Soft Farm Egg Ravioli Recipes

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, Parm, parsley and 2 whole eggs; mix well and season with salt.
• Dust a clean work surface lightly with all-purpose flour and lay out two sheets of pasta about 12 inches long; brush them lightly with water. Equally space 4 dollops of the ricotta mixture on each pasta sheet; then use a spoon to make a "nest" or small hole in the center of each dollop. Carefully separate the remaining eggs (reserve the whites for another purpose) and put a yolk in each ricotta "nest"--the ricotta should lovingly nestle each yolk (if a yolk breaks, scoop it out with a spoon and don't use it).
• Cover the ricotta nests and egg yolk with another sheet of pasta. Use your index fingers to press around each ricotta nest to seal the edges, then use a fluted ring cutter or dough roller to cut around each ravioli (they should be 3 to 4 inches in diameter). Reserve the ravioli on a tray generously dusted with semolina.
• Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. In a large saute pan, melt half the butter and add half of the chicken stock (you're going to use the remainder for your next batch); season with salt and toss in half the sage. Bring this to a boil (BTB) and reduce to simmer (RTS).
• Add 4 of the ravioli to the boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. Using a spider or slotted spoon, carefully transfer the ravioli from the water to the pan with butter and chicken stock and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. If the sauce reduces too much, add a few drops of the pasta cooking water. The sauce should cling to the ravioli in a buttery hug.
• Transfer the ravioli to serving plates, spoon a little extra sauce over each one, and finish with a sprinkey-dink of grated Parm. Repeat with the remaining ravioli.
• Mound the flour on a clean, dry work surface. Make a big hole (called a well) in the center of the flour pile--bigger is definitely better here. Crack the eggs into the hole along with the extra yolk, olive oil, and 2 tablespoons water; season with salt. Using a fork, beat the eggs together with the olive oil, water, and salt and begin to incorporate the flour into the egg mixture. Be careful not to break the well or the egg mixture will run everywhere and you'll have a big fat mess on your hands (and your board). When enough flour is incorporated that you can handle the dough, use your hands to combine everything really well. If the mixture is tight and dry, wet your hands a bit. When the mixture is homogeneous, start kneading...
• To knead the dough, it's VERY important to put your body weight into it, to get on top of the dough, and really stretch it. Be careful not to tear it--the idea is that you stretch the dough, not rip it. Use the heels of your palms and roll the mixture over itself. When it's done it should be smooth, supple, and velvety and look like the head of a preemie Cabbage Patch Doll. Kneading will take anywhere from 8 to 15 minutes, depending on how experienced you are. (Don't hold back: This is where the perfect, toothsome texture of your pasta is formed. Get in there and work it!)
• When the pasta is ready, wrap it in plastic and let rest for at least an hour at room temperature before rolling. If you're making the dough ahead of time, wrap, refrigerate, and bring to room temperature before using.
• To roll out the pasta, you need to run the dough through the pasta roller a bunch of times to get it long and thin. To start, cut off about a quarter of the dough (remember, the bigger the piece you start with, the longer your dough is going to get), keeping the rest wrapped up so it doesn't dry out. Squish the dough to flatten it--this will help it run through the pasta roller more easily. Where do we start? We start at the beginning! Run the dough through the pasta roller starting on the widest setting, number 1. Then dust the dough with flour, fold it into thirds, and put the dough through this setting two more times. If the dough ever feels sticky or tacky, give it a little dusting of flour. Now adjust the setting to number 2 and repeat the process again--changing the setting each time until your dough is the desired thickness. Once the dough is rolled out, be sure to keep the pasta sheets covered so they don't dry out. Depending on what I want to use the pasta for, I usually stop around number 5 or 6. For long noodles, I keep it thicker, and for ravioli or stuffed pasta, I keep it thinner. All pasta machines are different, so you need to judge how your pasta machine works and adjust your rolling accordingly. Once you get the thickness you want, repeat this process with the remaining pieces of dough.

Steps:

• In an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine flour and salt. Add eggs 1 at a time and continue to mix. Drizzle in oil and continue to incorporate all the flour until it forms a ball. Sprinkle some flour on work surface, knead the dough until elastic and smooth. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest for about 30 minutes to allow the gluten to relax.
• Cut the ball of dough in half, cover and reserve the dough you are not immediately using to prevent it from drying out. Dust the counter and dough with flour. Form the dough into a rectangle and roll it through the pasta machine, 2 or 3 times, at its widest setting. Guide the sheet of dough with the palm of your hand as it emerges from the rollers. *Reduce the setting and crank the dough through again, 2 or 3 times. Continue until the machine is at its narrowest setting. The dough should be paper-thin, about 1/8-inch thick.
• Dust the counter and dough with flour, lay out the long sheet of pasta. Brush the top surface of dough with egg wash. Drop 1 tablespoon of cooled filling about 2-inches apart on half the sheet of pasta. Fold the unfilled half over the filling. With an espresso cup or fingers, gently press out air pockets around each mound of filling and form a seal. Use a crimper to cut each pillow into squares. Check to make sure the crimped edges are well sealed before cooking. If making ravioli in advance, dust with cornmeal to prevent them from sticking.
• Cook the ravioli in plenty of boiling salted water for 10 to15 minutes. Ravioli will float to the top when cooked so be careful not to overcrowd the pot. Lift the ravioli from water with a large strainer or slotted spoon. Plate the pasta, top with sauce and grated cheese before serving. Garnish plate with chopped herbs and toasted pine nuts.
• *For Herb-Patterned Pasta: Follow the standard recipe given above and roll it out to a medium-thick sheet. Next, take well-washed leafy herbs such as, basil, flat-leaf parsley and tarragon, pinch away the stems so only the leaves remain. Hand press the fresh herbs on the dough's surface at 1-inch intervals. Fold the dough over itself and run the "sandwich" through the pasta machine at a thin setting. The leaves will stretch and pattern the pasta. Continue making ravioli as indicated in the procedure.

Steps:

• Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a medium skillet over medium heat until foamy. Add the garlic and cook until it starts to become golden, about 2 minutes. Stir in the spinach and 1/4 cup water. Cook, stirring often, until the spinach is tender and the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a food processor and add the ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Puree until smooth and bright green. Spoon into a plastic pastry bag or large resealable plastic bag, snip the tip to 1/4 inch wide and set aside.
• Put 8 pieces of pasta on a clean work surface and pipe a circle of the spinach mixture in the middle of each square, making sure to leave about a 1-inch border all around. Using the back of a spoon, make a well in the middle deep enough to hold an egg yolk. One by one, separate 8 eggs and put a yolk in each well. (Reserve the whites for another use.)
• Crack the remaining egg into a small bowl and beat lightly with a fork. Brush the edges of the pasta pieces with the egg, and then top with the remaining squares of pasta. Working from the edge of the filling outward, firmly press the dough together, making sure there are no air bubbles. Trim the edges of each ravioli with a sharp knife or a fluted pasta cutter.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Melt the remaining 6 tablespoons butter in a small skillet with the sage leaves over medium heat and cook, swirling often, until the butter is golden brown and the sage is fried and crisp, about 3 minutes. Set aside. Gently drop the ravioli into the water and cook until the pasta is tender and the egg is still runny, about 6 minutes.
• Remove from the water with a slotted spoon or handheld strainer and place each ravioli in an individual bowl. Top each with a sage leaf and evenly spoon the butter over. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Make the spinach filling: In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic; season with salt, and cook, stirring, until translucent, about 2 minutes.
• Add spinach and season with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until moisture has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Add wine and cook until wine has evaporated, about 3 minutes. Add cream and cook until reduced, about 2 minutes.
• Add cheese and nutmeg; season with salt and pepper. Prepare an ice-water bath. Place a bowl in ice-water bath and set aside. Transfer mixture to the bowl of a food processor and blend until smooth. Transfer spinach mixture to bowl set in ice-water bath and let cool. Transfer spinach puree to a disposable pastry bag with a 1/2-inch opening; keep refrigerated until ready to use.
• Make the ricotta filling: Place ricotta in a colander set over a medium bowl and let drain for 15 minutes to remove excess moisture. Transfer ricotta to a large bowl along with mint, olive oil, and lemon zest; season with salt and pepper and stir until well combined. Transfer mixture to a large disposable pastry bag with a 1/2-inch opening; keep refrigerated until ready to use.
• Make the ravioli: Mound both flours in the center of a large work surface and make a well. In a large bowl, mix together olive oil, milk, 7 egg yolks, and a whole egg. Slowly add oil mixture to well and, using your fingers, begin working the flour mixture into the oil mixture until it becomes a sticky mass. Begin kneading dough with the palms of your hands. Once dough comes together, scrape up any dried bits of dough and discard.
• Lightly flour work surface; knead dough until smooth and elastic, 7 to 8 minutes. Wrap dough in plastic wrap; let stand for one hour before rolling.
• Set the rollers of a hand-crank or electric pasta machine at their widest opening. Unwrap one piece of dough; using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll to flatten dough slightly.
• Roll dough twice through the pasta machine. Now change the rollers of the pasta machine to the next lowest setting, and roll out the dough twice. Keep rolling the sheet through the machine on decreasing settings until you have rolled it through every setting down to No. 3. The dough may be cut in half for easier rolling, if necessary.
• Cut dough crosswise into 7-inch lengths. Place one 7-inch length of pasta dough on a lightly floured work surface. In the center of the dough, place an egg yolk. Then pipe one tablespoon spinach filling 1 inch from the egg yolk. On the opposite side of the egg yolk, pipe 1 tablespoon ricotta filling about 1 inch from the egg yolk. Repeat process 11 times with pasta dough, egg yolks, and both fillings.
• Working with one ravioli at a time, spray one side of one of the remaining twelve 7-inch lengths of pasta dough with water. Place damp-side down over filling. Using an inverted 2-inch biscuit cutter, place around each mound to shape and seal and remove any air from ravioli. Using a fluted pastry wheel, trim ravioli to 3 inches across; set aside. Repeat process for remaining ravioli.
• Make the sage brown butter: Place butter in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan and melt over medium heat. When butter begins to foam, add sage and cook, stirring constantly until butter solids have taken on a nutty fragrance, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
• In a medium skillet, over low heat, melt butter. Add breadcrumbs and cook, stirring, until lightly browned. Stir in sage and rosemary and continue to cook until dark golden brown, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and season lightly with salt. Set aside.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add ravioli and cook for 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer one ravioli to each of 12 serving plates. Drizzle with sage brown butter and sprinkle with breadcrumbs and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Mound flour in center of a large work surface, and make a well in the middle. Add salt and egg yolks.
• Using a fork, beat eggs; slowly incorporate flour, beginning with inner rim of well, adding 1/3 cup water, little by little, until dough is soft. When flour is incorporated, gather dough together to form a rounded mass. Begin kneading dough with the palms of your hands. Once dough comes together, scrape up any dried bits of dough; discard.
• Lightly flour work surface; knead dough until smooth and elastic. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Set the rollers of a hand-crank or electric pasta machine at their widest opening. Divide dough into 6 pieces. Working with 1 piece of dough at a time, being sure to keep remaining dough covered, flatten dough with the palms of your hands and run it once through the machine. Fold the dough in half, sprinkle with flour, and run through the machine again. Repeat this step about 6 times, until the dough is smooth and elastic.
• Now change the rollers of the pasta machine to the next decreasing setting, and roll out the dough once without folding. Keep rolling the sheet through the machine on decreasing settings, adding flour if necessary, until you have rolled it through the last (thinnest) setting.
• Place pasta sheet on work surface and let stand 5 minutes. Using a sharp knife or pastry wheel, cut pasta into four 5-by-5-inch squares. Transfer squares to a lightly floured work surface and set aside, covered, until ready to use. Repeat process with remaining pieces of dough.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Prepare an ice-water bath. Cut out twenty-four 7-by-7 1/2-inch rectangles out of parchment paper; butter parchment using 1/4 cup butter and set aside.
• Add pasta squares to boiling water and cook until al dente, 1 to 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer pasta to ice-water bath to cool. Drain immediately and lay pasta squares flat on a dry cloth, taking care not to overlap.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Cut the crescenza cheese into twenty-four 2-by-2-by-1/4-inch pieces. Place one piece of cheese in the middle of each pasta square. Fold the bottom and top flaps of the pasta over the middle (like a letter), then fold the sides over the top and bottom flaps to enclose. Place each ravioletto, seam-side down, in the middle of a piece of buttered parchment. Fold long sides of parchment over the middle (like a letter), then fold the short sides over the long sides to enclose. Place parchment paper packet, seam-side down, on a baking sheet (at this point, ravioletto may be frozen for up to 1 month. Bake directly from freezer for 25 minutes and continue with step 10). Transfer baking sheet to oven and bake until edges of parchment are barely golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, melt remaining 1 1/2 cups butter over medium heat. Cook until nutty brown in color, 4 to 6 minutes, taking care not to burn.
• In a small skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook until crisp. Transfer garlic to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
• Place 1 tablespoon Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese in the center of each of 12 warmed plates. Carefully remove ravioletto from parchment paper packets; arrange 2 ravioletto on each plate and sprinkle with another tablespoon Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Garnish with garlic, rosemary, and flower petals, if using. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• To make the pasta, put the flour in a bowl and make a well in the middle. Add the eggs and egg yolks and mix with a fork, bringing more of the flour in from the sides as you mix. Once the mixture comes together into a ball, tip it out onto a work surface and knead for 10-15 mins until firm and smooth. Wrap and leave to rest for 30 mins.
• Meanwhile, make the filling. Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and fry the garlic for 30 seconds. Add the spinach with a few tablespoons of water, and cook until the spinach has wilted and is dark green and the water has evaporated. Stir in the lemon zest, grate over some nutmeg and season. Tip the mixture into a bowl and leave to cool.
• Cut the pasta dough into four pieces so it's easier to work with. Run one piece through a pasta machine (leaving the remaining pieces covered to prevent them drying out), starting with the widest setting and working down to the thinnest setting. Keep the machine and the pasta well floured to prevent sticking or tearing.
• Mix the ricotta into the spinach mixture and season well. Do this just before you're ready to fill the pasta, or chill until needed.
• To make the ravioli, cut a sheet of pasta in half so you have two equal lengths. Lay out on a well-floured work surface, then spoon heaped teaspoons of the filling, spaced 5cm apart, over one of the pasta sheets. Brush the exposed pasta around the filling with water. Gently lift the second pasta sheet over the fillings, and use the side of your hand to press the pasta sheets together around the fillings to seal, ensuring there are no air bubbles.
• Stamp out the ravioli using a round cutter (position it so the filling is in the centre of the circle), or use a sharp knife to cut out square ravioli. Arrange in a single layer over baking trays dusted with flour, then repeat the process with the remaining pasta dough pieces. Will keep, covered and chilled, for up to two days.
• To cook, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and gently lower in the ravioli using a slotted spoon. Boil for 2-3 mins until the pasta is cooked through, then remove to a bowl using a slotted spoon. (You may need to cook the ravioli in batches to ensure it's evenly cooked.)
• Heat the butter in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat, drop in the sage and fry until the butter turns a nutty brown and the sage leaves are crisp. Remove from the heat and toss in the ravioli. Sprinkle with parmesan and some lemon juice, then season with cracked black pepper and toss gently in the butter to coat. Divide between warm bowls and sprinkle with more parmesan before serving.