Ravioli
Ingredients for 4 persons
For the hand made pasta:
4 eggs + 400 gr flour (00)
For the filling:
200 g ricotta
200 g gorgonzola
salt
Preparation
Put the flour in a bowl or on the table and make a well in the centre.
Add the eggs and, using a fork or your fingers, begin to incorporate flour from the edges. Work till the dough is smooth. Note the dough must not be sticky. If it is, just add a little flour.
Form a rough ball with the dough, wrap it tight with cling film and put in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. This will make it easier to work it, making the dough less elastic.
After 30 minutes, put the dough on the table (if it gets sticky, just flour the surface) or on a wood or marble board, and knead it for a few minutes.
Roll out the dough with a rolling pin until very thin (if you have the Imperia Pasta machine, you can use it! I often use it, especially when I’m in a hurry).
If you are going to use this dough to make tagliatelle, it should not be too thin, but to make perfect ravioli … roll it really very thin! If you can’t roll all the dough together, cut it in 2 or more pieces. While you are rolling one piece, keep the other well wrapped in the cling film, otherwise the dough will dry up and you will find it difficult to work it.
Now take a pasta cutter or a glass, or the special ravioli cutter, and cut the ravioli.
Put one tablespoon of filling in the centre of the ravioli, being careful not to put the filling too near the edges. Using your fingers, wet the edges of the ravioli with a little water (not too much).
It helps to make the dough adhere and make ravioli that don’t come apart while cooking! Lastly, fold in two the ravioli and press the edges with your fingers to make sure the dough adheres ……
Now, the ravioli are ready.
Cook them in salted water (for 3-5 minutes) or till they are ready,
then carefully remove them and put in a pan with the prepared sugo al pomodoro (see recipe below). Add parmesan, a few leaves of basilico and eat the ravioli immediately, while still hot.
Sugo al pomodoro: to prepare the sauce, put in a pan 2 cloves of garlic with 4 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, let it become a little gold (don’t burn it!), then add the tomato (we use pomodori pelati, 1 tin/250g of canned tomato), a little salt and cook a little. It must not be watery... but don’t cook it too long. If you buy good quality tomato tins, you will not need to cook it for long. Once cooked, you can add some leaves of basil.
Well... it may seem difficult, but it's easier to make than to explain ! Try it and let us know if you have any problem.
