Homemade Ravioli with Spinach and Ricotta Cheese

Homemade ravioli filled with fresh ricotta cheese and organic baby spinach

If you are looking for an easy-to-follow recipe to learn the art of making stuffed pasta, 
you've come to the right place

Last week I posted my recipe on how to make basic homemade pasta. Today I'm using that recipe to prepare handmade ravioli with spinach and ricotta cheese.
As I said for the tagliatelle, making stuffed pasta is actually easier than you might think. All you need are a rolling pin, or pasta maker, a ravioli cutter, about two hours of your time, and some passion... or as we say in Italian, some "voglia di fare" (willingness to do it!).
Even if making ravioli can be a bit time consuming, it's really rewarding. Freshly made ravioli, filled with organic baby spinach and delicate ricotta cheese are simply amazing.
So when you have some free time, and feel like experimenting something new, here is a great activity for you. Maybe your kids can join in the fun too!
With this recipe you can make around 45 ravioli, 2.5 inches in diameter, serving at least 4 people.
For the sauce, I suggest drizzling the ravioli with sage infused melted butter and sprinkled with lots of fresh grated Parmesan cheese. This way the sauce will not take away any of the ravioli delicate flavor. Buon appetito!

Ingredients: to make around 45 ravioli, 2.5 in diameter, serving 4
for the pasta:

• 400 gr flour
• 4 eggs

for the stuffing:

• 10 oz (280 gr) of fresh organic baby spinach 
• 8 oz (225 gr) ricotta cheese (I used whole milk)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup (25 gr) of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon of grated nutmeg grated
• salt

Preparation time: about 2 hours
Directions:
1. Prepare the dough  following this recipe.

2. For the stuffing: cook the spinach in boiling water until tender. It should take only a few minutes.
Drain the spinach and try to squeeze as much water out as you can.

3. Chop the spinach and add to a large bowl, with the ricotta cheese, egg, Parmesan cheese, nutmeg and a bit of salt. Mix well.

4. Divide the pasta dough in two parts. Keep the half that you are not using in the plastic wrap.
Roll the dough in a thin layer, about 1/8 of an inch, or as thin as you can. When you roll, always make sure the pasta doesn't stick to the counter. Move and rotate the dough as necessary.

5. Cut the dough halfway. Using your cutter and starting from one end, measure and mark (do not cut) the distance between the ravioli, on half of the dough only. You should be able to get 20-22 ravioli. Place about one teaspoon of filling on the pasta in the middle of each of the ravioli At this point you should used only half of the ricotta/spinach filling.

6. Place the other half of pasta, and press down around the filling with your fingers. You want to get most of the air out so that your ravioli will seal nicely.

7. Cut the ravioli using your cutter. Set aside on parchment paper lightly floured. Make sure the ravioli don't touch each other or they will stick together.

8. To cook: bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the ravioli for a couple of minutes after they start to float. This time is based on how thin/thick you made the pasta.Taste before removing the ravioli from the water. Serve immediately with your favorite sauce.

Enjoy!