How to prepare homemade ravioli: basic dough, forms and fillings, with a detailed step-by-step video tutorial

Today we talk about stuffed homemade pasta e, in particular, Of homemade ravioli: basic dough, shape e stuffed. The pasta made in casa, be it of grits e farina and prepared only with water, be it with egg, It is perhaps the true symbol of the table. From North to South, our story tells of Sundays spent hanging out sheet for lasagna, to make orecchiette, working macaroni or the busiati with underwire, malloreddus with the plot of the Sardinians or the Tuscan pici baskets. From Emilia Romagna to Sicily, through Puglia, Sardinia, Tuscany, Liguria, The homemade pasta is our collective memory.

Today I want to talk to you specifically about stuffed pasta, or rather, I will talk about the pictures of this VIDEO ON HOME MADE RAVIOLI: how to prepare them quickly and without using even the sheeter. I'll show you how to do it the egg dough, with all my tips for a perfect mixture. Come pull the pastry with the rolling pin and how to easily do some types of ravioli starting simply from a round or square mold. Obviously, All my advice on the perfect dough for stuffed pasta They are also valid for preparing tagliolini, noodles, fettuccine or any other stuffed egg pasta.

Egg pasta homemade: the perfect dough

The ingredients per prepare egg pasta at home there are very few: fresh eggs, farina, sale. After doing several tests, I came to the personal conclusion that the pasta is more rough and then takes the sauce better if the dough using flour mixed, soft wheat and durum wheat. The proportion that suggest there is 70% soft wheat and 30% durum wheat. Of course you can also use an integral semolina, that will give your ravioli greater roughness and especially more aroma. As for eggs, according to tradition, a whole egg per 100 grams of flour. I always add one yolk more per 200 grams of flour, to get a richer pasta, light and crisp.

Ingredients for egg pasta: be careful with the eggs

The egg they obviously have to be very fresh and I advise you to always and only use organic eggs from free-range or free-range hens better raised on pasture. In the market there are also yellow-cooked eggs than normal, used just to make egg pasta. You have to pay attention, however, in any case the type of breeding hens: a yellow yolk is due solely to the type of poultry feed and not the type of farming. So, If you want to use yellow flesh eggs, however, make sure they come from hens or grazing. Remember also that the weight of the eggs varies depending on the extent (small, average, large and very large) and then you might have to add some’ of flour to the dough.

Servings per 500 grams of pasta homemade

• 280 grams of zero type flour
• 120 grams of durum wheat semolina
• 4 large whole eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
• a generous pinch of salt
• flour for work surface, to taste

As you see in VIDEO STEP BY STEP, the dough is easy to prepare by hand. No need to have a planetary, especially for limited quantities. Put the two types of flour on the work surface, obtained a hole in the center and break eggs. Add salt and whisk the eggs with a fork starting to incorporate flour to eggs from the sides of the fountain. When you've got a sort of batter, started to work the mixture with your fingers and then with the palm of your whole hand, gradually incorporating the flour. Work with the palm of the hand crushing the dough and turning on the worktop, in order to convey your warmth and your energy to pasta, until obtaining a homogeneous mixture. Do not rush, it will take about 10 minutes of energetic work.

Never skip the rest of the dough

Now comes the stage that you should never skip: the rest of the dough. Wrap the dough for egg pasta in plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. During the rest a miracle occurs: the first loaf hard and tense becomes soft, shiny and easy to apply. This is because it has formed the gluten mesh, which will hold together your mix harmoniously and perfectly.

The worst enemy of homemade pasta: the air

Now the dough for homemade ravioli is ready to work. Cut off a small piece and wrap the rest of the dough in plastic wrap: pasta fresh air and fears, if not covered and kept moist, dries out and will not want to straighten. My advice is to keep the dough and fresh pasta always covered with plastic wrap, even when pulled out the dough. Seal of ravioli made with a sheet that has been dried in air is impossible.

That being said, now you need to spread the piece of dough with a rolling pin on a lightly floured work surface, as you see in VIDEO TUTORIAL. As the dough thins becoming a pastry, you have to turn on itself in order to spread it evenly. You can choose how thin you want to pull the dough is according to your taste, both to the type of ravioli that you want to achieve.

For a RAVIOLI STUFFED POTATOES AND CHEESE, maybe seasoned with a robust pork ragout, the dough is stretched thicker, for a RICOTTA RAVIOLO some’ less seen the delicate taste of ricotta and for a gourmet raviolo, perhaps with a liquid filling, need to roll out the dough very thin. If you use the sheeter (the so-called 'duck grandmother') you can opt for numbers ranging from 6 (more often) al 9 (very thin).

The simplest form of homemade ravioli

As for the types of ravioli, as you see in VIDEO TUTORIAL, to create different enough to have some round cutter or square, they are smooth or scalloped. Remember that you can replace the smooth molds, using fantasy, with edges of cups, glasses or cups. From these forms, you can create the ravioli you see step through the video: round or square scalloped, button, a spike, Crescent or hat priest.

The fillings for homemade ravioli

I used a classic filling, perhaps the simplest of all the stuffed ravioli: sheep's ricotta, Parmesan Reggiano, black pepper, nutmeg and a pinch of lemon zest, the same as found in RICOTTA RAVIOLI, Artichokes and saffron here CRESCENT RAVIOLI WITH TOMATO. But the fillings are endless: the important thing is that they are dense enough to be able to be inserted inside the ravioli and completely dry (if you use a too moist filling the water will wet the ravioli and risking to the dough).

Among the classic fillings, what the MORTADELLA And Parmigiano Reggiano Also perfect for the tortelli. Or the traditional Sardinian filling of POTATOES, MINT and PECORINO also found that in know PGI. And again, the filling made with pumpkin, macaroons and mustard Cremona typical MANTOVA RAVIOLI. Until you get a stuffed modern and creative as the RAVIOLI STUFFED BURRATA, the raviolo with a filling CREMOSO GORGONZOLA or to PARMIGIANO REGGIANO. Do you think, with minimal technical knowledge, you can also make ravioli filled with liquid as the source completely RAVIOLI STUFFED TOMATOES, that FILLED WITH GARLIC AND CHILLI OIL or that FILLING OF BUFFALO MILK. You choose the filling and form the ravioli.

How to seal homemade ravioli

Is’ important, when you place the filling on the pastry, leave some’ along the edges of free space. It is equally important to remove all air from inside the ravioli: once positioned the filling, do adhere to the dough all around by gently pushing with the fingertips, up to close the ravioli. You can lightly brush the dough with very little water or with beaten egg white before sealing, but if the dough is moist (In short, if you followed my advice and have always left covered, will not help

A good way to make sure that the ravioli does not open during cooking, It is to press the edges slightly with the fingertips. You can also use a fork, operation is not necessary, but recommended if you are a beginner and also to give a graceful look to some like those half-moon ravioli.

Cooking Ravioli

But how to cook homemade ravioli perfectly so that they don't break? First, do not skimp on the water and on the size of the pot. Plunge the ravioli gently in hot water (do not throw them, they are fragile) and cook for 3-5 minutes, depending on the sheet thickness. Drain the ravioli is one of the most critical moments: Never drain in the colander, best to use a slotted spoon and gently pull them out of the water, laying them in the pan in which mantecherete them with the sauce without stirring but gently by jumping. Or, you can put them on the plate and pour the sauce.

How to preserve homemade ravioli

The homemade ravioli can be frozen without problems: lightly floured tray and place the ravioli on the tray without overlapping. Turn them in the freezer and after about 4 hours, when they are frozen, put them in a bag or freeze in an airtight container. I suggest you consume the homemade and frozen ravioli within 15-20 days maximum. Remember that the ravioli should not be thawed before cooking: simply plunge still frozen into boiling water. The cooking time will increase by seconds.