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There's something so comforting about warm, home-made pasta. Making pasta at home seemed intimidating to me until I tried doing it. I wouldn't call this a simple weeknight meal but with some time and some patience, this recipe will definitely make you smile. Don't worry too much about being very neat. As you can tell from the pictures below, this dish has a rustic feel. I used 1 part of 100% whole wheat flour and 2 parts of all-purpose flour. The whole wheat flour does make the pasta a bit dense but it contains 3 times more fiber than all-purpose flour. It also contains a higher amount of micro-nutrients like magnesium and vitamin B6 than its refined counterpart. Top this ravioli with your favorite sauce (home-made marinara sauce, Alfredo sauce, pesto - any of these will go well with ravioli). Or, just drizzle some olive oil over the ravioli, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and enjoy!
Serves: 4, Prep time: 1.5 hours, Cook time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
Pasta:
1/2 cup 100% whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
water
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
3 tbsp good quality olive oil
Filling:
1 tsp olive oil
5-6 baby bella/crimini mushrooms
1 carrot
1/2 medium red onion
2 cloves garlic
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp dry oregano
1/2 tsp dry basil
Fresh basil and olive oil for garnish
Directions:
Add all the ingredients for the dough except water into a stand mixer with dough hook attachment. You can also knead the dough by hand but it will require a bit of elbow grease.
Turn on the mixer and start adding water, a few tablespoons at a time. Be cautious while adding the water because the dough comes together quite quickly. If kneading by hand, add water till dough comes together and forms a sticky lump.
Keep mixing on medium speed for at least 7 minutes. Or, keep kneading by hand for 7 to 10 minutes. The dough will be quite sticky initially but will eventually become smooth.
Once the dough forms a smooth ball, cover with a damp cloth and let rest for at least 20 minutes.
In the meanwhile, prepare the filling. In a food processor, pulse the vegetables till they are very finely minced. Or, finely chop with a knife.
In a skillet, add olive oil and once warm, add the minced vegetables and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add the seasoning and dry herbs and keep cooking on medium-low heat until all the water from the vegetables cooks off. Try to keep the filling as dry as possible.
Turn off the heat and spread the cooked filling out on a plate. Let the filling cool down to room temperature. Don't try to fill ravioli with warm filling.
Rolling the pasta: Divide the dough into 2 parts. If you have a pasta maker, roll each half into a sheet. You can roll it to your desired thickness but I would suggest keeping it a bit thick (1-2 mm) so that it holds the filling well. Or, roll with a rolling pin. Don't worry about the shape of the sheet. Just make sure each dough ball is rolled into sheets of similar dimensions so that they roughly match when one is placed over the other. After rolling one sheet, spread a clean kitchen towel over it before rolling the next.
By the time the 2 sheets are rolled out, the filling should cool down. Place one rolled pasta sheet on a floured surface and add the filling on the sheet, 1 tbsp at a time, around 1.5 inches apart. Once all the filling is on the sheet, carefully place the second sheet over the first. Press down on the edges of the sheets to seal and then press down between the filling to seal each ravioli and create a guide for cutting them. With a sharp knife or ravioli cutter, cut out the individual pieces.
Since I used a knife to cut the ravioli and not a cutter, I pressed down the edges of each ravioli with a fork to seal them and create a pattern.
Add the sealed ravioli into a large pot of boiling water seasoned with a pinch of salt. Cook for 6 to 7 minutes until pasta is al dente.
Pull out cooked ravioli with a slotted spoon and place in serving bowl. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle some ground black pepper if you desire. Add a few leaves of fresh basil and serve warm.
The ravioli can also be served with your favorite pasta sauce. The next time you feel like eating ravioli, take some time to try this recipe and let me know how you like it in the comments below.
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