PASTA: Ravioli, with different choices of filling, is my personal favourite in pasta. Please give these 2 versions a try.

RAVIOLI WITH SAUSAGE AND SWISS CHARD FILLING:

 

 

 

1 quantity of fresh pasta, see recipe attached

filling:

    2 Italian sausage, casing removed               

    1 cup each grated Pecorino cheese & ricotta cheese           

    2 cups Swiss chard, cooked                        

    3 eggs

    ½ tsp. freshly gated nutmeg                        

    salt and pepper

½ cup grated Pecorino cheese                                     

6 tbsp. butter

 

 

 

Drain cooked Swiss chard and chop coarsely. Cook sausages in a pan over medium-high heat until cooked; then crumble the meat with a fork and transfer to a large bowl. Add in the rest of the filling ingredients and mix well. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

 

Roll out even number sheets of pasta in a pasta machine set to the thinnest setting. Lay out 1 sheet on floured work surface. Arrange fillings, 1/2 tbsp. each in size, and 2-inches apart from one another, all over the whole of  the pasta sheet. Lay second sheet of pasta over and press with hands to seal. Use a pizza cutter to cut out the filled squares. Cover filled ravioli with damp paper towels while working on others.

 

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add 2 tbsp. salt. Cook ravioli for 4 to 5 minutes or until cooked. Drain.

 

In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add ravioli and toss gently for 1 minute. Add grated cheese and serve at once.

VARIATION:  RAVIOLI WITH WHITE BEAN FILLING:

 

 

 

1 recipe fresh pasta dough

fillings:

    2 cups white beans                                     

    ½ cup olive oil

    1 egg                                                                      

    ¼ cup balsamic vinegar

    ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese                  

    2 tbsp. finely chopped parsley

    salt and pepper

brown butter sauce:

    ¾ cup unsalted butter                                            

    ¼ cup balsamic vinegar

    ½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

2 tbsp. chopped parsley to garnish

 

 

 

Soak beans overnight. Drain and rinse. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and simmer beans until just tender. Drain and let cool.

 

Set aside 1 cup of cooked bean. Puree remaining beans with the rest of the filling ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.  Transfer puree to a mixing bowl and stir in the reserved beans. Add salt and pepper to taste.

 

Make sauce by melting butter in a skillet and heating it until butter begins to brown. Turn off heat and add vinegar very carefully (it will spatter).

 

Make ravioli with filling as before. Cook ravioli until al dente and drain. Add ravioli to butter and vinegar sauce. Toss well over medium heat for 30 seconds. Sprinkle grated cheese and parsley to serve.

 

BASIC HOME-MADE PASTA DOUGH:

 

 

 

4 cups (1 lb.) all purpose flour                                   

4 large eggs

½ tsp. extra-virgin olive oil                                         

 

½ tsp. salt

 

 

Measure and mound the flour on a smooth flat work surface. Make a well in the center of the flour. Drop the eggs, salt and olive oil into the well. With a fork, beat together the eggs and oil and begin to incorporate the flour into egg mixture, starting with the inner rim of the well.  As you expand the well, keep mixing the flour and egg mixture and working it until a cohesive mass is formed. Lightly flour the board and start kneading this with both hands, using the palm of your hands. Continue kneading for 5-10 minutes until dough becomes smooth and quite elastic and a little sticky. Wrap the dough in plastic, or covered by an inverted bowl, and allow it to rest for 1 hour, at room temperature.