If you watched my Instagram Story from Friday, then you know how and why this came about. On Friday, I met my friend Shannon for coffee at Eataly in Century City. If you don't know what Eataly is, google it! It's like being transported to every region of Italy to taste & try the food of my motherland! I am half Italian and my body is made of fresh burrata and prosciutto! Really, being on a ketogenic diet, I can have both of those things, but seriously Italian food gets a bad rep, it's not as heavy as Americans make it out to be. Italians believe in La Dolce Vita, the good life! It's about balance and moderation.
After watching them make fresh pasta, I was ready to try to make ravioli. I have a ravioli press that was a gift that was given to me by my Nonna. It comes with a little rolling pin. My first attempt to make ravioli was a few years ago with my friend Justin. We were determined to make lobster ravioli. I remember what a mess we made in his kitchen. And we didn't make it gluten-free, the gluten was a nightmare to work with. We seriously tried so hard to roll it thin (which is the secret to a good ravioli). I am laughing just typing this because we ate soooooooooooo much pasta dough and so little lobster. But we sat there laughing eating it like it was the best thing we had ever made. Atleast the asparagus we served with it was al dente!
Tips: Take your time. Be patient. A little flour is good for the soul. If you don't have a rolling pin, you can flour a wine bottle to roll :)
What You'll Need:
1 1/4 c Well and Good Gluten Free Pastry Flour:
1/2 c Water
2 TBSP Olive Oil
1 Egg
1/2 TBSP Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Pastry flour, extra to dust
For the Filling:
8 oz of ricotta cheese
2 TBSP Parmesan
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste
On a clean counter surface or table, pour the flour in a mound.
With your hands, form a hole in the center, without smashing the flour completely flat.
Crack an egg into the center of the hole.
Add the water into the center of the hole.
Add the olive oil and the ground black pepper into the center.
Gently start mixing the flour from the outside into the center until completely combined into a dough.
Add extra pastry flour to the counter/table and begin kneading it to form a ball.
With a floured rolling pin (or wine bottle) roll the pasta dough into less than a quarter of inch thick. My Nonna suggests thinner than the thickness of a coin.
Make the filling. Combine all ingredients.
If you have a ravioli press like I do, you'd divide the dough into 4 sheets.
Gently spray mold with olive oil.
Place the first sheet into the ravioli mold.
With the rolling pin, gently roll the dough to fit into the mold completely.
Fill the pockets. I use a 1/2 TBSP to scoop.
Repeat with the 2nd layer of pasta dough.
To seal the ravioli, use the rolling pin to secure edges.
Flip mold over onto a clean plate.
I put them in the fridge to set up for 20 minutes, I find they cook up easier.
In a boiling pot of salted water, boil the ravioli until they all float to the surface. 5-7 minutes.
Drain with a strainer.
Serve with marinara sauce and parmesan cheese!
Buon Appetito, like we say in Italian!!
If you make this recipe, please #CardioCouture to show me!