Ricotta and spinach ravioli

You can prepare the ravioli to cook them immediately or save them for some time later.

The fresh pasta dough can be prepared a day in advance and stored in the fridge covered with foil, or even earlier and stored in the freezer in a vacuum-sealed bag or in plain food packaging bags.

The filling can be made the day before and stored in the fridge.

The ravioli, once made, can be cooked immediately or within 4 to 5 hours. In this case, ensure that the filling is not wet, place them on a tray covered with baking paper, dust them with durum wheat flour or rice flour and put them in the fridge

You can also freeze them and use them when needed, cooking them in boiling salted water without no need to defrost them first.

The filling must not be too wet to prevent the pasta from getting wet: squeeze the spinach well and choose a compact type of ricotta.

Do not use the fresh pasta immediately after kneading it, but let it rest for at least 30 minutes wrapped in plastic wrap.

The dough should not be thick so that pasta and the filling cook evenly.

When making the ravioli, avoid leaving any air between the pasta and the filling, but make the pasta sheet adhere well to the filling.

Avoid that the ravioli dry too much to prevent them from opening during cooking: distribute the filling as quickly as possible and close the ravioli immediately.

And also, to prevent the ravioli from opening during cooking, seal the edges of the ravioli once they are wrapped: press the edges with your fingers, starting at the corners.

If using the tines of a fork to decorate the ravioli, avoid pressing too hard so you do not pierce the pasta.

If you wish, the uncooked ravioli can be frozen: first place them on a tray covered with baking paper, well-spaced out so they do not stick together and leave them in the freezer for at least 1 hour. Then place them into bags in the desired portions and put them straight back into the freezer.

If you have already cooked but not seasoned leftover ravioli, put them in the fridge and season them with another sauce the next day.

Instead, if you have already seasoned them, put them on oven tray at 190°, sprinkle them with Parmesan cheese to make them au gratin.

For the filling you can use cow or goat milk ricotta according to your taste, better if fat and creamy.

The spinach can be replaced with herbs or wild herbs.

You can replace the Parmesan cheese with pecorino or other types of hard cheese.

Season with the herbs you like best: instead of basil, other aromatic herbs are simply fine!

If you do not have a sac à poche, distribute the filling either with a teaspoon or with your fingers.

You can also dress the ravioli with a tomato and basil sauce or other light seasoning and choose extra virgin olive oil instead of butter.