So the other day I was cutting recipes out of magazines and came across this one in a 2007 Better Homes and Gardens Mag. It was a basic recipe for making ravioli and I knew then and there, I just had to do it! I made my own filling and pasta sauce because the recipe one sounded boring. IT WAS SCRUMPTIOUS!
Its probably not something you'd do every day, pasta making. Its so cheap to buy that most people probably would never ever even think of making it from scratch. It was special though and well worth the time to create. It would be the perfect meal to make with your husband or better half--I believe cooking together is a great bonding activity and gives so much pleasure. It would also make the pasta making process go a lot quicker, as two hands make light work! So go on, get your hubby in an apron...I swear you'll both enjoy it!
2 1/2 cups plain four
1/2 tsp. salt
4 eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup virgin olive oil
Sift flour and salt into a large glass bowl. Make a well in the centre with the dry ingredients, and break each egg into the well. Add oil. Using your fingertips, gradually blend the dry mixture into the wet mixture. Continue to blend little by little until a thick dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 3-4 minutes until smooth and elastic. Leave dough on surface, cover with the mixing bowl and leave for 30-40 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the filling of your choice. (I used 200g cooked chicken, 2 cups of baby spinach, 150g pumpkin and cashew chunky dip and a little salt, garlic and lemon juice for mine. Process until fine in a blender)
Cut the dough into six even portions. Knead each into a ball, then pull the balls into long ovals. Using a lightly dusted rolling pin or you pasta maker, roll out each until thin and even (about 50 cm long and 10-12 cm wide.)
Cover strips with a clean tea towel to prevent drying out. Don't layer the strips as they will stick. Cut circles out of the rolled pasta dough. mound a teaspoon of filling into the centre of each and brush the edges with a little water. Fold in half to create a crescent shape. press the edges together with the end of a fork. Place on a clean tea towel.
When all pasta has been used, prepare a large saucepan of salted water on the stove top. Bring to a slow boil and add pasta, 6-8 at a time for 3-4 minutes until tender. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a clean tea towel. Continue to cook the others in such batches.
Prepare a sauce. (I used about 1 cup of cream, 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms, 1/4 cup diced bacon and some salt, boiled over a low heat) Add all the ravioli parcels to the sauce and cook for a further 2-3 minutes. Serve.
Serves 4.
NOTES: a rolling pin is a good substitute if you don't have a pasta roller. You can also freeze the ravioli for up to a month, uncooked. Add to boiling water frozen, and cook for an extra 3-4 minutes.
