Sage and ricotta ravioli

Some things are worth repeating; there are movies I have seen more than five times and I’ll gladly catch any TV reruns.

So here I am, more than a year later, making raviolis with Deb’s pasta recipe again. It’s so divine I don’t know what took me so long.

I still haven’t bought a pasta machine but made it anyway, so put a little faith in your arms, grab a good rolling pin and you are good to go.

I used a sage and ricotta filling this time - an idea from Donna Hay Magazine #32. The small article suggests mixing ricotta, sage and parmesan and making raviolis using wonton wrappers. I used this recipe and added a bit of color with basil.

Since there are no measurements in the magazine, I’m posting what I used and it was enough for me and Joao to share.

Sage and ricotta ravioli
adapted from Donna Hay magazine

Pasta:
210g all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
½ teaspoon salt
1 handful basil leaves
2 tablespoons water

Filling:
¾ cup ricotta cheese
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil*
7-8 large sage leaves, finely chopped
3 tablespoons grated parmesan
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Tomato sauce and grated parmesan, to serve

Make the pasta: place basil and water in a small food processor and process until the water turns dark green. Set aside.
Mound flour on a work surface, preferably wooden – I used granite - and make a well in center. Add eggs and salt. With a fork, gently beat eggs until combined. Gradually stir in enough flour to form a paste, pulling in flour closest to egg mixture and being careful not to make an opening in outer wall of well. Knead remaining flour into mixture with your hands to form a dough, adding the water (dough should be firm and not sticky) – I added bits of processed basil along with the water:



Knead dough until smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes. Place it in a dish, cover with an inverted bowl and let stand 1 hour.

For the filling: place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well using a fork.

On a lightly floured surface, place amounts of pasta and roll out with a rolling pin, making a rectangle.
Drop mounds of filling in a row down center of one half of sheet. Brush egg wash around each mound – I used water - then fold other half of sheet over filling. Press down firmly around each mound, forcing out air. (Air pockets increase the chance that ravioli will break during cooking.)
Cut pasta (between mounds) with cutter into rectangles.
Line a large shallow baking pan with baking paper then arrange ravioli in 1 layer in it.

Proceed with the remaining pasta/filling the same way.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add ravioli, carefully stirring to separate, and, adjusting heat to keep water at a gentle boil, cook until pasta is just tender, about 6 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a colander.
Serve at once with your favorite sauce.

* the ricotta we have here it’s a bit dry, that’s why I added olive oil

Serves 2