2 posts tagged “pasta”

i eventually want to make some flavored raviolis, but for the first time i wanted to keep it simple.

ingredients:
for the pasta
eggs
flour
for the stuffing
ricotta
thyme
sea salt
for the sauce
butter
thyme
pecorino romano


step one:  make the dough

as i've done before, i piled up flour and put 3 eggs into the middle.  mixed up the eggs, kneaded it together for 5 minutes.  then covered it and let it rest.

step two:  make the filling

simple as can be.  mix together the ricotta, the thyme, and the sea salt.  in the future i may use eggs, to keep it together, because like this the filling kind of oozes out.  but it's still good.


step three:  roll out the dough

split the dough in half.  on a floured board, roll out the dough pretty thin.  not too thin, of course, it's got to hold the filling in.  then cut the edges off of the dough and square it off.

step four:  form the ravioli

lay out one of the rolled halves on the board.  put small dollops of the filing at even intervals, leaving room at the edges.  be careful not to use too much filling.  then dip your finger in water and use it to make lines in between the filling.  this is to help the top half stick to the bottom half.


lay the other half on top of the filling, and gently press down in between the humps to form the ravioli.  when you have the ravioli formed, press more firmly and make sure the outside edges are sealed.


then use a sharp knife to cut and separate the ravioli.

for a finishing touch, use a fork to crimp the edges.  this seals the ravioli shut and also makes them look real purty.

step five:  cook

boil salted water, then lower the heat so that it's not boiling too hard.  don't want to break the ravioli in the water.  carefully drop them in, and don't overcrowd the pot.  you may want to cook them in batches.  remove from the water when they are floating aggressively, and transfer them directly to the sauce.

step six:  the sauce

simple again.  melt the butter, add some fresh thyme.  add the cooked ravioli until lightly browned, then top with grated cheese.  simple as can be.

ingredients:

acorn squash
flour
eggs
salt & pepper
olive oil
butter


step one:  roast the squash

quarter the acorn squash, and add a little butter, salt & pepper.

roast in the oven at 400 for about 45 minutes.  remove and let cool.


step two:  prepare the dough

make a mound of flour, create a hole in the middle.  add egg, and mushed up roasted squash.

knead and knead, until the squash in incorporated.  then let the dough rest.


step three:  prep the gnocchi

roll the dough into dowels, and cut small, one inch squares.

roll the squares off the end of a fork to form the gnocchi.


step four:  cook the gnocchi

boil in salted water, until the gnocchi float aggressively.  drain well.


step five:  sauce the gnocchi

melt butter in a pan, add a little salt, pepper.  add the cooked, drained gnocchi, and brown them.

step six:  plating

you can add some shaved pecorino, some scallion greens to brighten up the plate.  tasty!