I've been on a mad ravioli kick lately. This has been my first go at making homemade pasta and I must say, I've even impressed myself. Making homemade ravioli, though a little time consuming, is a cakewalk. And each turn makes so much, that before you know it, you have enough delicious ravioli for several hearty meals. And the best part: Once the rolling and the filling is done, these little babies go into the freezer, and can be ready to eat any night of the week in 8 minutes flat. What is not to love about that?

For the dough you will need the following plus wax or parchment paper, a pastry brush, a rolling pin, extra flower for rolling, and I highly recommend a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. Although hand kneading is certainly possible, it would just add a bit more time to the overall process.

3 c of flour

5 egg yolks + one whole egg

½ tsp salt

½ to 1 cup of water (Enough water to make a smooth dough)

Set the eggs out and let them reach room temperature. Separate 5 of them and set the whites aside (these and the leftover cheese from the filling are great in a follow-up meal of soufflé). Add all the ingredients to your mixing bowl, save the water, and kneed with the dough hook attachment until incorporated. Add water slowly as needed until a smooth sticky dough forms and kneed with the stand mixer for 10 additional minutes. 

Before rolling, let the dough rest for 20 minutes, covered with a clean damp paper towel to avoid drying. Once the dough has rested, use the extra flour and a rolling pin to roll the dough super thin. I kept rolling until I the dough was translucent and I could see my hand through it. The dough should be stretchy and fairly easy to work with. Don't be afraid to use a lot of flower to keep it from sticking. Turn it over often as you roll. And keep on rolling, you will be glad you did later. 

While my dough was resting, I made my filling (see suggestions further down in the post)

Once the dough is nice and thin, use a cookie or biscuit cutter to cut it into small rounds or squares. I used a 2 in round cookie cutter, but most anything will work. You could even make special occasion ravioli shaped like hearts or flowers if you'd like

Lightly beat the remaining egg to use as a wash. Apply the egg wash with your pastry brush to one dough round. Place a small amount of filling in the center of the round-I used about a teaspoon. Top with another dough round and press the edges firmly with your finger. Place on a cookie sheet covered with parchment or wax paper and freeze for about 10 minutes or until firm.

Once frozen, the ravioli can be stored for up to 6 months in an air tight container in the freezer.

Now on to the filling. Oh the pasta-bilities! (sorry I couldn't stop myself). You can fill your ravioli with most anything. So far I have made lobster and mascarpone ravioli and three cheese ravioli. Both were delicious!

For the Lobster Mascarpone:

1 8 oz containter of pre-cooked lobster (I found mine at )

1 8 oz container of mascarpone cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix them up.

For the Three Cheese:

1 8 oz container of part skim ricotta

¼ c shredded mozerella cheese

4 oz shredded fontina cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix them up.

See! Easy-peasy! Here are some other ideas:

Chicken Marsala Ravioli

Hazelnut & Butternut Squash Ravioli

Spinach and Mushroom Ravioli

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! I can't wait to make ALL of these.

And for serving suggestions, of course a traditional pasta sauce is delicious, but for something different, try a a simple browned butter sauce tossed with some wilted spinach. So easy and so gourmet! Enjoy!