how do you like your ravioli?

[lestblight]

Aside from filling-

just boiled and served with some oil?

or pan fried ? dusted in bread crumbs lightly and fried with a light sauce?

thinking of making some raviolis for xmas with a fresh ricotta and roasted garlic /spinach interior. never dusted with bread crumbs. any pointers? and any idea on a perfect sauce?

thanks.

[Alice Letseat]

There's an old family restaurant in South Philly that uses this sauce for oversize homemade cheese ravioli....super thin slices of (olive oil) very gently sauteed garlic with chopped anchovies and fresh parsley (yes, just like a bagna cauda sauce). I've used this often at home (and also with fresh pasta). It's fabulous - as long as you love anchovies and garlic!

[c oliver]

That sounds terrific. There was something a long time ago, not even sure if it was on CH, about roasting lots of heads of garlic and then freezing individual cloves. I was thinking about that yesterday (after overdoing the garlic at lunch!). Sometimes raw-ish garlic can overwhelm. I also just bought a tin of salt-packed anchovies yesterday so you're singing my song :) Thanks.

[Den]

I'm a line cook and basically my job at the restaurant is making fresh pasta. For a primarily ricotta filling I would use a tomato based sauce or a blush sauce (tomato and cream). If you have a savory filling, ie; mushroom, butternut squash, pumpkin, etc. they lend themselves to brown butter and sage or a cream sauce with cheese or bechemel.

For your ricotta based ravs you may want to try adding sauteed Swiss chard. Saute the chard with minced garlic in a little oil, process the wilted chard then add in your ricotta, parmagiano reggiano or pecorino, a little mozzerella and a pinch of nutmeg. Add eggs for a binder so the filling doesn't run out when the ravs are cut. Serve with a red or blush sauce.

For a savory, try caramalizing some onions, add a little minced garlic and then add in mushrooms. When the mushrooms are cooked, process the mix, add your cheese(s) of choice in an amount not to overpower the mushroom mix along with egg for a binder. You can add seasoned bread crumbs into the filling. Sauce with brown butter and sage or a cream sauce.

[alkapal]

you sound like a darn fine line cook, too, den! ;-).

[Den]

More 1 dimensional, at least they let me find something I'm actually getting good at...LOL.

[ginnyhw]

Love the blush sauce idea!

[lestblight]

thanks!.. i went with the sage and butter..

came out wonderful..

but i have a question about technique.

so i bought sheets from an italian pasta shop and used those..

they were a pain in the ass to use since i had to worry about them cracking etc.

so my issue is. i cant get a fat filling inside. i froze my mixture a bit so it wasn't liquidy and applied the egg wash.

but still felt if i put too much it would rip the dough.
so i put less.. They came out ok.. but i would like to make them fatter.

any pointers to share?

thanks

p

[Den]

Egg wash isn't really needed. Next time just dip your finger in water and run it around the edges to be sealed. It sounds like you went free form on the ravs as opposed to using a ravioli form. Nonetheless, the stiffer your filling is the more likely you'll get tears in the dough. The filling shouldn't be runny but what works best for me is about the consistency of mayo. Because of the number we make I always use a ravioli form and fill with a piping bag.

[Den]

By the way, when making ravioli, I never run the dough to the last setting on the pasta roller. I always stop at the 3rd to the last as I've found that thickness works best for filling and provides a good "tooth" to the pasta when cooked.

[c oliver]

Also you can also use two squares if you want a lot of filling.

[lestblight]

what do u mean by 2 squares?

whats the size of a good ravioli?

[c oliver]

One pasta square on the bottom, filling and a second one on top and seal. I don't do that but one could. I make my own pasta (thanks, jfood) so the pasta is as much a part of the flavor as the filling. I don't want more filling. Just saying....

[Jennalynn]

Isn't that the only way to make ravioli?

[alkapal]

eric ripert was in tuscany last night on createtv. as instructed by the restaurant lady, he folded over the long strip of fresh egg/semolina pasta over several tablespoon sized dollops of spinach/ricotta/egg filling that had been put for an hour in the fridge (iirc) to set up and be less likely to run when cooked or break the pasta. once he folded over, he gently cupped his hands around each dollop of filling to press out the air, and then cut the raviolis.

[c oliver]

I make my ravioli by putting filling in the middle and folding it into a triangle. I've done it enough that way that I forgot that traditional is square :)

[eight_inch_pestle]

Totally depends on the filling, but generally prefer butter or butter and Parmesan (real stuff) or butter and Parmesan and a bit of local heavy cream. Sage from the porch marries well with any and all, as does freshly cracked pepper. Red sauce is OK with a plain meat filling, and I sometimes will use an oil, sage, and well-browned garlic dressing for a plain cheese filling (I think that last came from A New Way to Cook).

[Sam Fujisaka]

No frying and no red sauces. Just a little bit of a very light cream/butter sauce with fresh herbs and some freshly ground black pepper at the most.

[c oliver]

+1. Homemade ravioli are too special to take away from the pure taste of them.

[coll]

I can't imagine serving with oil. Ravioli was made for red sauce. Marinara, meat, who cares, it's all good. Fried ravioli is too new age for my tastes.

[Perilagu Khan]

Agree totally with coll.

[lestblight]

i was going to go with some butter sage sauce for them : )

[Jennalynn]

That is my favorite way.

A pumpkin ravioli in butter sage sauce is heaven.

[The Professor]

Butter & Sage...yes! Even just butter and a bit of grated cheese.

Some ravioli are good with "red sauce", as long as they're not sauced too heavily. I like to taste the ravioli and the filling and not have it overwhelmed by sauce.

[Whats_For_Dinner]

Definitely another vote for butter and maybe a little bit of good cheese -- cheese isn't even that necessary. I just want to taste the ravioli.

If it's a really unembellished meat or plain cheese filling, tomato-based would be okay, I guess. And a nice cream sauce is hard to fault on any pasta. But for me, the simplicity of just good butter is impossible to beat.

Oh man, I'm hungry now...