Tag: ravioli

Carrot Ricotta Ravioli

Well Dined | Carrot Ricotta Ravioli

Were you guys dying for another homemade pasta post?  Based on the popularity of the other ones, I bet you were!  So here is one for veggie lovers (but don’t worry, there’s also plenty of cheese).  Sweet and savory, with just a hint of nutmeg – so good!

Well Dined | Carrot Ricotta Ravioli

Carrots, shallots, ricotta, Parmesan, and a little cream, butter, and nutmeg go into this lovely filling.  I had a little filling leftover when I finished up, so I tossed it into some brown butter and sage to make a sauce.  And that’s it!

If I had massive amounts of time, I would love to make a trio of veggie raviolis to serve together – this one, the beet and goat cheese one, and a spinach one (maybe with feta?).  Wouldn’t that be fun?  And with the fresh pasta, you could see the orange, purple, and green fillings and it would be super pretty.  *Sigh*  One day!

Carrot Ricotta Ravioli
adapted from Food and Wine
serves 2-4, about 36 ravioli

Pasta:
2 cups flour
3 eggs, beaten
1 tbsp olive oil

Filling:
3 large carrots (3/4 lb), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp minced shallot
1 tbsp heavy cream
5 oz ricotta (1/2 cup firmly packed)
6 tbsp freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1 large egg yolk

Pulse the flour in a food processor to evenly distribute and aerate.  Add the eggs and olive oil.  Process until the dough forms a rough ball, about 30 seconds.  (If the dough resembles small pebbles, add water 1/2 tsp at a time; if it sticks to the side of the bowl, add flour 1 tbsp at a time.)

Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and knead until smooth, about 1 minute.  Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for at least 15 minutes or up to 2 hours

Make the filling.  Preheat the oven to 400°.  In a baking dish, toss the carrots with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Cover with foil and bake for about 45 minutes, until tender and lightly browned.  Let cool slightly.

In a small skillet, melt the butter . Add the shallot and cook over moderate heat until softened, about 3 minutes.

In a food processor, combine the carrots, shallot, and cream and puree until smooth.  Transfer the puree to a bowl.  Stir in the ricotta, Parmigiano, and nutmeg and season with salt and pepper.  Stir in the egg yolk (taste for seasoning before you do this).

Roll out the pasta dough using a pasta roller.  Set the thin sheet of dough over a ravioli press.  Drop small balls of filling into the pockets.  Lay a second rectangle of pasta over the filling layer.  Seal the edges by pressing a rolling pin over the top.  Flip over, release from the mold (flouring the mold/pasta helps), and cut into squares with whatever cutter you have available.

Boil the ravioli, about a dozen at a time, for 4 minutes.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer the ravioli from the pot to plates.  Top with sauce of choice (I recommend brown butter, or white wine cream) and a sprinkle of extra Parmesan.

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2013 Wrap Up

Meat Ravioli

Well Dined | Homemade Meat Ravioli

A couple of weeks ago, I posted about some gorgeous beet and goat cheese raviolis that I made.  Jasper enjoyed those, but what he really wanted was meaty ravioli – so of course I made some for him!

Well Dined | Homemade Meat Ravioli

The process is exactly the same, just with a different filling.  And let me say, I REALLY like this filling.  My favorite mixture of beef, pork, and veal (sold as “meatloaf mix” in most stores) is browned with butter, olive oil, onion, and garlic.  Then prosciutto, Parmesan, nutmeg, and an egg are added, along with salt and pepper.  The filling is completely cooked (except for the egg) before it goes into the ravioli because fresh ravioli only cook for a minute or two.

Well Dined | Homemade Meat Ravioli

I served them with a creamy tomato sauce, yum! (more…)

Roasted Beet and Goat Cheese Ravioli

Well Dined | Roasted Beet and Goat Cheese Ravioli

I recently bought a pasta roller and learned to start making my own pasta (you can read about my first adventure here).  One of the very first things that I made on my own was this gorgeous roasted beet and goat cheese ravioli.

Well Dined | Imperia Pasta Roller

Here is my lovely pasta roller!

Well Dined | Norpro Ravioli Press

This is my ravioli press – lay a sheet of pasta over it, and use a plastic mold to press down and form pockets.

Well Dined | Roasted Beet and Goat Cheese Ravioli

Then place the filling into the pockets – check out the crazy fuschia color of the beet filling! (more…)

Fresh Homemade Pasta!

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I have been wanting to learn to make my own pasta for years, so I was super jealous when my friend Melissa (you know her by now) got a pasta roller for Christmas.  I had been thinking about getting the Kitchen Aid attachment (versus the hand crank kind) but it is very expensive and I had read reviews about them breaking and being hard to clean.  Melissa said that her manual roller was very easy to use, and invited me over to try it out / teach me how to use it.

Our first experiment was Spinach Ravioli with a Creamy Tomato and Veggie Sauce – yum!

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The first step is to make the filling.  Saute diced onion in butter, then add in frozen spinach (thawed and drained) to cook out any liquid.

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Add in ricotta, Parmesan, and an egg yolk. (more…)

Homemade Ricotta – Summer’s Last Hurrah

I was browsing through blogs and found a series of recipes on Alexandra’s Kitchen involving homemade ricotta cheese that looked perfect for the end of summer. The recipes all looked really great but I questioned whether or not making ricotta versus buying it would make that much of a difference. I decided to go ahead and try it since it didn’t look all that difficult.


All you have to do is boil milk and cream, and add vinegar to curdle the milk.

(more…)