, toss the pasta with the pesto, reserved cooking water and remaining 2 tablespoons of oil until the sauce clings to the pasta. Transfer the pasta to bowls, sprinkle with the bread crumbs, parmesan and parsley and drizzle with olive oil. Serve.

The breadcrumbs add a great crunch and the extra garlic added a nice flavor.

Note: I used panko breadcrumbs I had on hand for the leftovers. Huge crunch and they browned to a much prettier toasty tan. I'll use those next time.

Blueberry Apple Dessert Bars

I made a good dessert bar tonight using ingredients I happened to have on hand. It all started when I found some frozen cookie dough leftover from Christmas. There were fresh blueberries but not enough to do much with so I added some apple. The homemade cookie dough made a great crust for a dessert bar. Unfortunately I kept sampling them. Here is the recipe:

2 Cups sugar cookie dough
1 cup fresh blueberries
1apple peeled cored and sliced
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
2 Tb flour
2 Tb butter
1/2 cup sliced almonds

Line a 13 x 9 inch pan with foil. Pat one cup of cookie dough in the bottom of the pan. Mix blueberries, apples, sugar, cinnamon, ginger. Spread bluberry mixture over cookie dough. Sprinkle flour over fruit mixture. Dot with butter. Break up remaining dough and scatter it over the fruit. Bake at 350° until golden, about 20 minutes. At about tne minutes sprinkle the almonds over the bars.