richard Ricotta & Parsley Ravioli with Tomato & Cream Sauce
The offer of some Valentine themed goodies from our friends at Interflora and a cooking apron from our latest chums at The Last detail, prompted us to cook up something which would make an ideal romantic dinner for two. Besides, it was the day before the day before Blogger-D’s birthday – reason enough to dig out the pasta maker, dust off the Royal Doulton and open up the Imperial Banqueting Suite here at Yumblog Hall.
If you would like to win an Interflora hamper, enter this competition
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 35 – 45 minutes
Skill level: Medium. This recipe assumes some knowledge of making fresh pasta and ravioli as I was too lazy to explain everything in detail.
Makes: Enough for 2 although you will probably have some of the filling left over
Ingredients
For the pasta:
- pasta flour – 115g
- 2 eggs
- salt
For the filling:
- ricotta cheese – 150g
- 1 egg yolk
- parmigiano-reggiano cheese – grated – 65g
- parsley – chopped – 4tbsp
- nutmeg
- salt
For the sauce:
- 400g tin of tomatoes
- celery – finely copped – 2tbsp
- carrots – finely copped – 2tbsp
- onion – finely copped – 2tbsp
- butter – 40g
- double cream – 50ml
- s & p
To make the sauce, put all the sauce ingredients apart from the cream into a saucepan and cook uncovered at the slightest simmer for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Add the cream and adjust the seasoning.
Turn up the heat a little and simmer for a further minute stirring continually.
The sauce is now ready to serve.
…and here are the flowers which went with the chocolates
To make the dough, combine the flour, eggs and a pinch of salt to make the dough. Add more flour if too wet, or a little water if too dry.
Knead for 8 minutes, wrap in cling film and set aside until needed.
For the filling put the parsley, ricotta, parmesan, egg yolk, salt and a pinch/grating of nutmeg into a bowl and mix together with a fork until fully combined.
Use your pasta machine to roll out the pasta.
Cut out small circles using a pastry cutter.
Spoon a small amount of the filling into the centre of half of the pasta circles.
Wet the edges and lay over the rest of the pasta circles and gently squeeze together to form a seal.
When finished, set aside on a floured surface until required.
Cook in plenty of salted boiling water for a few minutes.
Spoon the ravioli into the serving dishes and pour over the sauce.
Verdict: Great pasta. Great sauce. Great meal. Happy Valentines day.
Drink: A little for her, considerably more for him.
Entertainment: Part 1 of the totally absorbing ‘Mesrine‘ on DVD. Buy it, rent it, steal it, kick a journalist to death for it, but just watch it. Vincent Cassel is superb.
