We love Italian cuisine (including the tiny tot who loves pasta!).
This ravioli is made from scratch. Even the pasta dough was homemade and is eggless. It is a tedious procedure but turns out really nice.
Spinach and Cheese Ravioli in Creamy Tomato Sauce
Fresh Pasta Dough
Makes 27-28 raviolis
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup semolina
Pinch of salt
1 tbspn olive oil
3/4 to 1 cup warm water
Mix the flours and salt. Drizzle in the olive oil and work the dough into bread crumb consistency. Add water little by little so that it keeps resembling bread crumbs. Slowly they will start clumping together. It will form a nice dough. Ensure it is not too soft. If required add more semolina. Set aside covered with a damp cloth for 30 mins.
Spinach and Cheese Filling
1 tbspn olive oil
1 big bunch of spinach leaves
1 cup of mixed cheese (Ricotta, Mozzarella, Parmesan)
Salt and pepper to taste
Heat olive oil in a pan, add the spinach. Cover and cook the spinach to wilt it. Once wilted, open and cook to evaporate any liquid.
Once cooled, chop the spinach and move to a bowl. Mix in the cheeses and season with salt and freshly cracked pepper.
Assembly of Ravioli
Roll out the dough on a well floured surface to as thin as you can. Paper thin is preferable (1/3 cm thickness). The thinner the pasta sheet the better the cooked ravioli would taste. However if it is too thin, then it would burst open while boiling. This is one of those hit and try method of figuring out the right thickness. But think paper.
Try to roll out the dough into a rectangle.We need to finally fold the sheet into half length wise. Next place teaspoon worth filling into one half of the sheet at equidistant spaces and cover over the other half to enclose this filling. Remove any air bubbles. I use a cookie cutter to cut them out into circles and crimp the edges with a fork.
Once made, let them dry out on a floured surface for 20 to 30 mins.
Creamy Tomato Sauce
1 tbspn olive oil
1/2 medium onion finely chopped
4-5 pods garlic finely chopped
3-4 medium de-skinned tomatoes chopped finely
1/2 cup tomato puree
Salt and pepper to taste
Red chilli flakes
Oregano
1 cup cream
Grated parmesan cheese
Heat olive oil in a pan, add the chopped garlic and onion. Cook till onions are translucent. Add the tomatoes and puree. Cover and cook for 10 mins. Add the salt, pepper and other spices. Once cooked well, add the cream and grated cheese. This sauce really tastes divine!
Final Assembly
For final cooking, bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Put in the raviolis and let it boil for 2-3 mins. They will start to float when done. Remove and add sauce on top. Garnish with more cheese and basil.
Enjoy!
This ravioli is made from scratch. Even the pasta dough was homemade and is eggless. It is a tedious procedure but turns out really nice.
Spinach and Cheese Ravioli in Creamy Tomato Sauce
Fresh Pasta Dough
Makes 27-28 raviolis
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup semolina
Pinch of salt
1 tbspn olive oil
3/4 to 1 cup warm water
Mix the flours and salt. Drizzle in the olive oil and work the dough into bread crumb consistency. Add water little by little so that it keeps resembling bread crumbs. Slowly they will start clumping together. It will form a nice dough. Ensure it is not too soft. If required add more semolina. Set aside covered with a damp cloth for 30 mins.
Spinach and Cheese Filling
1 tbspn olive oil
1 big bunch of spinach leaves
1 cup of mixed cheese (Ricotta, Mozzarella, Parmesan)
Salt and pepper to taste
Heat olive oil in a pan, add the spinach. Cover and cook the spinach to wilt it. Once wilted, open and cook to evaporate any liquid.
Once cooled, chop the spinach and move to a bowl. Mix in the cheeses and season with salt and freshly cracked pepper.
Assembly of Ravioli
Roll out the dough on a well floured surface to as thin as you can. Paper thin is preferable (1/3 cm thickness). The thinner the pasta sheet the better the cooked ravioli would taste. However if it is too thin, then it would burst open while boiling. This is one of those hit and try method of figuring out the right thickness. But think paper.
Try to roll out the dough into a rectangle.We need to finally fold the sheet into half length wise. Next place teaspoon worth filling into one half of the sheet at equidistant spaces and cover over the other half to enclose this filling. Remove any air bubbles. I use a cookie cutter to cut them out into circles and crimp the edges with a fork.
Once made, let them dry out on a floured surface for 20 to 30 mins.
Creamy Tomato Sauce
1 tbspn olive oil
1/2 medium onion finely chopped
4-5 pods garlic finely chopped
3-4 medium de-skinned tomatoes chopped finely
1/2 cup tomato puree
Salt and pepper to taste
Red chilli flakes
Oregano
1 cup cream
Grated parmesan cheese
Heat olive oil in a pan, add the chopped garlic and onion. Cook till onions are translucent. Add the tomatoes and puree. Cover and cook for 10 mins. Add the salt, pepper and other spices. Once cooked well, add the cream and grated cheese. This sauce really tastes divine!
Final Assembly
For final cooking, bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Put in the raviolis and let it boil for 2-3 mins. They will start to float when done. Remove and add sauce on top. Garnish with more cheese and basil.
Enjoy!
