“Going to the Santa Cruz County Fair is a family tradition. One year the Home Arts Department had a couple come do a demonstration on how to make homemade ravioli. They were kind enough to share the recipe with us. It’s a bit of work, but make up a bunch at one time and then freeze what you don’t use for a quick meal later.” – April Ferre
Spinach & Ricotta Ravioli
Ingredients
- 2 Recipes Pasta Dough
- 8 Ounces Spinach Steamed & Chopped
- 2 Cloves Garlic Pressed
- 1/2 Cup Ricotta Cheese
- 1/3 Cup Parmesan Cheese Grated
- 1/4 Teaspoon Salt Or to Taste
- 1/8 Teaspoon Pepper Or to Taste
- 1 Extra Large Egg
- Pinch Nutmeg
- 1/3 Cup Vegetable or Chicken Broth
- 1/3 Cup Butter Cold, In Pieces
- Pine Nuts Toasted
- Parmesan Cheese Freshly Grated
Instructions
Making the Dough:
- **See Pasta Dough recipe**
- If you get dough that is tough to roll out, use it for something besides ravioli, such as lasagna noodles.
- Ravioli dough, when rolled out, is very tender and translucent, almost transparent. Experimenting, you will find the way to tender dough. Some days are not good for making ravioli!
Making the Filling:
- Combine spinach and the next 7 ingredients until thoroughly mixed. Putting through a grinder or food processor works well.
Assembling the Ravioli:
- Roll out dough until very thin on a floured surface. Turn dough often to keep from sticking to the board.
- Use your favorite method of assembling ravioli.
Freezing the Ravioli: (Optional)
- On a cookie sheet place a piece of wax or parchment paper sprinkled with rice flour.
- Layer the ravioli, and then sprinkle again with rice flour and freeze. When completely frozen, place in Ziploc bags.
- Do not use wheat flour, it will make the broth sticky.
Cooking the Ravioli:
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. After water is boiling add 1 teaspoon salt.
- Add ravioli and boil until tender, about 5 minutes.
Making the Butter Sauce:
- In a very small saucepan, bring broth to a boil.
- Add cold butter, one piece at a time and whisking to incorporate into the both.
- Remove from heat. Season with salt (if needed) and pepper.
To Serve:
- Toss ravioli in butter sauce and top with pine nuts and grated Parmesan cheese.
- Serve with a side salad and crusty bread.
Spinach Pasta:
- Sometimes ravioli making just doesn't work out. You try mark and cut them out, and they don't seal correctly and you end up with a sticky mess. Then there are the bits and pieces of partial ravioli that need a home.
- Here's the save: combine the leftovers and knead into a ball, adding more flour as necessary to make a workable dough.
- Roll out into a large, thin sheet and cut into fettuccine noodles. Now you have spinach pasta!
- Serve with your sauce of choice topped with grated Parmesan cheese.
2009 Recipe – Bruce and Jeri Oneto (Santa Cruz County Fair 2009)
