In the month of April, our Upstate New York spring weather can still include those chilly, damp days. Sometimes you just need a comforting meal to cozy up with. We all have our comfort foods. Pasta can be a perfect comfort food. One of my favorite pasta dishes includes ravioli – the stuffed pasta. Ravioli is an all-time favorite traditional food of Italy that has been prepared for generations.
The idea of making ravioli may seem daunting, but once you’ve got the hang of rolling out pasta, it’s pretty easy. Ravioli fillings can, and should, go beyond cheese. Think of ravioli as a pasta pocket for just about anything from meat to fish to veggies and more.
Homemade ravioli isn’t just for the expert home cook; in fact, fresh pasta is one of the easiest ways to start adventuring into the wide world of cooking. Ravioli is just filled pasta, and ravioli dough is just your basic pasta dough made with flour and egg yolks. Use a pasta maker or a rolling pin to roll out sheets of fresh pasta. You cut the pasta into squares or circles, add your ravioli filling, then lay another same-shape piece of pasta on top. Make sure you brush a little bit of water around the edges first, then crimp the edges shut with a fork. Once you have your ravioli filled, you can freeze them for later or drop them into boiling water to cook. Or you can go for fried ravioli, especially for a fun appetizer. Top your ravioli with tomato sauce or marinara or try it with alfredo sauce or pesto. The sky’s the limit for pasta sauce and ravioli filling combos.
The use of tools like Ravioli maker forms give us some insurance and add a level of quality-control to the whole process. The little wells mean that each ravioli gets just about the same amount of filling. The maker also helps you get more raviolis from your sheets of pasta, wasting less dough and giving us a better pasta-to-filling ratio. When you roll over the top with a rolling pin, the pockets are simultaneously sealed and cut apart. You get perfectly-sized ravioli every time. The Ravioli Form will be your way to enjoy fresh, homemade ravioli any time. The deep pockets will be great for stuffing with any meats and cheeses you choose. To use the form, you simply place a sheet of dough over the metal base, press down gently with plastic mold, fill with your favorite filling, and cover with an additional layer of dough. You can make up to 12 ravioli at a time, each one will be square with a classic edging. The aluminum base is sturdy and easy to clean while the plastic mold is dishwasher safe.
Another tool to use for making ravioli is a ravioli stamp cutter. The stamp cutter makes homemade ravioli easier and faster to prepare by letting you cut them out perfectly every time. The stamps cut the ravioli with a traditional scalloped border, indenting the edges of the pasta to ensure it is evenly sealed at the same time.
For a truly relaxing evening with your favorite ravioli recipe, light a candle and crack open a bottle of your favorite wine. Stop by Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery store for the tools you need to make your comfort foods. Remember my Foodie Friends, “Life Happens in the Kitchen.”
Take Care, John & Paula
If freezing the ravioli, transfer them to a floured sheet pan and place in the freezer for 30 minutes. Transfer to a ziplock bag and then transfer to the freezer for up to 3 months. Note: Frozen ravioli may require a few additional minutes boiling.
