Ravioli FROM SCRATCH with a Ricotta Mascarpone Filling!

Welcome everyone to another brand new episode of Nikoli's Kitchen! This week it's our first featured recipe of season five, and we're talking about homemade ravioli! That's scratch-made pasta, marinara, AND cheese filling, hand-stamped and cooked to perfection (when they didn't explode). I've still got some things to learn, but I've been workshopping this cheese recipe for the last couple months, and I really wanted to share it with you. Please check out the entire recipe breakdown and ingredient list below! Thank you all so much for listening! 

 

Featured Recipe for this Episode

Marinara Sauce

90 oz whole San Marzano tomatoes 4.5 oz tomato paste 1 c red wine 1/2 c garlic, finely chopped 3 c fresh basil, roughly chopped 2 T fresh parsley, roughly chopped 2 T fresh oregano, roughly chopped 1 yellow onion, finely diced 1/2 c olive oil Salt, pepper, and sugar to taste

Add your olive oil to a large Dutch oven over mid heat. Add your onion and begin cooking, adding some salt. Cook for a few minutes until it becomes translucent. Add garlic and herbs and cook for 30-60 seconds, stirring frequently. Add your tomato paste and stir to combine. Cook for another 60 seconds. Add red wine and stir until everything is well-combined. Cook until it begins to simmer around the edges of the pot.  Add your San Marzano tomatoes and stir again. Cover and reduce heat to low and let the sauce slow cook for 2-4 hours. Season your sauce with salt, pepper, and sugar to taste. Use an immersion blender to blend your sauce down into a nice and smooth marinara (if desired). 

Ricotta Mascarpone Cheese Filling

32 oz ricotta cheese 1 egg 2 T chopped Italian parsley 1/2 c chopped spinach 1 c chopped fresh basil 4 oz. Mascarpone cheese 8 cloves of garlic, minced 1/2 c fresh shredded parmesan cheese 1/2 c fresh shredded pecorino romano 1/4 c cornstarch Salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer. Whip the cheese mixture until light and fluffy.

Homemade Pasta

1 c semolina flour 3/4 c all-purpose flour 8 egg yolks 3 T olive oil 3/4 c water

Mound your semolina and all-purpose flours on the countertop and create a well in the center. The well should be wide enough and tall enough to hold all of your eggs and liquids. Add the egg yolks, olive oil, and half of the water (reserving the rest if you need it). Using a fork, begin stirring the mixture in the center, pulling in flour as you go to incorporate it. Once you reach a point where this becomes too difficult, remove the fork and begin cutting the remaining flour into your dough with your hands.  Continue working the dough to incorporate all of the flour. If it is too dry or flaky, dribble in more of your water a little at a time.   Once the dough has formed, knead it by pressing it out with the heel of your hand for 12-15 minutes or until the dough feels silky smooth. Form into a flat disc about 1" thick and wrap the dough in plastic wrap. Tap the edges against the counter to form it into a mostly uniform square. Rest for 30-60 minutes. Lightly flour your countertop. Cut the dough in four equal-sized pieces. Keep the remaining dough wrapped until you are ready to use it.  Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out into a long rectangular shape. Turn it over and continue working it as necessary. You want the dough to be relatively thin. Roll out a second sheet and keep it nearby. Add 1 T of cheese filling at 2" intervals along your sheet. Wet around the cheese filling with a little water and layer over your second sheet. Cut out your ravioli with your stamp. Stamp out all of your ravioli, then fold your remaining dough back together and continue filling and stamping until all of your dough is used up.

Place a large pot of boiling water on the stove and add salt to taste. Once the water reaches a rolling boil, drop your fresh ravioli in. It will only take a couple of minutes to cook; the ra