Basil Ricotta Ravioli with a Roasted Tomato Sauce
By Kristan Raines, The Broken Bread
Basil Ricotta Ravioli with a Roasted Tomato Sauce
By Kristan Raines, The Broken Bread
Pasta Dough
Ricotta Filling
Roasted Tomato Sauce
- 1 ½ cups + 2 tbs /188g 00 flour, plus extra for dusting
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- 2 large eggs
- Semolina, optional, for dusting
Ricotta Filling
- 6 oz well-drained ricotta cheese
- ⅓ cup grated parmesan reggiano
- 1 ½ tbs freshly chopped basil
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- Few cracks of fresh black pepper
- 1 large egg
Roasted Tomato Sauce
- 1 ½ lb cherry tomatoes
- 1 small onion, cut into 1/4-inch wedges
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 1 tbs fresh oregano leaves
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- Few cracks of fresh black pepper
Begin by making the pasta. Place a mound of flour on a clean work surface and form a well in the middle. Sprinkle the salt over the top of the mound, then carefully crack each egg into the center of the well.
Using a fork, begin whisking the eggs together while slowly incorporating the flour from the mound. Continue this process until a shaggy dough forms.
Knead the dough for 8-10 minutes, or until the dough becomes elastic and smooth. If the dough seems too sticky, add a little extra flour as needed. Shape the dough into a ball, flatten into a disc, and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest at room temperature for a minimum of 30 minutes and up to 1 hour.
While the pasta is resting, prepare the tomato sauce and ricotta filling.
For the sauce, place the tomatoes, onion, and garlic into a medium baking pan with 2-inch tall sides. Drizzle with olive oil and then add oregano, salt, and pepper. Toss everything a few times to combine and place in the oven at 400°F for 35-45 minutes, or until the tomatoes have wilted and appear slightly charred.
Once the tomatoes are ready, remove from the oven and let cool slightly. Add everything to a blender and blend until smooth. Taste and add additional salt and pepper as needed. Pour sauce into a saucepan and set aside.
For the filling, simply mix the ricotta, parmigiano reggiano, basil, salt, and pepper together. Taste and add additional salt as needed, then mix in the egg until well combined. Cover and store in the fridge.
Begin making the ravioli. Quarter the pasta dough. Working with one piece at a time (leaving the other pieces wrapped), lightly dust the quarter with flour and flatten it with a rolling pin until it’s about as wide as the pasta roller and about ½-inch thick.
Feed the dough through the machine at its widest setting. Fold the long ends of the dough into the center, flatten it, and feed it through the machine again at its widest setting. Repeat this exact process two more times.
Feed the sheet through the machine at a width two settings narrower than the widest, making sure to flour after it has rolled through. Repeat this at the setting two more steps narrower than the last, flouring again. Repeat one last time at either the narrowest setting available or at the machine’s suggested width for ravioli.
At this point the sheet will be really long, so cut it in half and transfer to a large baking pan sprinkled with semolina flour. Repeat this process for the remaining pieces of dough, making sure to sprinkle a bit of semolina between the sheets so they don’t stick.
Dollop the ricotta filling, 1 tsp at a time, onto a half sheet of pasta. Place the dollops 1 inch from one another, and fit as many as you can on each sheet.
Using a wet finger, or a pastry brush dipped in water, moisten the dough around each dollop of filling. Now place a second sheet of dough onto the half with dollops of fillings, pressing around the filling to secure a proper seal between the two pieces of dough.
Use a small, square ravioli stamp to cut out the pieces of pasta. Set these aside onto a sheet dusted with semolina flour. You should end up with 25-30 ravioli.
Once this is complete, bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, set the saucepan containing the tomato sauce to medium-low heat. Boil the ravioli for 3-4 minutes, strain, and add to the pot with the tomato sauce, gently tossing to coat. Divide between 2 bowls, top with freshly-grated parmesan reggiano, sliced basil leaves, and enjoy immediately.
Using a fork, begin whisking the eggs together while slowly incorporating the flour from the mound. Continue this process until a shaggy dough forms.
Knead the dough for 8-10 minutes, or until the dough becomes elastic and smooth. If the dough seems too sticky, add a little extra flour as needed. Shape the dough into a ball, flatten into a disc, and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest at room temperature for a minimum of 30 minutes and up to 1 hour.
While the pasta is resting, prepare the tomato sauce and ricotta filling.
For the sauce, place the tomatoes, onion, and garlic into a medium baking pan with 2-inch tall sides. Drizzle with olive oil and then add oregano, salt, and pepper. Toss everything a few times to combine and place in the oven at 400°F for 35-45 minutes, or until the tomatoes have wilted and appear slightly charred.
Once the tomatoes are ready, remove from the oven and let cool slightly. Add everything to a blender and blend until smooth. Taste and add additional salt and pepper as needed. Pour sauce into a saucepan and set aside.
For the filling, simply mix the ricotta, parmigiano reggiano, basil, salt, and pepper together. Taste and add additional salt as needed, then mix in the egg until well combined. Cover and store in the fridge.
Begin making the ravioli. Quarter the pasta dough. Working with one piece at a time (leaving the other pieces wrapped), lightly dust the quarter with flour and flatten it with a rolling pin until it’s about as wide as the pasta roller and about ½-inch thick.
Feed the dough through the machine at its widest setting. Fold the long ends of the dough into the center, flatten it, and feed it through the machine again at its widest setting. Repeat this exact process two more times.
Feed the sheet through the machine at a width two settings narrower than the widest, making sure to flour after it has rolled through. Repeat this at the setting two more steps narrower than the last, flouring again. Repeat one last time at either the narrowest setting available or at the machine’s suggested width for ravioli.
At this point the sheet will be really long, so cut it in half and transfer to a large baking pan sprinkled with semolina flour. Repeat this process for the remaining pieces of dough, making sure to sprinkle a bit of semolina between the sheets so they don’t stick.
Dollop the ricotta filling, 1 tsp at a time, onto a half sheet of pasta. Place the dollops 1 inch from one another, and fit as many as you can on each sheet.
Using a wet finger, or a pastry brush dipped in water, moisten the dough around each dollop of filling. Now place a second sheet of dough onto the half with dollops of fillings, pressing around the filling to secure a proper seal between the two pieces of dough.
Use a small, square ravioli stamp to cut out the pieces of pasta. Set these aside onto a sheet dusted with semolina flour. You should end up with 25-30 ravioli.
Once this is complete, bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, set the saucepan containing the tomato sauce to medium-low heat. Boil the ravioli for 3-4 minutes, strain, and add to the pot with the tomato sauce, gently tossing to coat. Divide between 2 bowls, top with freshly-grated parmesan reggiano, sliced basil leaves, and enjoy immediately.