New Culinary Experience: Homemade Ravioli

I have been wanting to make homemade ravioli ever since I saw my friend post some on her blog a couple years ago, but never got around to it - until Sunday! (Sometimes, I forget that I really really wanted to do something. ;) ) Overall the experience was pretty delicious, though I would change up a couple of things next time I make them.

For the filling, I used this recipe which was delicious. I had enough filling with this recipe to fill a little over 40 ravioli. I would totally use it again. My only alteration was to use grated Italian blend cheese in place of the straight provolone cheese that the recipe called for because that was what I had around.

 Lincoln loved snacking on the spinach and cheese filling as I made the ravioli. 

For the pasta dough, I used Bob's Red Mill Durum Wheat Semolina flour:

And, I followed the recipe on the back of the bag for the pasta: 

• 1 1/2 cups Semolina flour
• 1/4 tsp. Salt
• 2 Eggs (or 3 egg whites), beaten
• 2 TBL. Water
• 2 TBL. Olive Oil

"Combine Bob's Red Mill Semolina Flour and salt. And beaten eggs, water and oil. Mix to made a stiff dough. Knead 10 minutes or until dough is elastic. Wrap dough in a towel or place in a plastic bag and let rest for 20 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll out to desired thickness and cut as desired. Bring large pot of water containing 1/2 tsp. oil to a boil. Add pasta and cook until tender. . ." I was able to get 21 ravioli out of this dough recipe.

My online sources told me that I only needed to cook fresh pasta for 2-3 minutes. I cooked the ravioli for 5 minutes because I guess I was expecting the look of the ravioli to change a bit more than they did. The edges of my ravioli turned out to be a bit tougher than I would have liked. I attribute that to cooking too long and to using 100% Semolina flour. Next time, I will use half all-purpose and half Semolina as the Bob's Red Mill suggested most people like better, and cook for the suggested time. ;)

I think I got the size down about right on the ravioli. I did very generous teaspoons for each one (probably more like 2 tsp. per ravioli.) I read this article on allrecipes.com to get a few more tips and tricks with homemade ravioli-making under my sleeve. And, they turned out pretty cute! None of my ravioli split open while boiling.

I made some of my Cuban bread with a generous sprig of fresh rosemary from my garden mixed in the dough, to accompany the meal.

For the sauce, I just added a couple tablespoons of heavy cream to some pasta sauce we had around, as well as some artichoke hearts, a can of sliced mushrooms, and a handful of Parmesan cheese. Served over the fresh ravioli, with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and a couple sprigs of fresh basil - Voila! A delicious, new culinary experience with a lot of potential.

Someone on the website suggested that they use the leftover ravioli filling as a mix in with their scrambled eggs for breakfast. I had quite a bit of filling left and will be freezing some, and trying out the scrambled eggs with spinach and cheese filling for dinner tonight or for breakfast tomorrow. Sounds yummy, huh? :)

Have YOU ever made homemade pasta or ravioli before? 

If so, do you have any special tips or tricks for us novice ravioli-makers?