Ryan Cooks: Pasta Making Magicalness – Homemade Ravioli

Entertaining  //  

We love cooking, and the only thing better is getting to cook with friends!  Homemade pasta making is definitely much easier and more fun when you can get a group of friends together and cook all day long.  Although super simple, making fresh pasta is time consuming (and messy!), so if you are going to go through the effort, you might as well make an entire day of it and make enough to share with friends. Plus, if you plan appropriately, pasta making with friends can be a great way to play matchmaker (just ask our friends Brendon and Karen ;) ) There is just something about a bag full of flour that requires it to be used as a flirtation device… but we will leave those stories for later!

This past weekend we got some of our friends together to watch football and make pasta. By the end of the day we had a freezer full of all sorts of different types of pasta.  Since we enjoy pasta making so much and we love being able to inspire others to do fun new things, we decided to document the day.  In addition to pasta, we also made homemade sauce, all of which you can learn how to make in the recipes below!

If you didn’t already know, I am a big fan of gadgets.  So making pasta is a perfect excuse to get out all of our fun Kitchen Aid Mixer attachments.  Although not necessary to make pasta, the Kitchen Aid Mixer with ravioli and pasta attachments definitely make things much quicker.  For now we still use a hand cranked pasta roller but the pasta roller attachment would definitely be a great Christmas gift! ;) Or, if anyone from Kitchen Aid happens to stumble across our blog, we would love to test it out and feature the results on our blog! ;)

RECIPE: Homemade Pasta Dough

First up is our recipe for fresh pasta dough.  Once made, the dough can be used to make a variety of different types of pasta (from ravioli to lasagna to macaroni). Special thanks to our good friend Brendon for sharing his pasta recipe with us!

INGREDIENTS:

    • 1/2 Bag of unbleached white flour
    • 1 full bag of semolina flour
    • 2 eggs
    • 2 – 4 cups of water
    • 1 tbsp of salt (not pictured)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Step 1: Pour the semolina flour and white flour into a mixing bowl and combine using the hook attachment for your KitchenAid Mixer (or by hand with a whisk).

Step 2: Add eggs and salt and mix on low speed or combine by hand. (Be sure to start the mixer on low or flour will be all over your kitchen!… yes, I am speaking from experience!)

Step 3: Slowly add water 1 cup at a time.  Pause in between cups to allow the water to soak in and determine how much more you need to add.

This is where things can get a little messy! :)  As your dough begins to form you may need to separate it into two bowls and prepare each half separately.

Continue to mix and add small amounts of water until a single ball of dough forms around the mixing hook.  The dough should be soft and squishy but not sticky.  If your dough seems wet or sticks to your fingers add more flour and continue mixing.

That’s it! Your dough is ready!  If you are making ravioli, place it aside and cover with a damp cloth until you are ready to use it. However, don’t let it sit out for more than a few hours as it will begin to dry up.

Onto Part 2 of Pasta Making Magicalness!

RECIPE: Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Pasta Sauce

Next up is the sauce.  You can’t have homemade pasta without homemade sauce!  So, we decided to head to the farmers market earlier that day to pick up fresh tomatoes for a homemade sauce.  Details are below! :)

INGREDIENTS:

    • 8 to 10 large fresh tomatoes
    • 2 red bell peppers
    • 2 yellow onions
    • 6 – 8 cloves of garlic
    • 1 8oz can of tomato paste
    • 1 tbsp rosemary
    • 1 tsp ground black pepper
    • 1 tsp salt (not pictured)
    • 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (not pictured)
    • 2 tbsp olive oil (not pictured)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Step 1: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Step 2: Core and slice the tomatoes.  Place them in a glass baking dish in a single layer. Our baking dishes wouldn’t hold all of the tomatoes, so we used multiple.  It is important to keep a single layer in order for the tomatoes to roast evenly in the oven.

Step 3: Remove the stem and seeds from the red peppers and slice into 1/2 inch strips. Place in baking dish with the tomatoes.

Step 4: Chop the garlic and onions and add to the baking dish.

Step 5: In a small dish, combine the tomato paste, olive oil, rosemary, salt, crushed red pepper flakes, and pepper.

Once combined together, add the mixture to the baking dish.

Step 6: Place your baking dishes in the oven and bake for 2 hours.

Step 7: With a hot pad, remove the roasted tomatoes from the oven. Using a food processor, blend the mixture to the desired consistency.  Be sure to pour in all the juice left over at the bottom of the glass baking dish too!

That’s it!  Pour the sauce into a container to use later!  Your sauce will last for about a week in the refrigerator or 2-3 months in the freezer.

While our sauce was baking in the oven, we used that time to start making our ravioli!

RECIPE: 4 Cheese and Bacon Ravioli

Ravioli are one of the most versatile pasta dishes.  You can fill them with pretty much anything from cheese, to meat, to Nutella (more on that later, I promise!).  This time we decide to make a four cheese bacon filling.  Thanks Krista for the recipe and helping prepare the mixture!

INGREDIENTS:

    • 4 slices of bacon at room temperature
    • 1 15 oz container of Ricotta Cheese
    • 2 Cups of fresh mozzarella
    • 1 container of fresh gorgonzola (about 1 cup)
    • 1 container of fresh parmigiano reggiano (about 1 cup)
    • 1 tbsp oregano
    • 1 tsp black pepper
    • Fresh pasta dough

INSTRUCTIONS:

Step 1: Combine the four cheeses, oregano, and pepper in a large bowl.

Step 2: Place bacon in a pan that is at room temperature.  Turn on the heat to medium high and cook for approximately 3-4 minutes per side.  Allowing the bacon to heat up at the same time the pan will result in more evenly cooked bacon.  Also, by allowing the bacon to warm up to room temperature first, instead of just putting it in the pan from the refrigerator, will prevent it from curling.  We want the bacon to remain flat and crispy for easy chopping.

Step 3: Once the bacon has cooked, remove from a pan, pat dry with a paper towel to remove the excess fat, chop into small pieces and add to the cheese mixture.

Step 4: Using a small baseball sized ball of pasta dough, flatten in long strips using a pasta roller.  Our roller is a hand crank roller, or more appropriate, hands roller.  Having extra hands to help at this point is key.

Start by using the widest setting on your roller and crank the past through once.

The first time through may cause the dough to tare or crack.  To fix this, simply fold the sheet in half and run it back through the roller again.

Continue to run the pasta through the roller 2-3 more times, reducing the thickness adjustment on your roller each time.  Krista cranked the roller while Karen caught the pasta.  Your sheet is ready when it is about 1/8 of an inch thick or a little bit thicker than the thickness of a quarter.

Step 5: Time for our Kitchen Aid Ravioli Attachment!  Prior to starting, we found that it would help to lightly flour the rollers of the ravioli attachment.  Fold your pasta sheet in half and slowly crank the folded edge just into the rollers of the ravioli maker.

Step 6: Add the “hopper” and fill with the four cheese and bacon mixture.

Step 7: Slowly crank the pasta through the ravioli attachment.  When the ravioli start to exit the other side grab the pasta to help guide it out.  If you go too fast, the ravioli can stick to the rollers and cause a big mess so go slow here.

Continue to add cheese filling and turn the crank slowly on the ravioli attachment until the entire sheet of pasta is used.  As you get close to the end of the sheet, remove the extra filling from the hopper that hasn’t been used yet and save for the next sheet.

Step 8: Gently pull apart the ravioli and place on parchment paper.  If you are making multiple types of ravioli, be sure to write on the paper so you know which kind is which.

Step 9: Place in the freezer overnight or for at least 2-3 hours.

Step 10: Once the ravioli are frozen, they are ready to cook.  Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil.  Add the ravioli and cook for 3-4 minutes.  Since these are fresh dough ravioli, they will cook super quickly.

Once all the ravioli float to the top, they are done.

Step 11: While your ravioli are cooking, heat up your homemade pasta sauce in a small sauce pan.

Step 12: Once the ravioli are cooked and your sauce is hot, it’s time to plate and enjoy!

Thanks to Brendon, Karen, Krista, and Liz for helping with Ryan Cooks: Pasta Making Magicalness!

We did have some extra pasta dough leftover and decided to get a little crazy.  We made an amazing Nutella Churro Dessert Ravioli. Be sure to check back later this week for the recipe! You won’t want to miss it!