Egg Stuffed Ravioli Recipes

RAVIOLO AL' UOVO

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, Parm, parsley and 2 whole eggs; mix well and season with salt.
• Dust a clean work surface lightly with all-purpose flour and lay out two sheets of pasta about 12 inches long; brush them lightly with water. Equally space 4 dollops of the ricotta mixture on each pasta sheet; then use a spoon to make a "nest" or small hole in the center of each dollop. Carefully separate the remaining eggs (reserve the whites for another purpose) and put a yolk in each ricotta "nest"--the ricotta should lovingly nestle each yolk (if a yolk breaks, scoop it out with a spoon and don't use it).
• Cover the ricotta nests and egg yolk with another sheet of pasta. Use your index fingers to press around each ricotta nest to seal the edges, then use a fluted ring cutter or dough roller to cut around each ravioli (they should be 3 to 4 inches in diameter). Reserve the ravioli on a tray generously dusted with semolina.
• Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. In a large saute pan, melt half the butter and add half of the chicken stock (you're going to use the remainder for your next batch); season with salt and toss in half the sage. Bring this to a boil (BTB) and reduce to simmer (RTS).
• Add 4 of the ravioli to the boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. Using a spider or slotted spoon, carefully transfer the ravioli from the water to the pan with butter and chicken stock and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. If the sauce reduces too much, add a few drops of the pasta cooking water. The sauce should cling to the ravioli in a buttery hug.
• Transfer the ravioli to serving plates, spoon a little extra sauce over each one, and finish with a sprinkey-dink of grated Parm. Repeat with the remaining ravioli.
• Mound the flour on a clean, dry work surface. Make a big hole (called a well) in the center of the flour pile--bigger is definitely better here. Crack the eggs into the hole along with the extra yolk, olive oil, and 2 tablespoons water; season with salt. Using a fork, beat the eggs together with the olive oil, water, and salt and begin to incorporate the flour into the egg mixture. Be careful not to break the well or the egg mixture will run everywhere and you'll have a big fat mess on your hands (and your board). When enough flour is incorporated that you can handle the dough, use your hands to combine everything really well. If the mixture is tight and dry, wet your hands a bit. When the mixture is homogeneous, start kneading...
• To knead the dough, it's VERY important to put your body weight into it, to get on top of the dough, and really stretch it. Be careful not to tear it--the idea is that you stretch the dough, not rip it. Use the heels of your palms and roll the mixture over itself. When it's done it should be smooth, supple, and velvety and look like the head of a preemie Cabbage Patch Doll. Kneading will take anywhere from 8 to 15 minutes, depending on how experienced you are. (Don't hold back: This is where the perfect, toothsome texture of your pasta is formed. Get in there and work it!)
• When the pasta is ready, wrap it in plastic and let rest for at least an hour at room temperature before rolling. If you're making the dough ahead of time, wrap, refrigerate, and bring to room temperature before using.
• To roll out the pasta, you need to run the dough through the pasta roller a bunch of times to get it long and thin. To start, cut off about a quarter of the dough (remember, the bigger the piece you start with, the longer your dough is going to get), keeping the rest wrapped up so it doesn't dry out. Squish the dough to flatten it--this will help it run through the pasta roller more easily. Where do we start? We start at the beginning! Run the dough through the pasta roller starting on the widest setting, number 1. Then dust the dough with flour, fold it into thirds, and put the dough through this setting two more times. If the dough ever feels sticky or tacky, give it a little dusting of flour. Now adjust the setting to number 2 and repeat the process again--changing the setting each time until your dough is the desired thickness. Once the dough is rolled out, be sure to keep the pasta sheets covered so they don't dry out. Depending on what I want to use the pasta for, I usually stop around number 5 or 6. For long noodles, I keep it thicker, and for ravioli or stuffed pasta, I keep it thinner. All pasta machines are different, so you need to judge how your pasta machine works and adjust your rolling accordingly. Once you get the thickness you want, repeat this process with the remaining pieces of dough.

HOMEMADE RAVIOLI

Steps:

• Place 5 cups flour in a large bowl. Make a well in the center. Beat the eggs, water and oil; pour into well. Stir together, forming a ball. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 4-6 minutes, adding remaining flour if necessary to keep dough from sticking. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes., Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, combine sauce ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally., In a large bowl, combine filling ingredients. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use., Divide pasta dough into fourths; roll 1 portion to 1/16-in. thickness. (Keep pasta covered until ready to use.) Working quickly, place rounded teaspoonfuls of filling 1 in. apart over half of pasta sheet. Fold sheet over; press down to seal. Cut into squares with a pastry wheel. Repeat with remaining dough and filling., Bring a soup kettle of salted water to a boil. Add ravioli. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer; cook until ravioli float to the top and are tender, 1-2 minutes. Drain. Spoon sauce over ravioli.

RAVIOLI (DOUGH AND CHOICE OF 4 FILLINGS)

Steps:

• MAKING THE FILLING: Ricotta Filling#1: In a large bowl, blend all filling ingredients together until smooth, set aside filling until needed.
• Ricotta Filling#2: In a large bowl, blend all filling ingredients together until smooth, set aside filling until needed.
• Beef and Spinach Filling: Brown beef and veal in butter with the whole clove of garlic.
• Remove garlic and let meat mixture cool.
• Mix spinach, parsley, eggs, cheese and nutmeg into cooled meat until well blended, set aside filling until needed.
• Sausage Filling: Brown sausage in frying pan, drain fat and allow sausage to cool.
• When sausage has cooled, mix in eggs and cheese, set aside filling until needed.
• MAKING THE RAVIOLI DOUGH: Sift flour and salt together.
• Place flour mixture on a board, making a well in the center of the flour.
• Drop eggs into the flour well, using your hand or a fork, break the yolks and beat eggs slightly.
• Combine the eggs and flour together, gradually adding enough warm water to make a stiff dough.
• Knead dough well, until smooth; cover the dough and let it rest for 15 minutes.
• Cut dough in half and roll each half of the dough out on a floured board, into a very thin sheet (about 1/16 to 1/8 inch thick).
• FILLING THE RAVIOLI: Drop about 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoonfuls of filling about 1 1/2 inches apart all along the dough.
• When the sheet of dough is fully dotted with dabs of filling mixture, cover filling with other sheet of dough.
• Using your fingers, gently press dough between each dab of filling to seal it.
• Cut ravioli into squares with a (zig-zag edged) pastry cutter, or very sharp knife.
• DRYING THE RAVIOLI: Allow ravioli to dry for one hour before cooking.
• COOKING THE RAVIOLI: Drop ravioli into 6 to 8 quarts of boiling, salted water and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until dough is tender.
• Remove cooked ravioli from pot carefully with a skimmer or a large slotted spoon, and drain well.
• Place drained ravioli on a serving platter in layers, alternating layers with your favorite sauce and a sprinkling of grated cheese between each ravioli layer.
• Serve hot.

HOMEMADE FOUR CHEESE RAVIOLI

Steps:

• Mound the flour and salt together on a work surface and form a well. Beat the teaspoon of olive oil, 2 eggs, and water in a bowl. Pour half the egg mixture into the well. Begin mixing the egg with the flour with one hand; use your other hand to keep the flour mound steady. Add the remaining egg mixture and knead to form a dough.
• Knead the dough until smooth, 8 to 10 minutes; add more flour if the dough is too sticky. Form the dough into a ball and wrap tightly with plastic. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
• While the dough is resting, prepare the ravioli filling. Combine the ricotta cheese, cream cheese, mozzarella cheese, provolone cheese, egg, and parsley and mix well. Set the filling aside.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the crushed garlic and pesto sauce and cook for one minute. Pour in the heavy cream, raise the heat to high, and bring the sauce to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the Parmesan cheese and stir until the cheese melts. Remove the pan from the heat and keep warm.
• Meanwhile, in a separate saucepan, warm the marinara sauce over medium-low heat.
• Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Beat the egg with the tablespoon of water to make the egg wash.
• Roll out the pasta dough into thin sheets no thicker than a nickel. To assemble the ravioli, brush the egg wash over a sheet of pasta. Drop the filling mixture on the dough by teaspoonfuls about one inch apart. Cover the filling with the top sheet of pasta, pressing out the air from around each portion of filling. Press firmly around the filling to seal. Cut into individual ravioli with a knife or pizza cutter. Seal the edges.
• Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Stir in the ravioli, and return to a boil. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the ravioli float to the top and the filling is hot, 4 to 8 minutes. Drain well.
• Grease a baking sheet. Place the cooked ravioli on the sheet pan and bake in the preheated oven until brown, about 4 minutes.
• To serve the ravioli, divide them among four warmed serving bowls. Drizzle the marinara sauce over the ravioli and then top with the cream sauce.

EGG YOLK- AND RICOTTA-FILLED RAVIOLI RECIPE

Steps:

• Make the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment, combine all the dough ingredients and mix until the dough comes together, then transfer to a clean work surface and knead, 3 to 5 minutes. Divide into 2 pieces and shape each into a disk. Wrap in plastic and let rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
• Make the sauce: In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook until golden and fat has rendered, 6 minutes. Add the chile paste and garlic, and cook until caramelized and fragrant, 2 minutes.
• Add the tomatoes and sugar, and bring to a light simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 20 minutes. Season with salt, then set aside.
• While the sauce simmers, make the filling: In a food processor, combine all the filling ingredients, except for the 8 egg yolks, and purée until smooth. Transfer to a piping bag and chill until ready to use.
• Using a pasta roller, roll out half of the dough, using flour as needed, into a ⅙-inch-thick sheet. Repeat with the other half of dough. Cut each sheet in half, crosswise.
• Lay 1 sheet of dough on a lightly floured work surface. With 5 inches in between, pipe four 3-inch circles of filling, leaving a ½-inch hole in the center. Nestle an egg yolk in each circle of filling. Using a small bowl of water and a pastry brush, brush a little water on the dough around each circle of filling.
• Place another sheet of dough over this one and, using your fingers, press the dough to seal the ricotta and egg yolk inside. Once the 4 pockets of filling are sealed, use a 4⅛-inch round cutter to cut out each raviolo. Place on a lightly floured tray.
• Repeat this process with the remaining 2 sheets of dough.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Drop the ravioli in and cook until the pasta is tender but the yolks are still runny, 4 to 5 minutes. Meanwhile, reheat the tomato sauce over medium heat.
• To plate, spoon the sauce across a platter. Place the cooked ravioli on top. Garnish with a drizzle of oil, freshly grated Parmesan and basil, then serve.

RAVIOLI STUFFED WITH RICOTTA AND SPINACH

Steps:

• Spoon the ricotta into a large fine-mesh sieve or a colander lined with a double thickness of cheesecloth or a basket-type coffee filter. Set the sieve over a bowl and cover the ricotta well with plastic wrap. Let the ricotta drain in the refrigerator at least overnight or up to 24 hours. Discard the liquid in the bottom of the bowl.
• In a wide braising pan or deep skillet, heat the oil over medium-low heat. Add the leeks and scallions and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the chopped spinach and increase the heat to medium. Season lightly with salt and pepper and cook over moderate heat until the vegetables are tender and the liquid is evaporated, about 10 minutes. Set in a strainer and cool completely.
• Stir the fresh ricotta, Parmigiano-Reggiano, parsley, and sautéed greens together in a bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper and stir in the egg. Chill thoroughly.
• While the filling is chilling, make the pasta dough and let rest.
• Form and cut the ravioli according to directions on page 190. The ravioli should be cooked immediately or refrigerated up to 4 hours. (The ravioli may also be frozen: Place the sheets of ravioli onto a freezer shelf and freeze until solid to the touch. Carefully transfer the ravioli to resealable plastic bags or airtight plastic containers.)
• Bring 6 quarts of salted water to a boil in an 8-quart pot over high heat. Slip the ravioli into the water a few at a time, stirring gently as you do. Cook until the edges of the pasta are tender but still firm to the bite and they rise to the surface, about 6 minutes after the water returns to a boil.
• While the ravioli are cooking, divide the tomato sauce, olive oil, and basil between two large skillets and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Fish out the ravioli with a wire skimmer or large flat slotted spoon, drain them well over the pasta pot, and slide them into the pans of sauce, dividing them evenly. Simmer, stirring gently with a spoon until the sauce is lightly reduced and the ravioli are coated. Remove the pans from the heat, check the seasoning, and add salt and pepper if necessary. Spoon the ravioli into warm bowls or onto a warm platter, sprinkle with the grated cheese, and serve immediately.
• Variation: Butter-Sage Sauce (Conditi all Burro e Salvia)
• Melt one stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter in a large skillet over low heat. (The heat should be low enough to melt the butter slowly, without its separating or turning clear.) Add eight to ten whole sage leaves and remove the skillet from the heat. Ladle out about 1 cup of the ravioli-cooking water before you drain them. Either fish the ravioli out of the pot with a large wire skimmer or drain them gently. Add the ravioli to the skillet. Pour in enough of the cooking liquid to make a sufficient amount of creamy sauce to coat the ravioli generously. Bring to a quick boil, then remove from the heat. Stir in grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, salt, and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

SOFT EGG RAVIOLI

Steps:

• For filling:
• Mix all ingredients in small bowl. Refrigerate while making pasta.
• For pasta:
• Whisk flour and salt in medium bowl; make shallow well in center. Add egg yolks, 6 tablespoons water, and oil to well. Using fork, whisk water, egg yolks, and oil. Gradually work in flour from around egg mixture to form crumbly mixture. Knead in bowl until dough comes together, adding more water by 1/2 teaspoonfuls if dry. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Divide into 4 equal portions. Cover with plastic wrap; let rest on work surface 30 minutes.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Turn pasta machine to widest setting. Flatten 1 dough piece to rectangle (cover remaining pieces with plastic wrap). Run dough through machine 2 times. Fold uneven ends over to make straight edge. Adjust machine to next narrower setting. Run dough through machine 2 times, dusting lightly with flour if sticky. Cut dough strip in half crosswise for easier handling. Repeat running dough through machine 2 more times on each narrower setting until pasta is generous 1/16 inch thick (setting #2), dusting lightly with flour if sticky.
• Whisk 1 egg in small bowl for egg wash. Place dough strips on work surface. Cut each strip into three 4-inch squares, trimming as needed. Place 3 pasta squares on 1 prepared baking sheet. Place 1 rounded tablespoon ricotta filling in center of each of 3 squares, spreading filling to 2 1/2-inch circle. Make well in center of filling large enough to hold 1 egg yolk. Carefully break 1 egg open and separate yolk from white (reserve egg white for another use). Gently place egg yolk in well of filling. Brush edges of pasta dough with egg wash. Carefully place 1 pasta square atop egg yolk, pressing edges of pasta squares together to seal tightly, enclosing yolk and filling completely. Dust ravioli lightly with flour. Repeat procedure with remaining pasta, ricotta filling, yolks, and egg wash for a total of 8 ravioli. DO AHEAD:Ravioli can be made 4 hours ahead. Refrigerate uncovered.
• For butter truffle sauce:
• Pour 6 tablespoons water into large skillet and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Add butter and stir until melted and bubbling. Stir in truffle oil and sliced truffles. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
• Meanwhile, add enough water to large skillet to measure 1 1/2inches; sprinkle with salt. Bring water to boil. Working in 2 batches, gently slide ravioli into skillet, egg yolk side up; adjust heat to keep water below rolling boil and cook just until pasta is tender, being careful not to overcook egg yolks, about 3 minutes (do not turn ravioli over).
• With slotted spoon, transfer 2 ravioli to each of 4 plates. Spoon sauce over.

SPINACH-AND-CHEESE-RAVIOLI EGG BAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush bottom and sides of a nonstick 5-by-9-inch loaf pan with oil. Scatter pasta and tomatoes evenly in bottom of pan. In a bowl, whisk together eggs, half-and-half, and 1/4 cup cheese; season with salt and pepper. Pour egg mixture into pan. Bake 10 minutes. Meanwhile, stir together panko, oil, and remaining 1 tablespoon cheese. Season with salt and pepper.
• Sprinkle panko mixture over egg mixture. Continue baking until puffed and golden brown on top and set in center, about 30 minutes more (if top is browning too quickly, tent with foil). Let cool 10 minutes. Run a knife around edges of pan; invert egg bake onto a cutting board to remove from pan, then turn top-side up. Slice and serve, with relish and sliced vegetables.