Ricotta and Spinach Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter
Spinach and Ricotta cheese, flavored with nutmeg and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, is a classic Italian mixture for filled pastas and gnocchi. It’s fresh, cheesy, and green, and also very quick and easy to prepare. For that reason I chose this one as my first ravioli to make at home, as I wanted to put my attention to getting the dough just right, and shaping and sealing the ravioli neatly. What I found, though, is that all that really isn’t so difficult as I thought it might be, although as always when working with dough and pasta, patience is critical – it takes a lot of time.
I had this mixture in mind from a recipe I made previously for Roman spinach-Ricotta dumplings. It is a versatile filling and is now one of my standby’s for quick filled pastas.
Heat & Knives
The Recipe
Source: the Mezzaluna Cookbook by Aldo Bozzi and Isabel Bau Madden
The Ravioli:
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 pounds fresh spinach, washed and patted dry
1 garlic clove, chopped
fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3/4 pound fresh ricotta cheese, drained in a strainer for 30 minutes
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
pinch of grated nutmeg
1 recipe basic pasta dough (below)
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
8 whole sage leaves
Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the spinach and garlic and saute over medium heat for a few minutes until the spinach is wilted. Season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool.
Chop the spinach coarsely and transfer to a food processor. Add the ricotta, egg yolks, Parmesan cheese, and nutmeg and process until smooth and well blended.
Divide the pasta dough in 2 pieces and roll on a floured work surface or pass through a pasta machine set on the last setting. Stretch the pasta very thin, less than one-sixteenth of an inch thick. Brush one layer with cold water, then dot half tablespoons of the filling in rows 2 inches apart. Cover with the second layer, molding the ravioli by pressing around the filling with your fingers. Cut between the rows of filling with a pasta cutter to make individual raviolis.
Gently cook the ravioli in abundant boiling salted water for 5 to 6 minutes until firm but tender. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a serving bowl.
In the meantime, while you are cooking the ravioli, brown the butter in a skillet and add the sage leaves. Pour over the ravioli and serve.
Basic Pasta Dough:
2 cups durum flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 eggs
water as needed
In a bowl, combine all the pasta dough ingredients and mix well until the dough is firm and dry, adding water only as necessary to make the dough come together. Cover with a damp towel and allow the dough to rest for 1/2 hour.
