Spinach & Ricotta Ravioli with Lemon Butter Sauce
Jan 10, 2021, Updated May 17, 2022
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This spinach and ricotta ravioli recipe is pieced together from memory and taste. My mum would buy pre-made ravioli from the frozen food section in our local grocer that she would serve with a lemon butter sauce. They would be stored in a large wooden box and still to this day, I think and crave of them often which is why I decided to make my own.
So much love goes into making handrolled ravioli. It’s a task that requires patience, time and skill yet a task that I look forward to when my day has a slower rhythm to it and I crave some solitude in the kitchen. As opposed to store bought ravioli, you can see the flaws and imperfections in hand rolled ravioli which make it so beautifully unique.
There is an art to making ravioli however, once you master the skill you will look forward to the days you can make it from scratch as its so glossy and silky and can be encased with any filling you desire from lemon and ricotta to veal. A few tips I learnt along the way are to always weigh your pasta dough ingredients as this will ensure you get a smooth texture every time. Pasta dough is very dependent on feel and touch and quantities can change depending on many variables such as the ingredients your working with and the weather which is why it’s also important to always weigh your ingredients. The quantities I work with are a rough guideline of where to start. If your pasta is too dry, add a little water to your dough or hands when working with it. If it is too wet, add a little bit of flour to the dough or hands when working with it.
I use a shot glass to shape the ravioli filling once its been encased in two layers of pasta dough. This is a little trick I learnt when I saw someone using a cookie cutter to mould the shape of their cookies when they came out of the oven and thought why can’t we apply this same technique to ravioli. It works like a charm!
If you don’t use all the ravioli you make immediately, lay them on a baking tray that has been lightly sprinkled with semolina flour (make sure they aren’t touching each other) and place into the freezer for 30 – 45 minutes. Once they are frozen store them in an air tight container. When ready to eat, throw them straight into a pot of heavily salted boiling hot water and cook for 1 – 2 minutes longer then when they are fresh.
To further save on time, you can make the lemon and ricotta filling up to two days ahead and store it in the fridge in an airtight container.
Frequently Asked Questions
What eggs do you use for the pasta dough?
I use eggs from 500g egg cartons. These eggs are best for when working with pasta as their yolks are orange and very rich.
What do I do if my pasta is too dry or moist?
Pasta dough is very dependent on feel and touch and quantities can change depending on many variables such as the ingredients you’re working with and the weather. The quantities I work with are a rough guideline of where to start. If your pasta is too dry, add a little water to your dough or hands when working with it. If it is too moist, add a little bit of flour to the dough or hands when working with it.
Do I need a ravioli cutter?
If you don’t have a ravioli cutter you can use a sharp knife. Just keep in mind, you won’t get the ruffled edges around the ravioli.
What eggs do you use for the pasta dough?
I use eggs from 500g egg cartons. These eggs are best for when working with pasta as there yolks are orange and very rich.
How do you store the leftover ravioli?
If you don’t use all the ravioli you make immediately, lay them on a baking tray that has been lightly sprinkled with semolina flour (make sure they aren’t touching each other) and place into the freezer for 30 – 45 minutes. Once they are frozen store them in an air tight container. When ready to eat, throw them straight into a pot of heavily salted boiling hot water and cook for 1 – 2 minutes longer then when they are fresh.
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Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli with Lemon Butter Sauce
Ingredients
Pasta dough
- 250 g eggs, 3 - 4 whole eggs and 2 egg yolks
- 400 g white 00 flour
- 50 g semolina flour
- 1 tsp salt
Spinach and ricotta filling
- 250 g ricotta, strained and patted dry
- 3/4 cup parmeson, grated
- 200 g fresh baby spinach
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- salt and pepper
Lemon butter sauce
- 100 g salted butter
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- pinch of salt
Instructions
Spinach and ricotta filling
- In a large fry pan on a high heat, cook your baby spinach with a pinch of salt and pepper until it has wilted entirely. Transfer to a colander and drain out as much liquid as possible. Set to the side to cool and then roughly chop.
- Combine all ingredients into a large bowl and mix well with a large spoon. Keep your filling covered in the fridge until ready to use.
Ravioli
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together the white 00 flour, semolina and salt. Place the flour onto a pasta board or clean surface and make a well in the middle of the flour with your fist or the bottom of your mixing bowl that is deep and wide enough to hold the eggs.
- Place your eggs into the middle of the flour well and whisk together with a fork. When you’re whisking your eggs, slowly combine the flour from the edges of where the eggs are sitting and whisk through with the eggs until a thick, custard-like paste forms. When you can no longer whisk the flour and egg with a fork, bring the flour from the edges into the well with your hands or a pasta scraper and begin to knead the dough into a ball.
- Knead the dough for 10 minutes until a firm smooth dough ball forms that is moist and not sticky. Every dough is different so you will need to go by feel.
- Place your dough into a bowl and cover well with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Leave to rest for a minimum of 30 minutes.
- Uncover your dough and cut off a quarter piece. Cut that piece in half and keep the rest of the dough covered so it does not dry out. Place your dough onto a lightly floured pasta board or bench surface. Roll the dough out with a rolling pin into a rectangular shape that is 3mm thick. Roll the dough through a pasta machine on the widest setting (number 7 on my pasta machine). Fold the dough in half and roll it through again. Roll the dough through a narrower setting twice and fold the dough in half for the second time (number 4 or 5 on my pasta machine). Finally, roll the dough on the second narrowest setting (number 2 on my pasta machine) until you have a long rectangular pasta sheet that is roughly 10cm wide. Dust the pasta sheet with flour, cover with a towel and set to the side while you repeat this step with the remainder of the dough.
- Place your ravioli filling into a piping bag. If you don’t have a piping bag you can simply spoon the filling onto the ravioli sheets for this step. Starting from the edge of the pasta sheet leaving a 5cm boarder, begin to pipe a 20cent piece of filling into the centre, leaving a 5cm gap between each piece of filling. Pipe along the entirety of the pasta sheet until there is no more space.
- Wet your index finger with water and dampen the boarder of the dough and in between the filling. Use a second piece of pasta sheet and lay over the pasta sheet with the filling. Press firmly around the edges and in between the filling to remove any air bubbles. I use a small shot glass that I place over the filling to help shape it into a nice circle shape and help to remove air bubbles.
- Using a ravioli cutter, cut your ravioli shapes around the filling. I cut mine into large squares. Try and make them the same size so they cook evenly.
- Place your ravioli onto a baking tray that has been lightly floured with semolina flour and cover with a towel as you continue to make the remainder of ravioli.
Lemon and butter sauce
- In a pot of heavily salted water, cook your ravioli until the begin to rise to the top.
- In a large fry pan on a medium heat, melt the butter. When the butter starts to foam, add in the lemon zest and pinch of salt. Swirl around in the pan for 1 - 2 minutes and then add the cooked ravioli into the sauce with a slotted spoon ensuring some pasta water is added to the sauce. Turn the heat to low and cook for 1 minute. Finish with a squeeze of lemon juice and sprinkling of parmeson.
Notes
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