Fresh Made Ravioli with Oregano Bread Crumbs

This recipe and photos were provided by Sally Roeckell of Table and Dish and were originally published at 365Barrington.com as a part of the Heinen’s 4 P.M. Panic Series.

Freshly made ravioli is this week’s “4PM Panic” recipe. The beauty of this one is that it can be handmade or you can use frozen ravioli to shorten the cooking time and get dinner on the table quickly.

Some days boiling water is all I have time for, but today we opted for handmade pasta. It’s totally worth the effort.

Fresh Ravioli

Ingredients:

20 ounces fresh ricotta cheese
4 ounces freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup chopped baby portable mushrooms
1 cup chopped fresh baby spinach
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1 egg plus 1 egg whisked with 1 tbsp. water for assembling raviolis
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 recipe Classic fresh egg pasta
Extra-virgin olive oil, for serving
4 tbsp. butter for serving
Oregano bread crumbs for serving (recipe below)

Homemade Ravioli Ingredients

Method:

Drain all liquid from ricotta cheese. You can use a clean kitchen towel to squeeze the moisture out or a fine mesh sieve.
Add Parmesan cheese, 1 egg, nutmeg, and lemon juice to ricotta. Season to taste with salt and pepper and stir to combine.
Meanwhile, divide dough into four even sections.
- Note: when making your dough, if it seems dry, add more egg. Today when I made the pasta my eggs must have been smaller or I was heavy handed with the flour because the dough was too dry and I had to start over. You want your dough to be easily workable.
Working one section at a time, with remaining sections tightly wrapped in plastic, roll dough through machine until sheet is just under 1/16th of an inch thick (typically second-to-last setting). Cut sheet in half to create 2 pieces of dough roughly 15 inches long and 5 inches across.
If using a ravioli mold: Place first sheet of dough over metal base. Gently and evenly press plastic mold down to make depressions in dough. Remove and fill each depression with approximately 1 tablespoon filling. Rap mold once or twice to remove any air bubbles. Place second sheet of dough over surface and pat down. Run rolling pin over dough until ridges beneath become visible. Flip the mold over and gently peel it away. If ravioli remain stuck, rap edge of mold on table. If ravioli do not separate easily, use fluted ravioli cutter to complete perforation. Cover ravioli with towel to prevent drying. Repeat with remaining dough and continue to step 6.
If working by hand: Fold first sheet along its midline to make a light crease and re-open. Place 6 heaping tablespoons half-inch apart along length of lower half. Moisten upper half with pastry brush dipped in egg and water mixture and fold over, pressing down to remove air bubbles and create a seal around filling. Using fluted ravioli cutter or kitchen knife, cut between filling for 6 even squares. Cover ravioli with towel to prevent drying. Repeat with remaining dough.
At this point, ravioli can be frozen: place ravioli on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet and freeze completely. Transfer to a freezer bag, press out as much air as possible, and store in freezer for up to 2 months. Frozen ravioli can be cooked straight from frozen (add 30 seconds to cooking time).
To cook ravioli, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook ravioli by submerging in boiling water and cooking for 3 minutes (ravioli should float). Drain pasta.
In a large sauté pan melt butter until slightly brown but do not burn. Add olive oil then gently place cooked ravioli into the sauté pan. Toss for about 2 minutes then add bread crumbs and serve.

Homemade Ravioli

Oregano Bread Crumbs

Ingredients:

1 sleeve Ritz crackers crushed
1 cup panko bread crumbs
6 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup chopped fresh oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil.
Once hot, add the bread crumbs, oregano, salt + pepper and cook, stirring for 4-5 minutes or until toasted and golden.
Remove the bread crumbs from the pan.

The bread crumbs can be saved in an airtight container for about a week. These are great on any pasta or use to coat chicken, steak or fish.

Homemade Ravioli with Oregano Breadcrumbs