Hopefully by now you’ve had a chance to dive into our latest issue on the stands. In it, we profiled local chefs who put family recipes on their restaurants’ menus. We had so many great recipe submissions that we couldn’t include them all in the print magazine, so here is one worth printing off.
It’s an easy guide for making ravioli with the help of a contraption invented, patented and sold by the family behind Nani’s Ristorante.
Owner Carol Parker says this recipe is a customer favorite. “When we first started offering these beautiful little pillows at Nani’s, we had to twist people’s arms to get them to give them a try,” she says. “Pasta, beets, butter and poppy seeds, a wonderful and genius combination. Leave it to the Italians!!”
What’s better? This recipe, when used with Nani’s roller, can make 130-144 ravioli at a time. That means you can have some for dinner, and freeze more for later.
Ingredients
- For the basic filled pasta dough
- 4 cups all purpose flour, plus salt
- 4-5 large eggs
- Extra virgin olive oil
- For the beet filling and sauce
- 10-12 ounces beets, roasted and pureed
- 1/3 stick butter
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 pound ricotta
- Ground pepper
- Handful of breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus more to taste
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- Poppy seeds
- To make the filling:
- Saute pureed beets in 2 tablespoons of butter for 10 minutes.
- Transfer to a bowl and add the remaining ingredients (except the olive oil, remaining butter and poppy seeds.)
- Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Roll out dough to make ravioli (see directions below).
- To make the dough by hand:
- On a wooden or stone surface make a mound of the flour (or put it in a
- large bowl).
- Make a well in the middle of the flour, and add the eggs and 1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil.
- Begin to mix the eggs and oil together with a fork and start incorporating the flour into the egg and oil.
- Make sure the flour retains the well shape so the eggs/ and oil don't escape.
- Continue to incorporate the flour and eggs until at least half of the flour is
- together with the eggs and oil.
- At this point start kneading the dough using the palms of your hands,
- turning the dough one quarter of a turn after each knead.
- Once it's mostly together, continue kneading until the dough is elastic
- but still a little sticky (about 5-7 minutes). Cover with a cloth in moister
- climates or plastic in dryer climates.
- Let rest for at least 30 minutes.
- Roll the pasta out with a rolling pin (making sure there is plenty of
- flour to keep the dough from sticking to the surface of the wood or
- stone), turning it over and around to facilitate an even and smooth dough (a 24 inch square easily accommodates Nani's Ravioli Roller).
- When you have half of your dough in a sheet, lift it and sprinkle
- plenty of flour on the work surface, lie the dough back down, stretch and roll it
- out a little, then thinly brush on an egg wash.
- Spread the filling evenly over the entire sheet of dough leaving about
- ¾ inche around the edges.
- Scoot this layer to the side.
- Now roll out the second layer of dough like you did with the first layer.
- Carefully and gently place the top sheet of dough over the filling
- matching the edges.
- Very lightly, roll a rolling pin over the entire surface pushing out any
- bubbles that have formed between the top layer of dough and the filling.
- To use Nani's Ravioli Roller, place a solid edge on the very edge of the dough/filling/dough layers, and, applying firm but gentle pressure, roll the roller over the entire surface of the layers.
- Voila! Now you have 144 gorgeous ravioli.
- Don’t worry if some of the filling escapes out the end, or if your first
- try isn't perfect. At this point, you can let the raviolies rest, making sure there is plenty of flour under so as to not let them stick to the board.
- Otherwise, freeze your raviolis for future use.
- To cook, bring a pot of salted water to a boil, adding 1 tablespoon of olive oil so raviolis don’t stick together. When the water is at a rolling boil, cook the ravioli until done (they should float). Meanwhile, melt the remaining butter over low heat. Place the ravioli in individual bowls, drizzle with the melted butter, sprinkle on some Parmesan and poppy seeds.