As Valentine's Day was on a Monday and A never knows what time he'll be home from the hospital, we decided to have our holiday meal the Sunday prior. We took on quite a challenge - homemade ravioli along with homemade roasted tomato sauce.
I won't lie to you - the ravioli was difficult, and we didn't get it perfect. (The only thing wrong with it was it was too thick for our tastes.) But the roasted tomato sauce turned out to be very easy, and is extremely versatile, so you can be sure we'll make it again in the future.
A warning: This is incredibly messy! Flour everywhere, sticky dough, egg wash... but it's fun!
Dish: Spinach Ravioli with Sausage and Roasted Tomato Sauce
Eaten With: Salad, Pinot Noir
Ingredients: Ravioli - Eggs, flour, spinach, ricotta cheese, grated Parmesan cheese; Sauce - Tomatoes, white onion, garlic, olive oil; Italian sausage
How to Make It:
Roasted Tomato Sauce
1. Cut 1/2 pound of tomatoes in half lengthwise.
2. Slice 1 white onion.
3. Put the tomatoes halved side up in a baking pan (we lined ours with tinfoil). Add onions on top of the tomatoes.
4. Drizzle with olive oil and add pepper.
5. Cook at 400F for about 45 minutes.
6. Pour the contents of the pan into a cooking pot.
7. Blend with an immersion blender.
8. Simmer over medium heat until it has reached your desired thickness. Add more spices as you'd like.
Sausage (You could dress this up too, but we kept it simple.)
1. Dice up Italian sausage links.
2. Saute on the stove top in garlic until done.
Ravioli
1. Steam 8 oz of spinach until it shrinks.
2. Use a food processor to chop spinach into a paste.
3. Beat 2 eggs (we did it in our stand mixer - dough hook attached).
4. Add in 1.5 cups of flour and 1/4 cup of water, along with spinach paste, mixing until it forms a ball.
5. Remove dough from mixer and knead (on floured surface) until elastic.
Note: Add more flour if you need to - I did!
6. Let dough sit in a glass bowl about 30 minutes to let gluten relax.
7. Roll the dough out as thin as you can (I believe the instructions I saw said a nickel's width.) -
Here's where we failed... definitely need a pasta roller to get the dough thin enough!
8. Using a glass, cut circles in the dough.
Ricotta Filling
1. Beat one egg in a bowl.
2. Add 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan, and basil/oregano/whatever your fancy.
3. Mix until thoroughly combined.
4. Chill in the fridge for a few minutes (or while you're preparing the ravioli dough).
Putting It Together
1. Make an egg wash (beat 1 egg with a small amount of water).
2. Put a tablespoon of ricotta filling on 1 dough circle.
3. Brush egg wash around the edges.
4. Top with another ravioli circle.
5. Push down on the edges to seal the ravioli. You can use a fork to crimp the edges if you'd like.
6. Cook the ravioli in boiling water for 10-15 minutes. It will float to the top when done.
7. Lift the ravioli out with a slotted spoon and put on a plate. Cover with sauce and sausage.
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