I’ve pondered making my own pasta for years but thought it would be too much of a mission. I took the plunge recently and bought a pasta roller and have made ravioli twice now. While I’ve got a filling that I love – mushrooms with cream cheese and parmesan (intensely savoury flavours which work well for small portions – and seem to have gone down well with friends) I’m still working on the pasta. Although it’s quick and relatively easy to do, the rolling and creating of the ravioli is still a bit fiddly for me. I need to be braver and roll it thinner than I think it needs to be as it plumps up while cooking and becomes a bit chubby. So the lesson here is be brave and go thinner. And buy some kind of ravioli-making device.
What to use – serves 3-6 as a starter (two each or three each)
For the filling
- 150g mushrooms
- 130g cream cheese
- 40g parmesan – grated
- small bunch of parsley
- salt and pepper
For the pasta – this made more than we needed for 3 and I got enough out of it for 7 last time – 2 ravioli each
- 250g 00 flour
- 2 large free range eggs
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 table spoon water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg white to seal the ravioli
To serve
- 175g small prawns / shrimps
- 40g unsalted butter
- 2 medium garlic cloves
- small bunch parsley – chopped
How to use it
To make the pasta.
You could use plain flour but 00 flour is milled to a finer texture so better for making your own pasta.
Put the flour and salt in a bowl (or on a work surface) and make a well in the middle. Beat your eggs, olilve oil and water together then pour into the well and stir until combined. Put the dough onto a lightly floured work surface (if not there already) and knead for 5 to 10 minutes. You might need to add more flour or water as you go. The kneading bit is key so don’t be lazy. And it’s a good arm work out. Wrap the dough tightly in cling film and leave it to rest at room temp for about an hour.
For the filling.
Put your mushrooms and parsley and a glug of olive oil into a blender and blitz them. Then put into a non-stick frying pan with a good pinch of sea salt and pepper and cook on a medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring now and again (add a bit more oil if it needs it but it shouldn’t). It should be bubbling and cooked through. Let it cool for a while then combine it with your cream cheese, and grated parmesan.
When you’re ready to make the ravioli, roll the pasta and prepare using whatever method you’re choosing. I laid out a layer of pasta, put a teaspoon of filling along it at regular intervals. I brushed egg white around the filling, then overlaid a second piece of pasta, and squashed it down around the filling. Then I used a square pasta cutter to cut out the pieces.
I do find quite a bit of pasta was wasted in the process and the cut-off pieces don’t re-roll very well. But maybe I’m doing something wrong. Something to work on.
Put a large pan of boiling water on and lower the ravioli in. They’ll sink to the bottom and when they’re done they’ll bob to the surface. Takes a couple of minutes.
To serve
I served the ravioli with small prawns cooked in garlic butter and parsley, but you could serve it with olive oil and a bit more parmesan, or chive butter – anything you like.
Mmm rating: mm mm mm
Calories pp: 350
Cost pp: £1.70
What to listen to: Something relaxing to soothe your (my) temper each time the handle falls out of the pasta roller – Venus Rise by Mozez
What to watch: Has to be series 5 of Game of Thrones except I haven’t started watching yet so no spoilers please
eatburpsleep 