Homemade Spinach and Cheese Ravioli with Roasted Tomato Sauce

Making your own homemade Spinach and Cheese Ravioli with Tomato Sauce is a fun and tasty adventure.  

Homemade pasta has been on my bucket list to make forever. Dried pasta is great for noodles where you like a little chew. Fresh pasta is wonderful for stuffed pasta, where a tender pasta works so nicely, especially when you want to make your own filling. 

The pasta for these ravioli requires just two ingredients, all purpose flour and eggs. If you have Italian 00 flour, you can use that too. 

You don't need to add salt to the dough because when you cook the ravioli, you will salt the boiling water, which will flavor the pasta. 

Why You Need to Make this Ravioli:

At some point, if you like to try new cooking techniques, definitely add fresh pasta for ravioli to your cooking bucket list. It's not as difficult as it may seem, and you get to create your own fillings. 

Plus, once you've mastered this egg pasta dough, you can use it for tortellini, cappelletti, and heart-shaped ravioli (cuori) to name a few. 

I don't know why I was so intimidated. After all, I've successfully made my own potsticker wrappers! 

This recipe also includes a spinach, ricotta, Parmesan, and mozzarella filling for the ravioli, but you can substitute any filling you like. 

I've included a simple tomato sauce recipe (which is a total keeper), but feel free to use any sauce. 

Actually, even if you aren't ready to make your own homemade ravioli, the sauce itself is awesome for using on store bought ravioli. 

How to Make Homemade Ravioli:

Making homemade ravioli involves making the pasta, making the filling, and then assembling and boiling. 

Ingredients:

For the pasta, all you need are eggs and all purpose flour. 

For the filling, I used ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan cheeses, plus fresh basil and frozen spinach. You could also use fresh spinach (at the same weight). Just briefly boil it, drain it, and then finely chop it. 

For the sauce, I used three cans of fire-roasted diced tomatoes, including one can with green chilies. Plus, there's fresh basil, olive oil, crushed red pepper flakes, and minced garlic, plus a little bit of sugar, salt, and pepper. 

Process for Making the Pasta and Ravioli:

There are three ways to mix the pasta dough. You can use the traditional kneading method on your work surface. Drop the eggs in the middle of the flour and slowly mix it into the eggs with your fingers and then knead the dough, a process that can take up to 20 minutes. 

Another option is to mix the dough in a stand mixer. First, use the paddle attachment, and then continue kneading with the dough hook. The process still takes quite awhile and could be a strain on your mixer because the dough is so stiff. 

I used a food processor, which pretty much made the process take about 2 minutes, along with 2 minutes of hand kneading. 

Just add the flour and eggs to the food processor bowl and process until the dough comes together. Wrap the dough up and let it rest so it's ready to roll out. 

In the meantime, make the filling....  

To roll out the pasta dough, you can use a rolling pin, but you have to get really good at rolling it out evenly and very thinly. 

My favorite tool is a hand-cranked pasta machine. The one I have is the Marcato Atlas 150. The Imperia is also an Italian favorite. Just know that the dial numbers I recommend for thickness are from the Marcato. 

Can you believe the reason I already owned one is to make grissini (thin breadsticks)?  

Roll out the dough several times, using a thinner and thinner setting, until you get to #8, where you can see your hand through the pasta as you hold it. Then, dollop the filling onto the dough at 1 1/2 inch intervals. 

To cut the ravioli, after folding the dough over the filling, I also used a ravioli cutter wheel, which presses the dough together while cutting the dough. You can also press the dough edges together and then cut everything with a fluted cutter. Another option to use are stamp cutters. 

How to roll out the pasta:

First, divide the dough into 5 equal-sized pieces and wrap them in plastic wrap. Next, roll the pasta through the pasta machine on its largest setting. 

After that, fold the dough in thirds like an envelope and press it through the same setting one more time. 

At this point, continue to roll the dough through the machine again and again, at lower settings each time, until you get to setting #8. 

Cut the dough into a 4 inch strip and add the filling. 

Removing Air from the Ravioli:

Use your fingers to remove extra air when folding and shaping the ravioli. If still more air remains, use a toothpick to poke a hole in the dough and press out any additional air bubbles while resealing the dough. This helps prevent the ravioli from bursting while boiling. 

Tips For Success:

First, be patient. Making these ravioli takes some time, but you can do it in stages. The sauce and the filling can be made in advance for example. 

To make sure the ravioli doesn't burst open while boiling, keep a close eye on them, stirring constantly and controlling the heat of the water. I didn't have any issue. 

You can also make and assemble the ravioli and freeze them to boil and serve later... or, you can refrigerate the ravioli before boiling for up to four hours in advance. This helps ensure that the edges stick together. 

Freezing Instructions:

Freeze the ravioli on floured sheet pans, cover them with plastic wrap, and then transfer them to a freezer bag for up to 30 days. 

You can boil them straight from the freezer. Just add about two more minutes to the boiling time. 

Welcome to this month's Foodie Extravaganza, where we celebrate obscure food holidays. This month, we are celebrating National Ravioli Day, which is March 21. 

Here are everyone's recipes:

• Easy Ravioli Lasagna from Food Lust People Love
• Garden Greens-Stuffed Ravioli from Culinary Cam
• Gnudi (Naked Ravioli) In Butter Garlic Sauce from Sneha’s Recipe
• Homemade Spinach and Cheese Ravioli with Tomato Sauce from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Seafood Ravioli from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Toasted Ravioli from Palatable Pastime

Homemade Spinach and Cheese Ravioli with Tomato Sauce

Yield: 8 servings

Author: Karen's Kitchen Stories

Prep time: 1 HourCook time: 45 MinInactive time: 30 MinTotal time: 2 H & 15 M

Making your own homemade Spinach and Cheese Ravioli with Tomato Sauce is a fun and tasty adventure.

Ingredients

For the Pasta

• 10 ounces (2 cups) unbleached all purpose flour
• 3 large eggs, beaten

For the Filling

• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 9-ounce package frozen spinach, thawed, thoroughly drained, and finely chopped
• 1 ounce freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
• 2 ounces freshly grated mozarella cheese
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil
• Salt and pepper to taste

For the Sauce

• 3 14-ounce cans diced fire roasted tomatoes
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 teaspoons freshly minced garlic
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

To Prepare the Pasta

1. Add the flour to the bowl of a food processor and pulse to aerate the flour.
2. Add the eggs and run the food processor until the dough comes together into a ball. If it doesn't, add water, 1/2 teaspoon at a time.
3. Remove the dough from the food processor and knead for about 2 minutes. Wrap in plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.

To Make the Filling

1. Stir all of the filling ingredients together, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside.

To Make the Sauce

1. Pulse the tomatoes and their juices in a food processor for about 15 seconds.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a 4 quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for about a minute. Add the pureed tomatoes, sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and simmer for 30 minutes.
3. Remove from the heat and add the rest of the olive oil and the basil.
4. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

To Assemble the Ravioli

1. Generously flour two sheet pans.
2. Divide the dough into five portions and wrap each with plastic wrap.
3. Working with one piece at a time, run each portion through the largest setting in a pasta machine. Fold the pasta over itself like an envelope and run it through the machine again. After that, continue to run the dough through the machine until you have reached the #8 setting, or you can see your hand's shadow through the pasta.
4. Again, working with one piece of dough at a time, spread each piece of the dough out onto a cutting board and drop a heaping teaspoon of filling onto the dough, as illustrated, about 1 1/2 inches apart. With your finger, lightly spread some water along the edges of the dough and between the filling. Fold the dough over the filling and press the layers of dough together around the filling.
5. Use a pastry wheel to cut the ravioli apart and trim the edges.
6. Transfer the ravioli to the floured baking sheets and cover with damp paper towels. Repeat with the rest of the dough and filling. Cover with plastic wrap to refrigerate for up to four hours. You can also freeze and transfer to freezer bags for up to 30 days.

To Cook the Ravioli

1. Bring 4 quarts of heavily salted water to a boil.
2. Boil the ravioli in two batches for about 4 minutes. If frozen, boil for about 6 minutes.
3. Serve with the sauce.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

360.05

Fat (grams)

16.2 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

5.82 g

Carbs (grams)

38.05 g

Fiber (grams)

3.1 g

Net carbs

34.98 g

Sugar (grams)

4.5 g

Protein (grams)

14.88 g

Sodium (milligrams)

438.63 mg

Cholesterol (grams)

117.06 mg

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2023/02/homemade-spinach-and-cheese-ravioli.html

Karen's Kitchen Stories

ravioli, pasta

Main dish

Italian

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This recipe was adapted from both Homemade Pasta Made Simple and The Best International Recipes.